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of her life. About 1948 or 1949 Maier started photographing the people and buildings of Saint-Julien-en-Champsaur using a Kodak Brownie box camera. By 1952 she was coming into her own as a photographer; perhaps cosmopolitan New York City provided her with the spark of inspiration a small village couldn’t provide. By the mid-1950s, Maier’s signature style had fully emerged. As Maloof points out, Maier was a very refined and self-assured photographer: “Her rolls [of film] are not click, click, click. She wasn’t impulsive; she was careful with each shot. She rarely took three or four shots of the same person.” Based on the photographic record she left behind, her creative peak came between 1952, a year after she started shooting in Manhattan, and the mid-1970s, when she transitioned into 35mm color film.
Vivian Maier; © John Maloof, The Maloof Collection, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery and powerHouse Books
She was employed by the Gensburgs, a wealthy Chicago family, for 17 years, becoming a second mother to the family’s three boys, John, Lane and Matthew (all now in their fifties). The brothers and their mother stayed in touch with Maier throughout her life, even assisting her with an apartment and a nursing home in her last years. When she died (in 2009 at the age of 83, just before Maloof discovered her identity), it was the Gensburgs who scattered her ashes in the North Shore woods where she had taken the brothers strawberry picking as youngsters. There’s no evidence to suggest that Maier ever studied photography formally, though from her book collection (given to Maloof by the Gensburgs), it’s clear she was quite aware of other photographers’ work. Though somewhat scant, the information we have on Maier’s history paints a picture of her as a complex, opinionated and independent woman, often described as a “free spirit” by those who knew her best. Most of all, she fiercely guarded her privacy, to the point where, despite her obviously consuming passion for lenswork, she shared her work with almost no one (though the Gensburgs did purchase some of her photos of their boys). Indeed, her legacy very nearly died with her. Instead, thanks to Maloof, her story is gaining momentum. Following his initial purchase of the auction lot and the flurry of attention it garnered, Maloof has acquired, by his estimate, about 90 percent of Maier’s known work. Another collector, Jeffrey Goldstein, owns about 15,000 Maier negatives, which he procured well after Maloof began rebuilding Maier’s archive. There are also the approximately 100 negatives Maloof sold on eBay before he understood quite what he was selling. Eventually the noted photographer and critic Allen Sekula advised Maloof to stop selling the negatives. Martin Fuchs, communications adviser for the Maloof collection, says, “It’s important to us that we do the right thing: establish Vivian Maier as the great photographer she was and get her work seen and known.” Since establishing her as a great photographer will also confer substantial financial reward to those who hold the keys to her work, it would be naïve to consider Maloof’s actions as those of a pure altruist. That said, he doesn’t appear to have found complete comfort in his position regarding the collection either, bristling at any intimation of self-interest. “I understand that people want to know if I’m trying to cash in on this woman’s work,” he says. “That’s not my mission. I’m not going to sell her out for money.”
Vivian Maier; © John Maloof, The Maloof Collection, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery and powerHouse BooksNew Hope Food Pantry, which is celebrating its10th anniversary, served 215 families a few days before Thanksgiving. View Full Caption New Hope Food Pantry
NORWOOD PARK — The New Hope Food Pantry expects to feed 250 families on the Far Northwest Side this Christmas, officials said Thursday.
Families who live in Jefferson Park, Gladstone Park, Forest Glen, Norwood Park, O'Hare, Sauganash, Edison Park and Edgebrook can pick up bags of food designed for a holiday meal starting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at New Hope Methodist Church, 7115 W. Hood St.
In addition, volunteers will distribute toys to children that were collected at Onahan Elementary School, Niles Community Church and the Jefferson Park Police District, said Bobi Shields-Farrelly, a member of the food pantry's board of directors.
Resurrection College Prep High School students collected a large portion of the food that will be handed out.
The food pantry, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, served 215 families a few days before Thanksgiving.
Between 65 and 80 people take advantage of the pantry's weekly distribution of an emergency supply of food designed to last for three- to- five-days, pantry officials said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:Mobile rewards platform maker Perk.com, which makes apps that reward you for watching TV, unlocking your phone, online shopping, surfing the web and more, announced this morning its plans to acquire the mobile app development platform Corona Labs for a total of $2.3 million. This is the second time Corona Labs has been acquired – in 2014, Fuse Powered bought the Palo Alto-based startup,with plans to develop on top of its platform in the future.
Today, Perk.com indicates it has similar plans. According to Perk.com CEO Ted Hastings, the company will integrate its own rewards platform into the Corona development platform, which would then allow mobile app developers to build games that have Perk.com’s monetization tools built-in from the start.
Corona Labs’ footprint hasn’t grown much since its original acquisition it seems – the company is still reporting that “over 300,000” mobile app developers are using its tools to create apps – the same figure it reported in 2014. Those apps have over 60 million downloads, and over one billion monthly sessions, explains Fuse Powered’s website.
The company’s core product is something it calls the Corona SDK, which allows mobile developers to speed their time to launch by building cross-platform apps that work on a range of devices, including iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and even Nook. Prior to its first acquisition, the company had been expanding its focus on mobile, social gaming with the launch of Corona Cloud the year prior. This allowed developers to more easily add features like leaderboards, achievements, chat and more to their mobile games.
While building a mobile game using the SDK makes it easier for developers to get started compared with working to build an app from the ground up, it can also be limiting in terms of customizations, at least in Corona’s case. That means that serious game developers building large-scale games will ultimately choose to move away from tools like this.
That said, the indie developer community who is looking for simpler tools to build, optimize and, monetize their games, could find the SDK useful. The 2D game engine is built on industry standards, and is said to allow developers to build 10x faster.
Following the deal’s close, Perk.com plans to integrate its rewards solution into the Corona platform which means developers will be able to create cross-platform apps and have a way to make money from them from day one, without having to look to other resources.
“We built Corona with a vision to be the market leading cross-platform mobile development platform. Combining with Perk brings new investment for the platform from an organization that started as mobile app developers and had first hand experience with the power of the Corona platform in building its own apps,” said Walter Luh, Founder and Creator of Corona, in a statement. “We will be able to further our vision and provide our developers with an out of the box monetization solution and rewards program. Our team is excited about the partnership and believes the shared interest of the two companies will quicken the process of us reaching our long-term goals.”
According to Roj Niyogi, President and Co-Founder of Perk.com, the deal is for both talent plus IP. “Corona Labs is a mature community of developers who love making games and apps with Corona. It’s supported by a crew of engineers who live and breathe Corona and love what it stands for,” he says. Niyogi also notes that Perk.com already has a half-dozen apps being built in Corona and will be releasing those in the weeks ahead, as well as transitioning some existing apps to Corona.
Perk.com says it will pay approximately $1.5 million ($2 million CAD) for Corona Labs, which now employs 12 people, and then will pay out an additional ~$0.8 million ($1.0 milllion CAD) over the next 12 months. Perk expects Corona to be EBITDA positive by Q4 2016.
The company also tells us that both parties are in agreement and expect the deal to take place during the first two weeks of December.WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush plans to release his energy policy at an event near Pittsburgh on Tuesday, and the site of his announcement has a history of environmental violations in the state.
Bush is slated to announce his energy plan at Rice Energy, an oil and gas company based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The company has three subsidiaries operating in the state: Rice Drilling, Rice Midstream Holdings and Rice Poseidon Holdings. The subsidiaries have amassed a total 121 violations with the state Department of Environmental Protection since 2010, and $523,550 in fines, according to the DEP's Office of Oil and Gas Management database.
Rice's violations included failure to submit reports or post appropriate signage, as well as "failure to report defective, insufficient, or improperly cemented casing" and "failure to properly control or dispose of industrial or residual waste to prevent pollution of the waters of the Commonwealth."
The Wall Street Journal reported on violations at Rice-owned wells in 2012, and the numbers have climbed since then.
Neither Rice Energy nor the Bush campaign responded to a request for comment on the company's record.
The contents of Bush's energy plan won't be disclosed until Tuesday, but his site selection for the announcement is telling. Rice is an oil and gas company operating in the heart of the boom in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions. Innovations in drilling techniques like hydraulic fractring and the discovery of much larger reserves of natural gas have led to a major increase in production in this part of the country in the last decade. Bush also extolled the virtues off the gas boom in an op-ed earlier this year, calling it "one of the greatest economic transformations in American history."
There may also be some clues in Bush's energy policy advisers, listed in a Bloomberg story last week. Several of them are throwbacks to the administration of his brother, who touted domestic oil and gas production. They include Marcus Peacock, who served as a deputy at the Environmental Protection Agency and an associate director for natural resource programs at the Office of Management and Budget under George W. Bush.
Another adviser is Jeff Kupfer, who was a deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy under George W. Bush and is now on the board of directors at Pennsylvania-based oil and gas company Atlas Energy. He has also worked at Chevron, where he led policy, legislative and regulatory initiatives for the company's Marcellus Shale business unit, according to an online resume.A vehicle is surrounded by protesters demonstrating during a march against Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez in Buenos Aires on Thursday. (Photo11: Natacha Pisarenko, AP) Story Highlights People are angry over high inflation, violent crime and high-profile corruption
Many worry that the president will try to hold onto power by ending term limits
Demonstrations were held on plazas across Argentina and outside Argentine embassies
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Angry over inflation, crime and corruption, people of all ages jammed the capital's streets for nearly four hours to protest against President Cristina Fernandez in Argentina's biggest anti-government demonstration in years.
In a Thursday night march organized on social media, demonstrators filled the Plaza de Mayo in front of the pink presidential palace and also crowded into the square around the city's iconic obelisk chanting: "We're not afraid."
Protesters kept it peaceful, and the outpouring had the air of a family affair. Toddlers in strollers and grandparents in wheelchairs joined in the masses that marched through downtown Buenos Aires until nearly midnight.
People banged on pots, whistled and waved the Argentine flag. They held banners that read: "Stop the wave of Argentines killed by crime, enough with corruption and say no to the constitutional reform."
Fernandez's critics are angry over the country's high inflation, violent crime and high-profile corruption, and many worry that the president will try to hold onto power by ending constitutional term limits.
"I came to protest everything that I don't like about this government and I don't like a single thing starting with (the president's) arrogance," said Marta Morosini, a 74-year-old retiree. "They're killing policemen like dogs, and the president doesn't even open her mouth. This government is just a bunch of hooligans and corrupters."
Police officials said the crowd numbered at least 30,000, while some local media that are among Fernandez's strongest foes estimated hundreds of thousands turned out.
Other demonstrations were held on plazas across Argentina, including in major cities like Cordoba, Mendoza and La Plata, while protesters massed outside Argentine embassies consulates from Chile to Australia.
In Rome, about 50 protesters, all Argentine expats, held a noisy protest outside the consulate on Via Veneto. Among the slogans being shouted was "Cristina, go away."
About 200 demonstrators braved rain in Madrid to bang pots outside the Argentine consulate.
"In Argentina, there's no separation of power and it cannot be considered a democracy," said Marcelo Gimenez, a 40-year-old from Buenos Aires who has been living in Spain for two years. "Cristina is not respecting the constitution. The presidency is not a blank check and she must govern for those who are for her and against her."
The protests hold deep symbolism for Argentines, who recall the country's economic debacle of a decade ago. The "throw them all out" chants of that era's pot-banging marches forced presidents from office and left Argentina practically ungovernable until Fernandez's late husband, Nestor Kirchner, assumed the presidency in 2003.
"We came here because we don't want Cristina," said Shirley Brener, a 12-year-old student who protested in Buenos Aires with her mother, Monica, a 48-year-old school director.
The president's supporters paid little attention to two earlier protests this year, but when it became clear the latest effort could turn out big numbers, her loyalists spoke out in her defense. They dismissed the protesters as being part of the wealthy elite or beholden to discredited opposition parties.
Fernandez didn't directly refer to the protest in a speech Thursday, but she defended policies, saying they helped rescue Argentina from its worst economic crisis a decade ago and buoyed it during the 2009 world financial downturn.
"During boom times it's easy to run a country but try running when it's crumbling down," Fernandez said while urging Argentines to support her and pledging never to give up as her late husband taught her.
"Never let go, not even in the worst moments," she said. "Because it's in the worst moments when the true colors of a leader of a country comes out."
Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, a member of the opposition and a fervent Fernandez critic, praised the big protest via Twitter. "People are being heard nationwide joined by a single flag," he said.
Polls suggest neither side has a firm grip on Argentines' sympathies.
Fernandez easily won re-election just a year ago with 54 percent of the vote but saw her approval rating fall to 31 percent in a nationwide survey in September by the firm Management & Fit. The poll of 2,259 people, which had an error margin of about two percentage points, also said 65 percent of respondents disapproved of her opponents' performance.
Crime is the biggest concern for many of her critics.
Newspapers and television programs provide a daily diet of stories about increasingly bold home invasion robberies, in which armed bands tie up families until victims hand over the cash that many Argentines have kept at home since the government froze savings accounts and devalued the currency in 2002. The vast majority of the crimes are never solved, while the death toll is rising.
Inflation also upsets many. The government's much-criticized index puts inflation at about 10 percent annually, but private economists say prices are rising about three times faster than that. Real estate transactions have slowed to a standstill because of the difficulty in estimating future values, and unions that won 25 percent pay hikes only a few months ago are threatening to strike again unless the government comes up with more.
The phrase "Cristina or nothing" was stenciled on buildings surrounding the Plaza de Mayo.
Demonstrators held up signs accusing the president of arrogance. While some featured a lengthy list of demands, others simply said "basta" — enough.
___
Associated Press writers Michael Warren, Almudena Calatrava and Emily Schmall in Buenos Aires; Frances D'Emilio in Rome; Jorge Sainz in Madrid; and Luis Andres Henao in Santiago, Chile, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/SQpHjjThis is an excerpt from Evidence Considered: A Response to Evidence for God (available here). Evidence for God is a book edited by William Dembski and Michael Licona that presents fifty arguments for faith from the Bible, history, philosophy, and science. This chapter responds to an essay by Gary Habermas entitled: “Near-Death Experiences: Evidence for an Afterlife?” This is one of the arguments contained in the philosophy section. The endnotes have been removed.
Habermas discusses accounts of near-death experiences, stating that they have been reported throughout history. He mentions reports with “claims of floating above one’s dying body, traveling down a dark tunnel, encountering or even being welcomed by a loving being of light, perhaps meeting deceased loved ones, hearing beautiful sounds and seeing wonderful colors, and then afterward losing the fear of death.” He says that critics sometimes claim that “even similar sightings such as these may indicate nothing more than the presence of common brain chemistry among humans.”
However, Habermas continues, some near-death experience reports include verifiable data. “For example, in dozens of [near-death experience] accounts, the dying person claims that, precisely during their emergency, they actually observed events that were subsequently confirmed. These observations may have occurred in the emergency room when the individual was in no condition to be observing what was going on around them. Sometimes the data are reported from a distance away from the scene and actually may not have been observable from the individual’s location even if they had been healthy, with the normal use of their senses.”
He goes on to say that some of these reports occurred when the dying person had no heartbeat for an extended period and even no brain activity. Blind people have given accurate descriptions of their surroundings, without ever having seen anything before or since.
The example that he gives is one “well-documented case” of a little girl who nearly drowned and did not register a pulse for nineteen minutes. Here is the story as related and quoted by Habermas:
Her emergency room physician, pediatrician Melvin Morse, states that he “stood over Katie’s lifeless body in the intensive care unit.” An emergency CAT scan indicated that Katie had massive brain swelling, no gag reflex, and was “profoundly comatose.” Morse notes that, “When I first saw her, her pupils were fixed and dilated, meaning that irreversible brain damage had most likely occurred.” Her breathing was done by an artificial lung machine. She was given very little chance of surviving.
But then, just three days later, Katie unexpectedly made a full recovery. In fact, when she revived, she reproduced an amazing wealth of information regarding the emergency room, specific details of her resuscitation, along with physical descriptions of the two physicians who worked on her. All this occurred while she was completely comatose and most likely without any brain function whatsoever. As Morse recounts, “A child with Katie’s symptoms should have the absence of any brain function and therefore should comprehend nothing.”
It took her almost an hour to recall all the recent details. However, part of the story made no sense in usual medical terms. Katie related that during her comatose state, she was visited by an angel named Elizabeth, who allowed her to look in on her family at home. Katie correctly reported very specific details concerning what her siblings were doing, even identifying a popular rock song that her sister listened to, watched her father, and then observed as her mom cooked a meal that she correctly identified: roast chicken and rice. She described the clothing and positions of her family members. Later, she shocked her parents by telling them these details that had occurred only a few days before.
Habermas states that the naturalistic explanations such as oxygen deprivation cannot account for these kinds of detailed stories.
Habermas goes on to say that several descriptions in the Bible seem like near-death experiences. Luke 16:19–31 is the parable of Lazarus the beggar that “sounds somewhat similar to contemporary reports [of near-death experiences].” Acts 7:54–60 is the stoning of Stephen in which he says “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” And 2 Cor 12:1–10 describes Paul’s vision of being caught up to the third heaven. He admits that “tough questions” exist (a phrase he uses three times), and states that more research is needed, but that “these occurrences still argue for a supernatural reality beyond this present reality, thereby presenting serious challenges to naturalism. This may be the chief worldview contribution of [near-death experience] research.”
Response
Habermas is presenting us with a transcendental interpretation of a near-death experience, that is the view that consciousness can become separated from the brain under certain conditions and give us a glimpse into a different realm. This view is at odds with the dominant neuroscientific view, which says that consciousness is a brain function. The Wikipedia article on near-death experiences is very thorough and references a lot of other research. Much of the research referenced was written long before 2010 (when Evidence for God was published), which makes its absence from Habermas’s essay surprising. The full Melvin Morse story had not yet come to light by then, however, so we may excuse this part (which I will discuss shortly), though it does show the danger inherent in dealing with this kind of subject, where evidence is paramount because of the ramifications of the claims.
To begin with near-death experiences in general, Kenneth Ring wrote a book in which he classified them on a five-stage continuum as:
feelings of peace and contentment; a sense of detachment from the body; entering a transitional world of darkness (rapid movements through tunnels: ‘the tunnel experience’); emerging into bright light; and ‘entering the light.’
Karl Jansen published a paper in 1996 which concluded that “ketamine administered by intravenous injection, in appropriate dosage, is capable of reproducing all of the features of the [near-death experience] which have been commonly described in the most cited works in this field.” He says that “[a]s might be predicted in a mental state with a neurobiological origin, mundane accounts with less symbolic meaning also occur, e.g. children who may ‘see’ their schoolfellows rather than God and angels.” He states that “Ketamine is a short-acting, hallucinogenic, ‘dissociative’ anesthetic. The anesthesia is the result of the patient being so ‘dissociated’ and ‘removed from their body’ that it is possible to carry out surgical procedures. This is wholly different from the ‘unconsciousness’ produced by conventional anesthetics … anesthetists prevent patients from having NDE’s (‘emergence phenomena’) by the co-administration of sedatives which produce ‘true’ unconsciousness rather than dissociation.”
He also describes that this is not a coincidence, as the biochemical effects of ketamine are somewhat similar to the effect of cell death from lack of oxygen, a lack of blood, and from epileptic fits, and not at all like the effects of psychedelic drugs.
This would appear at a glance to wrap up the vast majority of the cases. But a challenge remains, in the form of cases where the person close to death has obtained some special knowledge, such as the story quoted above. In general, an attitude of skepticism will serve well, not accepting such claims until provided with extraordinary evidence. The case Habermas chooses to present is certainly not that. At first glance, it may seem impressive, as we have a doctor attesting to aspects of this story. It turns out that Morse is the only one attesting to these stories, and that he is a doctor with a particular interest in near-death experiences, who has written many books on the subject. Immediately, his interest in it should pique our suspicion that we need more evidence than Morse alone. Even in this story as given, it is unclear how Morse verified the various facts. But anyone can imagine how two stories could seem to correlate to an interested party.
“She said you had chicken. Did you have chicken?”
“Yes, that sounds right. Which night did you mean? It was a few days ago now, but I think so.”
“Wow, so she saw you eating chicken!”
The point is that how you collect the evidence is important. The story of Melvin Morse gets more interesting. In 2014 he was convicted of waterboarding his wife’s eleven-year-old daughter and sentenced to three years in prison. This would appear to be turning an interest into an obsession. However, the issue is the lack of evidence. Morse presents himself as a doctor and therefore a reliable witness, but his character would seem to be in question, and his evidence collection leaves a lot to be desired. A comment on this: people bandy about stories like this, and one might be tempted to see the sheer number of them as evidence. But when given a single example to chase down, it tends to evaporate into nothing. This parallels my experience of trying to pin down evidence for faith in general.
We could stop here, as Habermas has presented no compelling evidence of a supernatural reality. But I would like to continue a little further — the truth is not so fragile that it does not bear closer examination.
In 2001, a project known as the AWARE study (AWAreness during REsuscitation) was begun, coordinated by Sam Parnia from Southampton University. This involved placing figures on suspended boards facing the ceiling in resuscitation units at many different hospitals. The boards are not visible from the floor. Parnia wrote, “anybody who claimed to have left their body and be near the ceiling during resuscitation attempts would be expected to identify those targets.” So far, no-one has seen the boards. A second, larger trial is underway with results due on May 31, 2017. If someone did “see” the image, I would be more inclined to look for playful interns or reflective surfaces, but I do not think a healthy skepticism should prevent us searching. This research is on-going, but so far there have not been any results that would require a separation of mind and brain.
Lastly, let us look at the theology of this, in which there are indeed some “tough questions.” Habermas adduces three Bible verses. Luke 16:19–31 which is a parable, and includes the idea of Hades as a place of torment. I think most modern Christians are dialing back on this idea of hell, a place of such obvious injustice that it throws the whole system into disrepute. But to stay focused, this is just a parable, and cannot be counted as a near-death experience. Acts 7:54–60 relates the stoning of Stephen. However, Stephen says that he sees heaven open before they rush him outside and stone him. There is no indication that he was not the picture of good health at the time he claimed to have a vision so this too cannot be a near-death experience. Finally, 2 Corinthians 12:1–10 is Paul’s vision of the third heaven. We know that Paul was prone to visions, and it is at best speculation that this was a near-death experience: he does not even mention an illness or injury. So these are all rather weak. Even Answers in Genesis (hardly a skeptical source) has an article dismissing visits to heaven on theological grounds: “Far too much of the present interest in heaven, angels, and the afterlife stems from carnal curiosity. It is not a trend biblical Christians should encourage or celebrate.”
On the other hand, these experiences happen to people regardless of religion so even if it did reveal some realm beyond the natural (which it does not so far) it would not provide any evidence for god, gods, or any specific religion.Finland always enters major tournaments flying under the proverbial radar, but often ends up being a surprise team.
That happened at the 1998 Nagano Olympics when Finland took bronze. It happened again in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey when Finland played in the final against Canada. In 2006, the Finnish "Lions" returned to the final at the Turin Olympics and then captured another Olympic bronze medal in Vancouver in 2010.
This time around, it seems that Finland has gone from flying under the radar to being in stealth mode.
And that's just the way they like it.
Since NHL players began participating in the Olympics in 1998, Finland is the only team that has been on the podium three times. Canada, Russia, the United States and the Czech Republic have all medaled twice; Sweden has once.
Sure, they've never won gold, but that doesn't mean they can't make life difficult for other teams. And in a short tournament like the Olympics, a good system, solid team play and the best goalie in the world can take you far.
Erkka Westerlund, known as the "hockey professor" in Finland, is back behind the bench for Finland. He and the rest of the braintrust, which includes Hockey Hall-of-Famer Jari Kurri as the general manager and Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen as his assistant, spent the early months of 2013 trying to analyze the players and trends in international hockey.
Kurri has preferred to keep his findings "off the record," but there are plenty of players who could make their mark on a Finnish Olympic team that should continue to surprise in Sochi.
PROJECTED FORWARDS
Tuomo Ruutu Mikko Koivu Jussi Jokinen Leo Komarov Valtteri Filppula Mikael Granlund Teemu Selänne Saku Koivu Lauri Korpikoski Juhamatti Aaltonen Petri Kontiola Olli Jokinen Teemu Hartikainen Jarkko Immonen
Back in 2002, Westerlund was behind the Finnish bench at the IIHF World Junior Championships. He guided the team to the bronze medal, thanks largely to contributions from the first line of Tuomo Ruutu, Mikko Koivu and Jussi Jokinen. While Ruutu's NHL season has been disappointing, he would be a nice fit on the top line in a defined role playing alongside Koivu and Jokinen. This would also give Westerlund a second-line center in Valtteri Filppula, who played on Koivu's wing in the 2012 IIHF World Championships.
Filppula, a conscientious two-way center, has proved this year that he has offensive qualities, too. Mikael Granlund on the wing will give the second line a whole new dimension, especially on the big ice surface. Komarov on the other side will bring physicality that the line would otherwise lack.
With a legendary hockey IQ, Saku Koivu is generally considered the Einstein of hockey in his home country. The former first-line center and Montreal Canadiens captain has evolved into a quintessential third-line center. Now with the Anaheim Ducks, Koivu still ranked fourth on the team in faceoffs taken on Nov. 23 despite missing more than a dozen games with a concussion. When healthy, he is also coach Bruce Boudreau's go-to guy on the penalty kill. With Teemu Selanne by his side, the duo can provide Finland with secondary scoring, something all teams need in a short tournament.
Including their two extra forwards, the Finnish team has seven natural centers and lots of skating power, which has been the foundation of Westerlund's teams.
PROJECTED DEFENSEMEN
Kimmo Timonen Sami Salo Ossi Väänänen Sami Vatanen Sami Lepistö Olli Määttä Lasse Kukkonen Juuso Hietanen
It's not difficult to find Finland's potential achilles' heel. This season, only five Finnish-born defensemen have played in the NHL. Of them, Sami Salo is already 39 years old and Kimmo Timonen will turn 39 three weeks after the Olympic tournament ends. There could be a future star in 19-year-old Olli Määttä, but that's the extent of what Finland will be working with, with the Ducks' Sami Vatanen taking the last spot in the top two pairings.
Timonen and Salo have shown they can still play at a high level, as both are averaging around 20 minutes a game. But the remaining two pairings come from the Kontinental Hockey League and the Finnish league. Ossi Väänänen played nearly 500 NHL games during his time with the Phoenix Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche in the early 2000s, and Sami Lepistö played close to 200 games with four teams between 2007 and 2012.
Finland will have to rely on solid team defense and a tight system. And of course, the goaltending. Fortunately, Kurri has several world-class options to choose from in net.
PROJECTED GOALIES
Tuukka Rask Antti Niemi Kari Lehtonen
Yes, Finland has several top goalies. But picking the starter may still be the least of Westerlund's problems.
Entering NHL action on Nov. 23, Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask led the League with a.945 save percentage and his 1.62 goals-against average was in the top three. Rask may very well be the world's best goalie entering the Olympic tournament.
Should Rask falter, Finland does have excellent goaltenders to back him up. Kari Lehtonen was also on the 2002 World Junior team with Ruutu, Koivu, Jokinen, and Westerlund, and has earned a spot on the Olympic team with his play with the Dallas Stars.
A Vezina Trophy finalist in 2013, Antti Niemi has slipped a little in the last few weeks but is due to return to his early-season level, which spells trouble for opposing teams.
NEXT IN LINE
Jori Lehtera is a 25-year-old center currently starring for Siber Novosibirsk in the KHL. Aleksander Barkov, the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, could play his way onto the team. If the management team decides more size is needed, Jesse Joensuu of the Edmonton Oilers could be an option.
Jere Karalahti is a 38-year-old defenseman for Jokerit Helsinki in the Finnish league with prior international experience. Maybe the biggest wild card for the country is Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, who was probably the favorite to be the starter before this season but is currently on Injured Reserve because of an infection in his hip.Continue Reading Below Advertisement
In the second act, Tamora surprises Titus' daughter Lavinia and her fiance, Bassianus, in the forest. Tamora has her sons kill the fiance and throw him in a pit. Then they drag Lavinia offstage to violently rape her. And that's when the mutilation starts.
Wait WTF?
Tamora only wants to kill Bassianus to get back at Titus and has nothing against Lavinia -- but, hey, she's a professed virgin, so she figures, "As long as she's around, why not encourage my sons to gang-rape and mutilate her too? It's early in the day."
Lavinia: O, keep me from their worse than killing lust
And tumble me into some loathsome pit,
Where never man's eye may behold my body:
Do this, and be a charitable murderer.
Tamora: So should I rob my sweet sons of their fee?
No, let them satisfy their lust on thee.
-- Titus Andronicus, Act II Scene ii, Lines 175-180
Via Wikipedia
"Bye now! Don't be a stranger!"
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To be clear, Lavinia begs Tamora to kill her and keep her much-valued chastity intact -- but Tamora doesn't want to gyp her sons for the great job they just did of stabbing her fiance to death and throwing him in a pit, so she gives them the OK to rape her. Remind us not to hire Tamora and Sons Contractors anytime soon.
Getty
"OK, so the total comes out to the flayed corpse of your first-born, and a three way with your mother."
And that's just the beginning. The sons (Demetrius and Chiron) drag her offstage to her horrendous fate, and in the next scene they reveal how they're going to keep her quiet. If you guessed "cut off her hands and tongue and leave her alone in the middle of the woods, then engage in a pun-battle about what they just did to her," you guessed right!
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Demetrius: So, now go tell, an if thy tongue can speak,
Who 'twas that cut thy tongue and ravish'd thee.
Chiron: Write down thy mind, betray thy meaning so,
An if thy stumps will let thee play the scribe.Caitlin McCormack creates crocheted animals that appear to decay in front of your eyes, delicate corpses crafted from cotton string and glue. To produce each of her sculptures she must stiffen the string which produces a consistency similar to the bone tissue of the animals she is recreating. These fragile remains appear extremely macabre, a |
prevent further confusion.
* We now visualize recursive_mutex (DevDiv#992590/Connect#926641).
* We now visualize future and promise (DevDiv#1014393).
* We now visualize initializer_list and chrono::duration.
* The visualizers for tree iterators (map/multimap/set/multiset) now detect end iterators.
<random> Fixes
* mt19937_64 is supposed to take 64-bit seeds, but it was truncating them to 32-bit (DevDiv#619912/Connect#779231).
* The output of piecewise_linear_distribution was completely incorrect (DevDiv#665556/Connect#783628).
* The output of generate_canonical() was completely incorrect (DevDiv#844616/Connect#811611).
* The output of binomial_distribution was incorrect for some parameters like (100, 0.991) (DevDiv#940047, DevDiv#1188781/Connect#1444620).
* Distributions and their param_types are supposed to have matching constructors including explicitness, but many differed (DevDiv#977224, DevDiv#1076782/Connect#1021566).
Iostream/Locale Fixes
* put_time() incorrectly treated %z (time zone offset) as a synonym of %Z (time zone name/abbreviation) (DevDiv#821666/Connect#808156). This was actually a bug in the CRT’s strftime(), which was fixed by James McNellis.
* Parsing floating-point with iostream’s operator>>() had inaccurate results (DevDiv#938627/Connect#866093, DevDiv#961116/Connect#890195). We’ve substantially improved the correctness here, although we’re still getting a few corner cases wrong, and there are significant performance issues. In the next major version, we’re planning to switch back to the CRT for floating-point parsing, which has been overhauled for complete correctness (and is much faster than iostream’s separate codepaths). Note that in VS 2015, the stod()/to_string() family has been rewritten to use the CRT as required by the Standard.
* We fixed a couple of read overruns in iostream’s floating-point and integer parsing (DevDiv#900436/Connect#829931, DevDiv#911845/Connect#840103).
* collate::transform() misbehaved when given inputs consisting entirely of null characters, throwing an exception on x86 and allocating a huge string on x64 (DevDiv#869525/Connect#814337).
* basic_istream::ignore(n, delim) was comparing n to INT_MAX, instead of numeric_limits<streamsize>::max() as required by the Standard (DevDiv#964171/Connect#894605). This was a behavioral problem, not cosmetic (we have 32-bit int and 64-bit streamsize).
* time_get::do_get_year() thought that the world will end in 2035 (DevDiv#640278). Old behavior:
[0, 135] parsed as [1900, 2035]
[136, 1899] set failbit
[1900, 2035] parsed literally
[2036, 9999] set failbit
New behavior:
[0, 68] parsed as [2000, 2068]
[69, 99] parsed as [1969, 1999]
[100, 9999] parsed literally
* Additionally, time_get::do_get_year() wasn’t following N4527 22.4 [locale.categories]/2 “The get() members take an ios_base::iostate& argument whose value they ignore, but set to ios_base::failbit in case of a parse error.” (DevDiv#990695), because it wasn’t ignoring the incoming value.
* We fixed an inconsistency in our internal _Yarn machinery that affected the Intel compiler (DevDiv#879860/Connect#817221). (It’s named that way because yarn is similar to string and cats love yarn.)
<system_error> Fixes
* system_category().default_error_condition() was thoroughly incorrect, affecting most uses of system_category() (DevDiv#781294/Connect#800821). Given a Windows error code, if its value happened to be a valid Posix error code value (but not necessarily the same meaning – typically a totally different meaning!), it would return that value tagged with generic_category(). Now we’re implementing N4527 19.5.1.5 [syserr.errcat.objects]/4 properly: “If the argument ev corresponds to a POSIX errno value posv, the function shall return error_condition(posv, generic_category()). Otherwise, the function shall return error_condition(ev, system_category()). What constitutes correspondence for any given operating system is unspecified.”
* Error category objects didn’t behave properly across different DLLs/EXEs (DevDiv#666062, DevDiv#1095970/Connect#1053790). The tale of woe here was complicated. Calling generic_category(), for example, is supposed to return a reference to a single unique object, regardless of where it’s called. This is usually achieved by separate compilation into the STL’s DLL (or static LIB). However, we can’t separately compile error_category machinery, because it has a virtual message() returning std::string, whose representation is affected by _ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL. So, generic_category() is implemented header-only – but that means that different user DLLs end up with different instantiations and therefore different objects. (It’s also possible for this to cause trouble between a user’s EXE and the STL’s DLL.) We fixed this to achieve as much conformance as possible. We’ve taught error_category, its derived classes, and its operator==()/operator!=() to consider all generic_category() objects to be equal, even if they live at different addresses in different DLLs (and similarly for the other error category objects in the Standard). This has been implemented so that user-defined error category objects will be unaffected. The only thing we can’t fix is a direct comparison of error_category addresses (code should use operator==() instead).
* system_category().message() now uses FormatMessage() to stringize Windows error codes (DevDiv#1101599/Connect#1075847). This provides more detailed messages for many more error codes than the table we previously used.
Container Fixes
* The map/set family rejected empty lambdas as comparators (DevDiv#375529/Connect#727957). This was an example of an STL-wide problem – we attempted to optimize away empty comparators/allocators/etc., but did so inconsistently and incorrectly (e.g. by assuming that empty objects must be default constructible, which is false). unique_ptr and unordered_meow also had trouble with deriving from user-defined deleters/hashers (e.g. unordered_meow was callable like a functor). I fixed this by implementing a compressed pair with the Empty Base Class Optimization, then overhauling the STL to use it. This centralized compressed pair handles everything correctly – e.g. it doesn’t assume default constructible types, it respects final classes, and it must be used as a data member (preventing the unique_ptr/unordered_meow problems). Here’s an exhaustive list of what was updated:
Sequence containers: deque, forward_list, list, vector (empty allocators)
Associative containers: map/etc. (empty comparators, empty allocators)
Unordered containers: unordered_map/etc. (empty hashers, empty equality predicates, empty allocators)
<functional>: bind() (empty callable objects)
<functional>: function (empty allocators)
<memory>: shared_ptr, allocate_shared() (empty deleters, empty allocators)
<memory>: unique_ptr (empty deleters)
<string>: basic_string (empty allocators)
* The compressed pair overhaul also fixed a compiler error when attempting to convert-move-construct unique_ptrs with custom deleters (DevDiv#1076756/Connect#1021477).
* unordered_meow’s a.rehash(n) didn’t quite achieve N4527 23.2.5 [unord.req]’s postcondition “a.bucket_count() > a.size() / a.max_load_factor() and a.bucket_count() >= n” (DevDiv#824596).
* unordered_meow insertion was invoking the equality predicate too often, which harmed performance slightly.
* vector’s insert(const_iterator, const T&) and insert(const_iterator, size_type, const T&) were copying instead of moving elements around (DevDiv#824985).
* list::sort() and forward_list::sort() assumed that they could default-construct allocators, which isn’t guaranteed (DevDiv#920385). I fixed this by rewriting them from scratch, so they don’t attempt to allocate any memory now.
* The STL was always requiring allocators to be assignable (DevDiv#1119194/Connect#1114355). Now we’re correctly following N4527 17.6.3.5 [allocator.requirements]/4, which requires allocators to be CopyAssignable/MoveAssignable/swappable when POCCA/POCMA/POCS are true.
“Fools!”, hissed the Dark Lord. “You have entered the realm of allocators, where I have mastery over the lifetimes of all things!” Then he chanted horrifying words of power: “Pocca, pocma, pocs…”
Other Fixes
* <algorithm>’s search() eagerly called distance(), which wasn’t very friendly to weaker-than-random iterators (DevDiv#1003120/Connect#940497). Now we have separate implementations for random and weaker iterators.
* stable_sort() performed self-move-assignments, which aren’t required to be tolerated by elements (DevDiv#957501/Connect#886652).
* regex_match()/regex_search() weren’t correctly setting m.prefix().matched/m.suffix().matched (DevDiv#903531).
* basic_regex’s copy constructor wasn’t thread-safe (DevDiv#1158803/Connect#1253646).
* is_assignable didn’t tolerate overloaded comma operators (DevDiv#938759).
* is_trivially_copyable returned incorrect answers (DevDiv#807340/Connect#806233, DevDiv#940515/Connect#868824). We had mistakenly implemented it as a synonym of is_trivially_copy_constructible. Now, is_trivially_copyable is implemented with a compiler hook, which has been fixed to return correct answers.
* <string> now provides proper u16string/u32string typedefs (DevDiv#1078492/Connect#1023646).
* The stod() family mishandled INF/NAN inputs by throwing exceptions (DevDiv#1113936/Connect#1098595). We’re now following the Standards exactly.
* bitset’s constructor was validating characters, but not following N4527 20.6.1 [bitset.cons]/5 exactly (DevDiv#931383).
* pair/tuple didn’t have defaulted move constructors as required by the Standard (DevDiv#961569/Connect#891428).
* The STL now tolerates _USE_32BIT_TIME_T, but that option is still incredibly evil (DevDiv#972321/Connect#904065, DevDiv#1026777/Connect#972033).
* The option _HAS_EXCEPTIONS=0 is undocumented, untested, and unsupported by Microsoft. We pick it up from Dinkumware’s master sources and try not to mess with it. At our discretion, we’re occasionally willing to fix major problems with this option. The bug report DevDiv#1073766/Connect#1015473 observed that 2015’s support for noexcept was emitting EH logic even for _HAS_EXCEPTIONS=0. We chose to fix this, so 2015’s _HAS_EXCEPTIONS=0 will behave like 2013’s did.
* By implementing constexpr, we’ve fixed all “missing constexpr” bugs (DevDiv#961568/Connect#891373, DevDiv#1074023/Connect#1015584, DevDiv#1148036/Connect#1211985), with a very small number of exceptions that are being tracked.
Library Issues
Between VS 2015 CTP1 and RTM, we implemented 23 C++14/17 Library Issues (which are fixes for bugs in the Standard itself):
Jonathan Caves implemented LWG 2129 enforcement in the compiler, because the STL by itself couldn’t prevent users from explicitly/partially specializing initializer_list.
I’m keeping track of all C++14/17 Library Issues in a table, but it’s grown really big (210 rows), so I’ll just summarize it. 109 issues are N/A (nothing for an implementer to do). 32 issues were implemented in VS 2013 (and possibly earlier). 47 issues were newly implemented in VS 2015 (24 listed last year plus 23 listed here). 22 issues remain to be implemented.
Breaking Changes
* During TR1/C++0x’s evolution, many type traits went through name changes before being finalized in C++11. In VS 2013, we supported both the old names and the new names. Although the old names were synonyms for the new names (so we didn’t have divergent implementations), this was undesirable for several reasons. First, it created a confusing mess of names. Second, it encouraged non-Standard code to be written, for no benefit whatsoever. Finally, it embiggened <type_traits> and reduced compiler throughput, however slightly. So in VS 2015, we’ve removed the old names. If you were using them, you’ll have to change your code to use the new names. (They’re synonymous, so there’s no behavioral impact.)
Here’s the mapping from Old Name (TR1/C++0x) ==> New Name (C++11 and beyond):
add_reference ==> add_lvalue_reference
has_default_constructor ==> is_default_constructible
has_copy_constructor ==> is_copy_constructible
has_move_constructor ==> is_move_constructible
has_copy_assign ==> is_copy_assignable
has_move_assign ==> is_move_assignable
has_nothrow_constructor ==> is_nothrow_default_constructible
has_nothrow_default_constructor ==> is_nothrow_default_constructible
has_nothrow_copy ==> is_nothrow_copy_constructible
has_nothrow_copy_constructor ==> is_nothrow_copy_constructible
has_nothrow_move_constructor ==> is_nothrow_move_constructible
has_nothrow_assign ==> is_nothrow_copy_assignable
has_nothrow_copy_assign ==> is_nothrow_copy_assignable
has_nothrow_move_assign ==> is_nothrow_move_assignable
has_trivial_constructor ==> is_trivially_default_constructible
has_trivial_default_constructor ==> is_trivially_default_constructible
has_trivial_copy ==> is_trivially_copy_constructible
has_trivial_copy_constructor ==> is_trivially_copy_constructible
has_trivial_move_constructor ==> is_trivially_move_constructible
has_trivial_assign ==> is_trivially_copy_assignable
has_trivial_copy_assign ==> is_trivially_copy_assignable
has_trivial_move_assign ==> is_trivially_move_assignable
has_trivial_destructor ==> is_trivially_destructible
Note that throughout the STL, we’re still supporting std::tr1::MEOW as an alias of std::MEOW, for names that made it into the C++11 Standard unchanged. (For example, is_void.) This support will be removed in the future.
* In <future>, we’ve removed a couple of non-Standard flags. Here’s the mapping from non-Standard ==> Standard:
launch::any ==> launch::async | launch::deferred
launch::sync ==> launch::deferred
* In the Standard (and all versions of VS), priority_queue<T> has a “const T& top() const” member function. In VS 2015, we’ve removed a non-Standard “T& top()” overload. This non-const overload was eye-meltingly dangerous, because it could accidentally be used to violate the data structure’s invariants.
* After reimplementing timed_mutex/recursive_timed_mutex, we had to remove their native_handle_type/native_handle(), because they don’t directly wrap an underlying implementation anymore. Note that this is permitted by the Standard; see N4527 30.2.3 [thread.req.native]/1: “Several classes described in this Clause have members native_handle_type and native_handle. The presence of these members and their semantics is implementation-defined.”
Credits
Unless otherwise specified, these fixes were implemented by myself, P.J. Plauger (Dinkumware), Alex Voicu, Artur Laksberg, and Hong Hong.
Stephan T. Lavavej
Senior Developer – Visual C++ Libraries
stl@microsoft.comAndroid, my biggest pet hate – no proxy settings
Earlier this week I started to work at a new company and like most companies these day they have secure WIFI and runs their internal network through a proxy server to connect to the internet. One have to authenticate with the proxy server to access the internet. This is normal procedure for about 99% of all companies out there.
Setting up Android to connect to the secure WIFi was a since. The problem started when I wanted to tell Android what proxy setting to use. To my dismay I found there is no way to define proxy settings on Android, nothing, nada, null. Just google for android wifi proxy server and you will find lots of people complaining about it but I could not find any response from Google on this glaring omission.
Who in their right mind has made a decision like this, and we are not talking here about the first version of Android. I have version 2.1 so they (google) had ample time to fix this. I do not know what the situation is in 2.2. Any 2.2 user want to check for me?
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Last week Benjamin Otte shared some thoughts about GNOME that were pretty stark. It gathered some steam and hit Slashdot and this all happened the week GUADEC was taking place in A Coruña. I wasn’t at GUADEC 🙁 but I can imagine there was some fervent discussion about the blog entry.
The gist of Benjamin’s blog was that people are leaving GNOME, that the project is understaffed, and arguably the reason for this is that GNOME has lost its direction and Red Hat have overtaken the project as the primary contributor-base. Of course I am summarizing, but check out the original post if you feel I am not representing Benjamin’s views fairly.
I wanted to share a few thoughts. To be clear: these thoughts are my own, and I am not speaking on behalf of Canonical, but I am speaking from my experiences as someone who has primarily been affiliated with Ubuntu and as a Canonical employee. My feedback is going to be frank but I really do care about GNOME as a project, and this feedback is intended from a position of love for the project and to be open and transparent about my own experiences as just one set of eyeballs in this story.
Actual eyeballs.
Fortunately, I think all of these problems are solvable, but for them to be solved GNOME is going to need to do a little soul searching to discover and focus on the right problems and explore and deliver the right solutions.
A Little History
To provide a little context, my interest in GNOME pre-dates my involvement in Ubuntu. I have worked on a few applications that use the GNOME platform (Jokosher, Acire, Lernid, and most recently Ubuntu Accomplishments) and I have had a long interest in where the project is moving forward and as a core part of Ubuntu. I used to go to GUADEC every year, and I consider many folks in the GNOME project to be good friends.
While I care about where the project moves forward I too have also become concerned about the direction it is going in, not in terms of the design and user experience of GNOME (there are other, better versed people to assess this work), but instead in terms of how the project works with others such as companies, developers, and other partners.
In my mind GNOME has become bittersweet. I remember back at GUADEC in Stuttgart in 2005, discussions started happening about what form GNOME 3 would be in. As the years progressed the project struggled to decide on a final vision for what GNOME 3 would look like. This is not surprising: GNOME 2 was such a smashing success that GNOME 3 was going to be difficult second album time. Ideas were shared and bike-shedding occurred, but ultimately it seemed that the project was lacking leadership to take take all of these ideas and flip the switch to a vision and design and move it forward.
Around this time Ubuntu had become arguably the most popular way in which people were consuming GNOME and we (Canonical) were hiring more and more people to perform this integration work (which is no light task, as any distro developer will tell you).
If all else fails, bribing people with bubble-wrap grows popularity.
Back then Canonical was taking quite a bit of heat for “never writing code and just shipping other people’s work” (which I always found a misguided viewpoint as integrating and delivering a solid Free Software Operating System is significant work and a great contribution to the wider Free Software commons).
We were starting to find though that there were areas of GNOME 2 that we felt could be improved and expanded (largely based on feedback from our users). We started growing a design competence and hiring developers to build new code to add improvements to the experience. Many technologies were created such as the messaging menu, notify-osd, dbusmenu and the global menu, control center improvements, and ultimately Unity as an additional shell for GNOME.
I remember this time vividly. I was in weekly discussions with Mark Shuttleworth, Rick Spencer (Ubuntu desktop team leader), Ivanka Majic (head of design), and David Barth (head of engineering these components). Our goal was simple: be able to showcase these technologies in Ubuntu and bring value to Ubuntu users, but to also ensure they were contributed to the wider GNOME project as technology that could help the general project in moving forward.
I personally saw this all boil down into pretty simple parts: Canonical and GNOME were partners and it was a mutually beneficial relationship – the GNOME desktop with barely any users defeats it’s purpose and Canonical was helping to deliver it to millions of users in Ubuntu, but Canonical could not build an awesome Ubuntu without the wonderful components in the GNOME desktop to fill in the many different pieces in an OS.
My simple philosophy was also marinaded in the gift culture of Open Source and Free Software: Canonical was paying designers and developers to produce new code that could be of value (and thus offered as a gift to the GNOME commons) and as with all gifts, while it may not be exactly what you want (and may need some adjustments and improvements), I presumed there would be a polite, respectful, and open discourse to take these contributions and bring them into the shared commons that was GNOME, particularly as they were created with GNOME in mind.
This was not my experience of what happened.
Partners
I was really disappointed with what resulted. After years of Canonical and Ubuntu being criticized for not contributing code, when we then engaged in writing code we were met with a frosty, suspicious, and at times, frankly entitled attitude from some parts of the GNOME camp.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Canonical was not perfect here either. I fully admit that some of this relationship could have been handled better (and I am partially to blame here). We made some mistakes early on in which code was released too late and there was sometimes not enough open discussion. Retrospectively, we could definitely have done better in being more pro-active in some parts of the relationship too. At the time we were still learning how to do this, and as such we made some mistakes too.
Canonical wanted to strike the right balance of bringing innovation to Ubuntu releases with new features, but to also openly engage and contribute that innovation to upstreams such as GNOME. My goal here is not to open up a blame game of who did what and when (I will leave that to the commentators 😉 ), but what disappointed me most about the whole situation was that from my personal perspective it seemed that some influential members of the GNOME project were treating Canonical’s contributions more critically and suspiciously than others.
Now I haver never subscribed to conspiracy theories, and I don’t believe that there was a shadowy GNOME Illuminati that was meeting together in a hollowed out volcano to plan how to keep Canonical and their contributions out of GNOME, but I was surprised and disappointed at the attitude that came out of parts of the GNOME project to us, when we were ultimately delivering GNOME to millions of users as well as writing new code that could enhance GNOME. It just seemed incredibly entitled.
The shadowy GNOME Illuminati
There were three things that really blew my mind about all of this:
From my experience of working on volunteer Open Source projects, new volunteers and their code contributions are tremendously valuable. As an example, if someone comes to my current project (Ubuntu Accomplishments) and is willing to propose new, disruptive ideas, and willing to contribute chunks of code, I will treat those people with open arms. Being challenged is a good thing: it keeps us fresh, and a challenging, innovative idea followed up with running code is awesome. Now, of course, this is not to say that writing code automatically gets the contribution into the core project, but I would treat the entire social engagement with someone offering such a gift with positive open discussion to see how we could find a great solution that makes everyone happy. This seems an area where things could be improved with GNOME. If I was also running a project that was understaffed and struggling to define its direction (which I would argue was the case with GNOME at the time) I would treat such new contributions as wonderful ways of solving problems and building a new direction for the project, particularly if our major distributor was going to be delivering that technology anyway. Code is the currency of Open Source, and rejecting chunks of this currency because they don’t fit an as-yet incomplete jigsaw puzzle of a vision just doesn’t make sense. Without sounding egotistical from the perspective of an Ubuntu guy, I would argue that the vast majority of GNOME consumers were getting GNOME in Ubuntu. Of course, there was and continues to be the wonderful work going into Debian, Fedora, OpenSuSE and others, but it seemed that Ubuntu was the most commonly-used GNOME distribution (I suspect it still is). Again, I saw this as a partnership but from my perspective it seemed like parts of the GNOME project saw Ubuntu as fundamentally subservient to GNOME; as if we had an obligation to deliver whatever the GNOME project saw fit, irrespective of our own ideas and feedback from our users. In my position as an Ubuntu guy, I have always tried to treat our upstreams with maximum respect as they are a big part of who we are; Ubuntu is nothing without awesome apps, and a wonderful integrated experience. I guess I just expected a more positive and collaborative experience with GNOME than I experienced…the kind of collaborative experience that I had known and loved in the earlier days of GNOME.
Of course, it takes two to tango and we at Canonical could have no doubt done better to improve our relationship with GNOME, but I remember back then feeling like no matter what we tried to do, we came up against resistance from the GNOME project, and this was de-motivating and no-doubt added stress to our relationship.
GNOME 3
To shift gears a little, one of the points in Benjamin’s post was that GNOME 3 is a Red Hat project. To me this is a bit of a double-edged sword.
On one hand, the crux of his point is entirely valid: most people contributing to GNOME seem to be a clique of Red Hat folks. What concerns me a little are the concerns in parts of the community that Red Hat is “running the show” and that much of the decision-making has been private to Red Hat staff.
Here’s the thing: I don’t doubt that this is probably happening, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. These concerns again highlight what I think continues to be an unrealistic expectation in parts of the GNOME project with those who are willing to invest in the platform (in this case, Red Hat). If Red Hat have decided to invest in a team of developers to work on and bring value to GNOME, building Free Software that can be shared with everyone, these contributions should be received with open arms. Leadership is leadership, irrespective of the employer.
Of course, there needs to be a culture of openness and transparency, and I suspect a certain amount of internal water-cooler chat is happening in Red Hat, but you will find that with any commercial team that is actively engaged in a Free Software project; we just need to always try to keep things as open as possible. GNOME is definitely going to need to ensure that the openness and values of open collaboration are not compromised, and an open and frank discussion with the Red Hat team about resolving these concerns is no doubt the best step forward.
Pictured: a proven conflict resolution technique.
I personally think it is wonderful that Red Hat are investing so much in GNOME and they have arguably led in much of the direction and leadership in delivering GNOME Shell and the various other parts of the platform. What seems ironic to me is that the same criticisms that were thrown at Canonical with Unity (as a perceived competitor to GNOME Shell, which it was never intended to be) are now being leveled at GNOME Shell (“you don’t care about our needs”, “you are pushing your own agenda” etc).
Maybe a solution to this problem is to be open and frank about the relationship with Red Hat. As an example, we always try to be open about our relationship between Ubuntu and Canonical; there is no doubt that Canonical drives a lot of the development and innovation in Ubuntu, although this leadership and innovation is firmly rooted in expectations around openness and collaboration. We don’t try to hide the influence Canonical has on Ubuntu, and I wonder whether the wider GNOME community feels comfortable in accepting the influence Red Hat has on the project. This is always a delicate balance.
I would agree with Benjamin that GNOME is essentially a Red Hat project these days, but as I say this is double-edged: the wonderful benefits of the investment from Red Hat will be tinged with the challenges of how vendor-neutral the project wants to remain.
The Future
So what is the future of GNOME and how can these problems be solved? Can they even be solved in the first place?
I think so.
I love GNOME as a project, and I love the folks involved in it. While we don’t always agree, the core ethos and goal of GNOME is admirable: to bring an awesome Free Software desktop to everyone. While I personally prefer Unity as a shell, I think the work that has gone into GNOME Shell has been a wonderful rebirth of the motivation and focus of GNOME. The architects of this vision should be credited in getting GNOME out of the slump I mentioned earlier that seemed to stem from 2005. Of course, I will always be disappointed that GNOME seemed quite so resistant to much of the contributions we wished to make, and I think we could have helped to have moved things along a little faster, but I am delighted that GNOME 3 has got to the point it has got to.
As I mentioned earlier, my feedback here really has nothing to do with the design and technical direction of GNOME, and others can provide more insightful commentary than me. I do though think this people-problem issue of GNOME being a rather difficult project to work and interface with at times is a problem that has not yet been confronted and resolved. While this problem continues to exist, I worry that it will eat away at GNOME more and more.
GNOME is blessed with some wonderful leaders, and I hope that the content in this post can act as some food for thought: I am not expecting everyone to agree with me, but if this opens up a discussion about these topics I will be happy.
What is not a solution is for us to give up on GNOME. I know some folks are moving on from the project and moving onto other things, and we have more competition than ever for desktops, but I still see GNOME as an important foundational component of the Free Software and Open Source desktop today.
Now, I am sure this blog entry is going to result in some folks screaming from the rafters that I am misrepresenting GNOME and it is all Canonical’s fault, and you are entitled to your view. Traditionally I have not wanted to raise these concerns publicly as I didn’t want to cause any further harm in the relationship between Ubuntu and GNOME, but Benjamin’s blog post seemed to offer a good opportunity to throw out some feedback that might be helpful in constructing a solution.
While I don’t have much time to contribute to GNOME formally these days, I am more than happy to talk more, provide any further feedback, and help where else I can. I would love to see the GNOME project that we know and love be back in a healthier state. Thanks for reading.On the second day of its hearing on the contentious issue of triple talaq, the Supreme Court today said the instant, oral divorce prevalent among Muslims is the "worst and undesirable form" of the dissolution of a marriage, even though there were schools of thought within Indian Islam which termed it as "legal".
There are "school of thoughts (which) say that triple talaq is legal, but it is the worst and not desirable form for dissolution of marriages among Muslims," a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, said as the Supreme Court continued its hearing for the second straight day on the matter.
The Supreme Court's observation is a part of its historic hearing on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of triple talaq and 'nikah halala' among Muslims that began on Thursday with a simple question: is the practice of triple talaq fundamental to Islam?
HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW In the hearing today, former Union Minister and senior advocate Salman Khurshid, who is assisting the court in the matter, said the Supreme Court is not interfering with Islam by discussing the matter. "Islam has been affected by the synthetic culture of India. The court doesn't have to transform Islam into a human face. It is not interfering in the religion, it is rather helping the religion," he said. Khurshid made the remarks in response to Chief Justice Khehar's queries. "Is triple talaq a customary practice or something which is fundamental to religion? The question is: is it customary or a Shariah (Islamic) law? Can something which is sinful be a part of Shariah? There are some people who consider death penalty as sinful but it's legal?", he asked. At this, Justice Nariman - one of the five judges hearing the matter - told Khurshid, "Please be careful about the difference between theory and practice. On the one hand, you say we can't reform religion, and then you ask us to reform so that you are not punished by God." Chief Justice Khehar also asked Khurshid if triple talaq exists outside India, to which Khurshid answered in the negative. A number of Muslim countries - including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia - have abolished the practice of triple talaq. Appearing for one of the triple talaq victims, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani called the practice unconstitutional. "We cannot enforce discrimination on women merely because of their gender. Any rule enforceable by court has to be non-discriminatory. Triple talaq is unconstitutional. Article 14 and Article 15 give protection from discrimination and right to equality. The method of triple talaq abhorrent must be done away with," he said. In its day-long hearing on Thursday, the apex court's constitution bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar also made it clear that the issue of polygamy among the Muslims may not be deliberated upon as it is not connected with the triple talaq issue. The government's counsel made it clear on Thursday that triple talaq as a form of divorce was against gender justice and asserted that it was not part of the religious tenets. Assailing the practise of triple talaq, senior counsel Indira Jaising said that if the free informed consent of the woman was imperative for the union of two people in marriage, then how could the unilateral act of divorce survive. Telling the bench that triple talaq was an extra-judicial act and thus unconstitutional, Jaising told the court that can the status of a woman be changed unilaterally, which she described as "civil death". Jaising, who appeared for the intervenors Bebak Collective and Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, told the bench that all the personal laws should be subject to fundamental rights and "constitution should not stop where personal law starts and all the personal laws, be it of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and other, should stand the scrutiny of the fundamental rights". Another former Union Minister and counsel for All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Kapil Sibal, called triple talaq "a non-issue, as no prudent Muslim would wake up one fine morning and say talaq, talaq and talaq". Sibal said that either Parliament can enact a law or it should be left to the community itself to deal and the court should not interfere on the issue.
Also read | Triple talaq hearing: Ram Jethmalani to argue for RSS forum in Supreme Court
Also read | Why are Sonia Gandhi, Mamata, Mayawati silent on triple talaq, asks Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
Also read | Before triple talaq case, a look at how India's judiciary dealt with personal laws vs the fundamental rights
WATCH VIDEOThey can produce masses of offspring when conditions are right. They become sexually mature after a month, and produce about 10 offspring in each litter. With up to seven litters per year the numbers soon multiply. Every four years or so, their numbers build so much that overcrowding triggers a mass migration to search for new land. Travelling in large numbers over land is risky, and many starve or are eaten by predators. Lemmings can swim, but some do drown accidentally in the water. Hence, a grain of truth behind part of the Disney fabrication. But drowning is by accident not suicide. This boom and bust lifestyle might seem a strange path to follow. But lemmings need to be able to take rapid advantage of food supplies when it becomes available. Several animals living in harsh environments follow this strategy. Locusts in arid regions breed in large numbers when conditions are right, even though the population will crash when ill weather comes or the food runs out. In contrast, conditions in rainforests are far more stable, so you rarely see any one species building up in such numbers. (Posted January 2002)
They then placed the lemmings on a large turntable, like a'merry-go-round' hidden with snow, and got the lemmings running. With some imaginative camera angles and editing, they made a few dozen lemmings look like thousands migrating and rushing to a scene even more startling. After the migration sequence, the lemmings were collected and taken to a cliff top overlooking a river. The documentary crew crouched down hidden from the cameras, and pushed the lemmings over the edge of the |
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NASA's Cassini orbiter captured this image of sunlight glinting off a methane lake on Titan. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA picked robotic missions to Mars, a comet and Saturn's moon Titan as finalists last week for a launch opportunity in 2016, and two of the probes would employ a cutting edge nuclear power source never tested in space. The space agency plans to settle on a single mission in June 2012, fully funding the winner for development and launch later this decade. Although NASA requires the missions to launch by the end of 2017, scientists in charge of all three probes target blastoff in 2015 or 2016. Probes to Titan and comet Wirtanen, a small object composed of a mix of rock and ice, would be powered by Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generators on their journeys into the outer solar system. The nuclear power units, called ASRGs, use less plutonium than existing generators. NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy face a shortage of plutonium-238 nuclear fuel for robotic spacecraft, causing officials to turn to more efficient power generators. The Department of Energy is managing the ASRG's development, and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio has conducted more than 14,000 hours of trouble-free endurance testing of a ground model, according to Lockheed Martin Corp., the prime contractor with the Energy Department for development, fabrication and testing of the ASRG.
Diagram of an Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy
Plutonium is the best way to generate power on deep space probes because solar panels do not receive enough sunlight at such distances. But the U.S. no longer produces plutonium-238, the isotope best suited for space power, and Russia is charging higher prices for access to its stockpile. While scientists lobby to restart U.S. production of plutonium-238, federal agencies started developing a new power generator built around Stirling engines and linear alternators. The new device is called an Advanced Stirling Convertor because it transforms the decay heat of the plutonium-238 fuel into electricity. The Stirling convertor is being developed by Sunpower Inc. of Ohio. Unlike Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, which have powered satellites and probes for nearly 50 years, the ASRG has the added complexity of moving parts. But each ASRG creates between 130 and 140 watts of electricity with 1 kilogram, or about 2.2 pounds, of plutonium-238. More than four times more plutonium would be required to generate the same power in an existing RTG, according to the Energy Department. Officials want to complete extensive ground testing and a low-cost flight demonstration before flying ASRGs on a multi-billion dollar flagship mission. NASA tapped the Discovery program, the agency's line of frequent, relatively inexpensive planetary probes, to test the ASRG system in space for the first time. The mission costs are capped at $425 million, not including the launch vehicle. NASA will also provide two ASRGs at a value of $54 million as government-furnished equipment.
Sketch of the Comet Hopper spacecraft. Credit: NASA/UMD
The Titan Mare Explorer, a proposed craft that would study a methane-ethane sea, would carry two ASRG units to produce electricity. After launching in January 2016, the probe would cruise through space for more than seven years before reaching Titan in 2023, said Ellen Stofan, TiME's principal investigator at Proxemy Research Inc. "We will use two ASRGs and have a 96-day mission in which we accomplish our science goals of characterizing the Titan sea and its environment," Stofan told Spaceflight Now. "The ASRGs last years and years beyond that, of course." The TiME capsule would plunge into Titan's thick atmosphere, parachute through blustery clouds and touch down in a hydrocarbon ocean rich in organic molecules, the building blocks of life. The craft would float in Ligeia Mare, a large sea in Titan's northern hemisphere, and search for complex organic chemistry while studying the ocean's interaction with the moon's robust atmosphere. Lockheed Martin would build the TiME spacecraft and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory would manage the mission for NASA. Another Discovery mission candidate named Comet Hopper would also rely on two ASRG units on its journey to Wirtanen, a small comet about 0.7 miles in diameter, according to Jessica Sunshine, the project's principal investigator from the University of Maryland in College Park. Built by Lockheed Martin and managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Comet Hopper would blast off in late 2015 and reach Wirtanen in 2022 nearly 500 million miles from the sun, nearly the distance of Jupiter's orbit. Wirtanen's orbit brings it within 100 million miles of the sun every five-and-a-half years, and the Comet Hopper probe would land on the icy rock up to four times over two years as the objects fall back toward the sun. The craft would measure changes in the comet as sunlight and heat trigger eruptions of dust and gas.
Artist's concept of the Phoenix lander, the basis for the GEMS mission proposal. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA's third finalist for the next Discovery program mission is the Geophysical Monitoring Station, or GEMS. GEMS would launch in early 2016 and begin an eight-month journey to Mars, where it would parachute into the atmosphere and conduct a rocket-powered landing. The mission would reuse Lockheed Martin's successful Phoenix lander design. The mission would probe the interior of Mars with a seismometer, a penetrating mole instrument to measure subsurface heat, and an experiment to monitor the planet's wobble and dynamic motion. GEMS would be powered with solar arrays like Phoenix and not carry nuclear generators, according to Bruce Banerdt, the mission's chief scientist from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. All three proposals will receive $3 million from NASA to continue concept studies before another review next year to select a mission for flight.Microsoft unveiled some huge news back in April, pledging to allow developers to run reworked Android and iOS apps on Windows. While Microsoft is pushing ahead with its iOS porting tools, the company's Android work has been put on hold. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans have revealed to The Verge that the company has pulled back on dedicating employees to Android app porting, favoring the iOS route instead.
Windows Central reports that Microsoft's Project Astoria, the codename for its Android app porting, has developer forums that have fallen silent. Microsoft has also removed the Android subsystem, that enabled ported apps to run on Windows, from its final version of Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft had been battling performance-related issues, security concerns, and a general wariness of app piracy, we're told.
Android apps on Windows was a quick fix
Microsoft's Android app support has always looked like a quick fix to the company's lack of Windows Phone apps. While the iOS option allows developers to create universal apps across tablets, PCs, and phones, Microsoft's Android implementation is less robust. It would have allowed developers to make very little changes to their Android apps and simply run them only on Windows-powered phones.
It's really no surprise that Microsoft's Android work has been put on hold. Back when Microsoft originally announced its plans at its Build developers conference in April, Windows chief Terry Myerson revealed to The Verge that the company had considered solely supporting iOS. "At times we've thought, let's just do iOS," explained Myerson at the time. The main reason to include Android support, Myerson argued, was to capture a bigger audience of developers in countries where iOS devices aren't available.
Microsoft isn't saying whether its Android tool has been fully killed off, but it's easy to read between the lines of the company's official comment. "The Astoria bridge is not ready yet," says a Microsoft spokesperson, noting that "other tools offer great options" for developers. The example given is for those other great tools is Microsoft's iOS bridge. Microsoft also says it's "committed to offering developers many options to bring their apps to the Windows Platform, including bridges available now for Web and iOS, and soon Win32." That's a big hint that Microsoft is only committed to the web, iOS, and win32. Here's Microsoft's official response in full:Australia makes Google's top 10 censorship list
Updated
Australia comes in at number 10 on a list of countries that have asked the search engine Google to hand over user data or to censor information.
Google has for the first time released information about the number of such requests that it gets from countries around the world.
Top of the list is Brazil, followed by Germany, the United States and India.
Google says the release of the information is the first step towards increased transparency and will give people an insight into government actions and web freedom.
Australia made 17 data removal requests and 155 requests for user information.
Electronic Frontiers Australia's Geordie Guy, who lobbies for internet freedom, says the figure is smaller than expected.
"It does seem quite small. If I had have taken a guess not long ago I probably would have guessed a higher number, particularly in terms of requests to remove content," he said.
"As it stands at the moment though, companies like Google and obviously their service YouTube are fairly good at regulating.
"They don't regulate to quite the extent the Australian Government would like; they tend to only ever regulate material that's illegal or patently offensive, whereas our classification guidelines tend to try and cast a wider net."
Brazil and the United States made the most requests for user data, with Germany and Brazil topping the list for removing online material.
Last year between June and December, Google collected data which showed how often countries asked it to give up personal information and to remove content from its servers.
One possible reason for Brazil being first is the widespread use of Google's social networking site, which throws up many of the same issues that are confronted by Facebook.
Australia's Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis has welcomed the list.
"It actually adds to the transparency of how and when people's personal information may be disclosed," she said.
"And while it's perfectly legal for those requests to be made of Google, it is useful for us to know that those requests are actually being made by law enforcement agencies and also for removal of child pornography as well."
A Google spokesperson was unavailable to discuss the figures, but in a statement the company said it hoped the list will be helpful in discussions about the appropriate scope and authority of government requests and that other companies will make similar disclosures.
The published information is light on detail and Google will not confirm whether these requests were made by government or law enforcement agencies.
According to Mr Guy, that makes sense.
"These types of requests can come in a variety of formats - some of them can be information pertinent to criminal investigations, some of them might be requirements to remove information under Australia's content classification and censorship systems," he said.
"In the case of law enforcement, it may be that Google doesn't wish to prejudice ongoing criminal investigations and in terms of our censorship system, what Australia attempts to censor through its classification framework are government secrets, so they may be obligated to keep that information private."
Google under pressure
The publication of the list comes at a time when Google itself is under fire for privacy breaches.
Canada's privacy commissioner sent an open letter to Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, signed by the privacy heads of nine other countries, including New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The letter urged the internet giant to consider the privacy of individuals as it rolls out new products.
It referred to the recent launch of Google's social networking application Buzz and Streetview.
Google was forced to apologise and make changes to Buzz after it allowed personal material stored on its email service to be shared with contacts in a user's box without their consent.
Australia's Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis says she was approached to sign the letter.
"Our approach always is to work constructively with businesses and governments who have obligations under the privacy acts and we have more of a one-on-one dialogue with Google. We're in regular contact with Google Australia and we discuss things like Streetview and Google Buzz with them," Ms Curtis said.
"We decided that we have a more constructive relationship with Google Australia that we could pursue more on a one-on-one basis.
"We live in a digitised world and of course personal information is out there in the digitised world, so of course I'm very concerned about how all of us and all the businesses and all individuals interact in this online world."
Topics: censorship, internet-culture, australia, brazil, germany, united-states
First postedThis blog is part of a multi-part blog series that shows how to run your applications on Kubernetes. It will use the Couchbase, an open source NoSQL distributed document database, as the Docker
container.
Part 1 explained how to start Kubernetes cluster using Vagrant – Kubernetes on Vagrant
Part 2 did the same for Amazon Web Services – Kubernetes on Amazon Web Services
Part 3 did the same for Google Cloud – Kubernetes on Google Cloud
This fourth part will show:
How to setup and start the Kubernetes cluster on Azure
Run Docker container in the Kubernetes cluster
Expose Pod on Kubernetes as Service
Shutdown the cluster
Many thanks to @colemickens for helping me through this recipe.
Install and Configure Azure CLI
Azure CLI is a command-line interface to develop, deploy and manage Azure applications. This is needed in order to install Kubernetes cluster on Azure.
Install Node:
brew install node ==> Downloading https://homebrew.bintray.com/bottles/node-6.2.0.yosemite.bottle.tar.gz ######################################################################## 100.0% ==> Pouring node-6.2.0.yosemite.bottle.tar.gz ==> Caveats Please note by default only English locale support is provided. If you need full locale support you should either rebuild with full icu: `brew reinstall node --with-full-icu` or add full icu data at runtime following: https://github.com/nodejs/node/wiki/Intl#using-and-customizing-the-small-icu-build Bash completion has been installed to: /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d ==> Summary? /usr/local/Cellar/node/6.2.0: 3,979 files, 40.4M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 brew install node == > Downloading https : //homebrew.bintray.com/bottles/node-6.2.0.yosemite.bottle.tar.gz ######################################################################## 100.0% == > Pouring node - 6.2.0.yosemite.bottle.tar.gz == > Caveats Please note by default only English locale support is provided. If you need full locale support you should either rebuild with full icu : ` brew reinstall node -- with - full - icu ` or add full icu data at runtime following : https : //github.com/nodejs/node/wiki/Intl#using-and-customizing-the-small-icu-build Bash completion has been installed to : / usr / local / etc / bash_completion. d == > Summary? / usr / local / Cellar / node / 6.2.0 : 3, 979 files, 40.4M Install Azure CLI:
npm install -g azure-cli /usr/local/bin/azure -> /usr/local/lib/node_modules/azure-cli/bin/azure > fibers@1.0.13 install /usr/local/lib/node_modules/azure-cli/node_modules/fibers > node build.js || nodejs build.js `darwin-x64-v8-5.0` exists; testing Binary is fine; exiting /usr/local/lib └─┬ azure-cli@0.10.0 ├─┬ adal-node@0.1.17 │ ├── date-utils@1.2.21 │ ├─┬ jws@3.1.3 │ │ ├─┬ base64url@1.0.6 │ │ │ └─┬ meow@2.0.0 │ │ │ ├─┬ camelcase-keys@1.0.0 │ │ │ │ ├── camelcase@1.2.1 │ │ │ │ └── map-obj@1.0.1 │ │ │ ├─┬ indent-string@1.2.2 │ │ │ │ ├── get-stdin@4.0.1 │ │ │ │ └─┬ repeating@1.1.3 │ │ │ │ └── is-finite@1.0.1 │ │ │ ├── minimist@1.2.0 │ │ │ └── object-assign@1.0.0 │ │ └─┬ jwa@1.1.3 │ │ ├── buffer-equal-constant-time@1.0.1 │ │ └─┬ ecdsa-sig-formatter@1.0.5 │ │ └── base64-url@1.2.2 │ ├── node-uuid@1.4.1 │ ├── xmldom@0.1.22 │ └── xpath.js@1.0.6 ├── applicationinsights@0.15.12 ├── async@1.4.2 ├── azure-arm-authorization@2.0.0 ├── azure-arm-batch@0.1.0 ├── azure-arm-cdn@0.1.0-preview ├── azure-arm-commerce@0.1.1 ├── azure-arm-compute@0.18.0 ├── azure-arm-datalake-analytics@0.3.2 ├── azure-arm-datalake-store@0.3.0 ├── azure-arm-dns@0.10.1 ├── azure-arm-hdinsight@0.2.0 ├── azure-arm-hdinsight-jobs@0.1.0 ├── azure-arm-insights@0.11.1 ├── azure-arm-network@0.13.1 ├── azure-arm-rediscache@0.2.1 ├── azure-arm-resource@1.4.4-preview ├── azure-arm-storage@0.13.1-preview ├── azure-arm-trafficmanager@0.10.5 ├─┬ azure-arm-website@0.10.0 │ ├─┬ azure-common@0.9.12 │ │ ├─┬ request@2.45.0 │ │ │ ├── aws-sign2@0.5.0 │ │ │ ├── bl@0.9.5 │ │ │ ├── caseless@0.6.0 │ │ │ ├── forever-agent@0.5.2 │ │ │ ├─┬ form-data@0.1.4 │ │ │ │ ├── async@0.9.2 │ │ │ │ └─┬ combined-stream@0.0.7 │ │ │ │ └── delayed-stream@0.0.5 │ │ │ ├─┬ hawk@1.1.1 │ │ │ │ ├── boom@0.4.2 │ │ │ │ ├── cryptiles@0.2.2 │ │ │ │ ├── hoek@0.9.1 │ │ │ │ └── sntp@0.2.4 │ │ │ ├─┬ http-signature@0.10.1 │ │ │ │ ├── asn1@0.1.11 │ │ │ │ └── assert-plus@0.1.5 │ │ │ ├── mime-types@1.0.2 │ │ │ ├── node-uuid@1.4.7 │ │ │ ├── oauth-sign@0.4.0 │ │ │ └── qs@1.2.2 │ │ └── xml2js@0.2.7 │ └── moment@2.6.0 ├── azure-asm-compute@0.15.0 ├── azure-asm-hdinsight@0.10.2 ├── azure-asm-mgmt@0.10.1 ├── azure-asm-network@0.11.0 ├── azure-asm-sb@0.10.1 ├── azure-asm-sql@0.10.1 ├── azure-asm-storage@0.10.1 ├── azure-asm-subscription@0.10.1 ├── azure-asm-trafficmanager@0.10.3 ├─┬ azure-asm-website@0.10.1 │ └── moment@2.6.0 ├── azure-batch@0.3.0 ├─┬ azure-common@0.9.16 │ ├── dateformat@1.0.2-1.2.3 │ ├── duplexer@0.1.1 │ ├── envconf@0.0.4 │ ├─┬ request@2.45.0 │ │ ├── aws-sign2@0.5.0 │ │ ├── bl@0.9.5 │ │ ├── caseless@0.6.0 │ │ ├── forever-agent@0.5.2 │ │ ├─┬ form-data@0.1.4 │ │ │ ├── async@0.9.2 │ │ │ ├─┬ combined-stream@0.0.7 │ │ │ │ └── delayed-stream@0.0.5 │ │ │ └── mime@1.2.11 │ │ ├─┬ hawk@1.1.1 │ │ │ ├── boom@0.4.2 │ │ │ ├── cryptiles@0.2.2 │ │ │ ├── hoek@0.9.1 │ │ │ └── sntp@0.2.4 │ │ ├─┬ http-signature@0.10.1 │ │ │ ├── asn1@0.1.11 │ │ │ ├── assert-plus@0.1.5 │ │ │ └── ctype@0.5.3 │ │ ├── mime-types@1.0.2 │ │ ├── node-uuid@1.4.7 │ │ ├── oauth-sign@0.4.0 │ │ └── qs@1.2.2 │ ├── validator@3.22.2 │ └── xml2js@0.2.7 ├── azure-gallery@2.0.0-pre.18 ├── azure-graph@0.1.1 ├─┬ azure-keyvault@0.10.1 │ └── node-uuid@1.4.7 ├─┬ azure-monitoring@0.10.2 │ └── moment@2.6.0 ├─┬ azure-storage@0.7.0 │ ├── browserify-mime@1.2.9 │ ├── extend@1.2.1 │ ├── node-uuid@1.4.7 │ ├─┬ readable-stream@2.0.6 │ │ ├── isarray@1.0.0 │ │ ├── process-nextick-args@1.0.7 │ │ └── util-deprecate@1.0.2 │ ├─┬ request@2.57.0 │ │ ├── aws-sign2@0.5.0 │ │ ├─┬ bl@0.9.5 │ │ │ └─┬ readable-stream@1.0.34 │ │ │ └── isarray@0.0.1 │ │ ├── caseless@0.10.0 │ │ ├─┬ form-data@0.2.0 │ │ │ ├── async@0.9.2 │ │ │ └─┬ combined-stream@0.0.7 │ │ │ └── delayed-stream@0.0.5 │ │ ├─┬ har-validator@1.8.0 │ │ │ ├── bluebird@2.10.2 │ │ │ └── commander@2.9.0 │ │ ├── hawk@2.3.1 │ │ ├─┬ http-signature@0.11.0 │ │ │ ├── asn1@0.1.11 │ │ │ └── assert-plus@0.1.5 │ │ ├─┬ mime-types@2.0.14 │ │ │ └── mime-db@1.12.0 │ │ └── qs@3.1.0 │ ├── validator@3.22.2 │ └── xml2js@0.2.7 ├─┬ caller-id@0.1.0 │ └── stack-trace@0.0.9 ├── colors@0.6.2 ├─┬ commander@1.0.4 │ └── keypress@0.1.0 ├── easy-table@0.0.1 ├─┬ event-stream@3.1.5 │ ├── from@0.1.3 │ ├── map-stream@0.1.0 │ ├── pause-stream@0.0.11 │ ├── split@0.2.10 │ └── stream-combiner@0.0.4 ├── eyes@0.1.8 ├── fast-json-patch@0.5.6 ├── github@0.1.6 ├── js2xmlparser@1.0.0 ├── jsrsasign@4.8.2 ├─┬ kuduscript@1.0.6 │ ├── commander@1.1.1 │ └── streamline@0.4.11 ├── moment@2.13.0 ├── ms-rest@1.14.2 ├─┬ ms-rest-azure@1.14.2 │ ├── async@0.2.7 │ └── uuid@2.0.1 ├── node-forge@0.6.23 ├── node-uuid@1.2.0 ├── number-is-nan@1.0.0 ├── omelette@0.1.0 ├─┬ openssl-wrapper@0.2.1 │ ├── debug@0.7.4 │ └── q@0.9.7 ├─┬ read@1.0.7 │ └── mute-stream@0.0.6 ├─┬ readable-stream@1.0.34 │ ├── core-util-is@1.0.2 │ ├── inherits@2.0.1 │ ├── isarray@0.0.1 │ └── string_decoder@0.10.31 ├─┬ request@2.69.0 │ ├── aws-sign2@0.6.0 │ ├── aws4@1.4.1 │ ├─┬ bl@1.0.3 │ │ └─┬ readable-stream@2.0.6 │ │ └── isarray@1.0.0 │ ├── caseless@0.11.0 │ ├─┬ combined-stream@1.0.5 │ │ └── delayed-stream@1.0.0 │ ├── extend@3.0.0 │ ├── forever-agent@0.6.1 │ ├─┬ form-data@1.0.0-rc4 │ │ └── async@1.5.2 │ ├─┬ har-validator@2.0.6 │ │ ├─┬ chalk@1.1.3 │ │ │ ├── ansi-styles@2.2.1 │ │ │ ├── escape-string-regexp@1.0.5 │ │ │ ├─┬ has-ansi@2.0.0 │ │ │ │ └── ansi-regex@2.0.0 │ │ │ ├── strip-ansi@3.0.1 │ │ │ └── supports-color@2.0.0 │ │ ├─┬ commander@2.9.0 │ │ │ └── graceful-readlink@1.0.1 │ │ ├─┬ is-my-json-valid@2.13.1 │ │ │ ├── generate-function@2.0.0 │ │ │ ├─┬ generate-object-property@1.2.0 │ │ │ │ └── is-property@1.0.2 │ │ │ ├── jsonpointer@2.0.0 │ │ │ └── xtend@4.0.1 │ │ └─┬ pinkie-promise@2.0.1 │ │ └── pinkie@2.0.4 │ ├─┬ hawk@3.1.3 │ │ ├── boom@2.10.1 │ │ ├── cryptiles@2.0.5 │ │ ├── hoek@2.16.3 │ │ └── sntp@1.0.9 │ ├─┬ http-signature@1.1.1 │ │ ├── assert-plus@0.2.0 │ │ ├─┬ jsprim@1.2.2 │ │ │ ├── extsprintf@1.0.2 │ │ │ ├── json-schema@0.2.2 │ │ │ └── verror@1.3.6 │ │ └─┬ sshpk@1.8.3 │ │ ├── asn1@0.2.3 │ │ ├── assert-plus@1.0.0 │ │ ├─┬ dashdash@1.13.1 │ │ │ └── assert-plus@1.0.0 │ │ ├── ecc-jsbn@0.1.1 │ │ ├─┬ getpass@0.1.6 │ │ │ └── assert-plus@1.0.0 │ │ ├── jodid25519@1.0.2 │ │ ├── jsbn@0.1.0 │ │ └── tweetnacl@0.13.3 │ ├── is-typedarray@1.0.0 │ ├── isstream@0.1.2 │ ├── json-stringify-safe@5.0.1 │ ├─┬ mime-types@2.1.11 │ │ └── mime-db@1.23.0 │ ├── node-uuid@1.4.7 │ ├── oauth-sign@0.8.2 │ ├── qs@6.0.2 │ ├── stringstream@0.0.5 │ ├── tough-cookie@2.2.2 │ └── tunnel-agent@0.4.3 ├─┬ ssh-key-to-pem@0.11.0 │ ├── asn1@0.1.11 │ └── ctype@0.5.2 ├─┬ streamline@0.10.17 │ ├── fibers@1.0.13 │ ├── galaxy@0.1.12 │ └─┬ source-map@0.1.43 │ └── amdefine@1.0.0 ├── streamline-streams@0.1.5 ├─┬ sync-request@3.0.0 │ ├─┬ concat-stream@1.4.10 │ │ ├── readable-stream@1.1.14 │ │ └── typedarray@0.0.6 │ ├── http-response-object@1.1.0 │ └─┬ then-request@2.2.0 │ ├── http-basic@2.5.1 │ ├─┬ promise@7.1.1 │ │ └── asap@2.0.4 │ └── qs@6.2.0 ├── through@2.3.4 ├── tunnel@0.0.2 ├── underscore@1.4.4 ├── validator@3.1.0 ├─┬ winston@0.6.2 │ ├── async@0.1.22 │ ├── cycle@1.0.3 │ ├── pkginfo@0.2.3 │ └── request@2.9.203 ├── wordwrap@0.0.2 ├─┬ xml2js@0.1.14 │ └── sax@0.5.2 └── xmlbuilder@0.4.3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 npm install - g azure - cli / usr / local / bin / azure -> / usr / local / lib / node_modules / azure - cli / bin / azure > fibers @ 1.0.13 install / usr / local / lib / node_modules / azure - cli / node_modules / fibers > node build. js || nodejs build. js ` darwin - x64 - v8 - 5.0 ` exists ; testing Binary is fine ; exiting / usr / local / lib └─┬ azure - cli @ 0.10.0 ├─┬ adal - node @ 0.1.17 │ ├── date - utils @ 1.2.21 │ ├─┬ jws @ 3.1.3 │ │ ├─┬ base64url @ 1.0.6 │ │ │ └─┬ meow @ 2.0.0 │ │ │ ├─┬ camelcase - keys @ 1.0.0 │ │ │ │ ├── camelcase @ 1.2.1 │ │ │ │ └── map - obj @ 1.0.1 │ │ │ ├─┬ indent - string @ 1.2.2 │ │ │ │ ├── get - stdin @ 4.0.1 │ │ │ │ └─┬ repeating @ 1.1.3 │ │ │ │ └── is - finite @ 1.0.1 │ │ │ ├── minimist @ 1.2.0 │ │ │ └── object - assign @ 1.0.0 │ │ └─┬ jwa @ 1.1.3 │ │ ├── buffer - equal - constant - time @ 1.0.1 │ │ └─┬ ecdsa - sig - formatter @ 1.0.5 │ │ └── base64 - url @ 1.2.2 │ ├── node - uuid @ 1.4.1 │ ├── xmldom @ 0.1.22 │ └── xpath. js @ 1.0.6 ├── applicationinsights @ 0.15.12 ├── async @ 1.4.2 ├── azure - arm - authorization @ 2.0.0 ├── azure - arm - batch @ 0.1.0 ├── azure - arm - cdn @ 0.1.0 - preview ├── azure - arm - commerce @ 0.1.1 ├── azure - arm - compute @ 0.18.0 ├── azure - arm - datalake - analytics @ 0.3.2 ├── azure - arm - datalake - store @ 0.3.0 ├── azure - arm - dns @ 0.10.1 ├── azure - arm - hdinsight @ 0.2.0 ├── azure - arm - hdinsight - jobs @ 0.1.0 ├── azure - arm - insights @ 0.11.1 ├── azure - arm - network @ 0.13.1 ├── azure - arm - rediscache @ 0.2.1 ├── azure - arm - resource @ 1.4.4 - preview ├── azure - arm - storage @ 0.13.1 - preview ├── azure - arm - trafficmanager @ 0.10.5 ├─┬ azure - arm - website @ 0.10.0 │ ├─┬ azure - common @ 0.9.12 │ │ ├─┬ request @ 2.45.0 │ │ │ ├── aws - sign2 @ 0.5.0 │ │ │ ├── bl @ 0.9.5 │ │ │ ├── caseless @ 0.6.0 │ │ │ ├── forever - agent @ 0.5.2 │ │ │ ├─┬ form - data @ 0.1.4 │ │ │ │ ├── async @ 0.9.2 │ │ │ │ └─┬ combined - stream @ 0.0.7 │ │ │ │ └── delayed - stream @ 0.0.5 │ │ │ ├─┬ hawk @ 1.1.1 │ │ │ │ ├── boom @ 0.4.2 │ │ │ │ ├── cryptiles @ 0.2.2 │ │ │ │ ├── hoek @ 0.9.1 │ │ │ │ └── sntp @ 0.2.4 │ │ │ ├─┬ http - signature @ 0.10.1 │ │ │ │ ├── asn1 @ 0.1.11 │ │ │ │ └── assert - plus @ 0.1.5 │ │ │ ├── mime - types @ 1.0.2 │ │ │ ├── node - uuid @ 1.4.7 │ │ │ ├── oauth - sign @ 0.4.0 │ │ │ └── qs @ 1.2.2 │ │ └── xml2js @ 0.2.7 │ └── moment @ 2.6.0 ├── azure - asm - compute @ 0.15.0 ├── azure - asm - hdinsight @ 0 |
: @MikeJonesWaPo | @lizclarketweet | @JerryBrewer | @InsiderThree hundred and twenty years have passed since the Coven sank in the dark. Revelation; a forgotten history. The veil is cast aside, allowing the shadows to break in the light.
The lights flickered in the hallway, giving off a very ominous feeling. The tunnels had been forgotten by the municipal government. Some time recently, a green haired witch by the name of Emerald was hunted in these very tunnels; the utility access tunnels in the slums of downtown Vale. A man sat solitarily inside of the tunnel wearing shaggy clothes. His white short sleeved button up shirt was torn at the edges and left open to reveal is abdomen, his blue jeans were torn off at the calves, and he wore a weathered pair of sneakers; he was homeless and this was where he slept. No one bothered him here because no one really knew about these tunnels.
He slept peacefully for most of the night, but he had no way to know what time it was. It may have been night, and it may have been morning; the fluorescent light bulbs that somehow hadn't blown were his only source of light. He was torn from his restful slumber suddenly by a whispering voice.
So alone are thee, the voice of a woman said. Thou reminds me of a time long since passed in mine own life.
"Wh-what?" he asked groggily. He looked around and saw no one. Standing up, he balled up his fists. "Who's there? Show yourself?"
I have no need to show myself¸ the voice said calmly.
"I don't have anything!" the man yelled. "Nothing you can steal from me! Leave me alone!"
The voice cackled, revealing a somewhat aged sound in its throat; the disturbing sound of a crazed elderly woman. I shall not take anything from thee. In that stead, I wish to give thee a gift.
"What?" the man asked. A sudden wave of nausea came over him and he fell to his knees. "Aaagh!" he screamed before the feeling left his body and he began to pant heavily. "What was that?"
The voice laughed again. Use it well.
~Witch Hunter Ruby~
Episode 9: Buikikaesu
A week had passed since Velvet had moved in with Ruby. Her wounds were mostly healed, and her doctor had given her the "okay" to allow her to drive her car once again. Her mood had greatly improved in that week thanks to the young hunter, though the truth of her position at Beacon was a closely guarded secret to the timid office worker. Even her powers were kept in check inside of her apartment, which Ruby was somewhat grateful for: it forced her to not rely on them for simple tasks such as lighting a candle, thus risking becoming addicted to the flames.
Ruby's apartment was originally meant for her and her alone, but Headquarters had gone overboard when they purchased it; it was a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a massive living area, a dining room, and a complete kitchen, as well as a fully furnished laundry room. As she had explained to Weiss and Velvet a week ago, it was simply too big for her to live in by herself.
As promised, Weiss had purchased furnishings to be added to Ruby's guest bedroom, and she even picked up Velvet's clothes from her own apartment and had them delivered. Ruby was impressed by the business woman's resolve. All that being said, even Ruby was happy to have a roommate.
On this morning, she awoke to an aroma that she swore she could never get used to. Rising from her comfortable bed, she glanced over to her work phone; it was seven in the morning. Standing up, she approached her closet and got dressed. She had to admit that since she moved to Vale, her work load had increased quite a bit. Even though they had plenty of days where no witch activity would occur, the hunts they did participate in would often drag on for days, and many of them would involve calling her out in the pitch black of night and pulling her from her restful slumber. When she first moved here, she preferred to wear loose dresses and skirts to give her better freedom of movement, but those took effort to put on. Her erratic hunting schedule made her particularly lazy in the mornings, and she found herself purchasing more suits than dresses. Suits also took time, but it was better to spend five minutes figuring out her red tie than it was to spend almost half an hour preparing a dress; she was not the most efficient girl when it came to dresses.
Dress shirt button and tucked in, she quickly fitted the red tie around her neck, now done with practiced ease. I can see why Blake wears these all the time. Nodding her approval, she opened her bedroom door and found the source of the smell; Velvet stood in the kitchen preparing a pot of hot coffee. "Oh," she said. "Did I wake you?"
"No," Ruby said. "I just kinda...wake up, you know? I don't have a very efficient sleep schedule."
"Being in law enforcement must do that to you," Velvet commented, remaining blissfully ignorant of Ruby's witch hunting. Gesturing towards to coffee pot, she asked, "Would you like a cup?"
Ruby smiled slightly. "Absolutley."
"Good." The pot dripped its last drop of coffee, and the office worker picked it up and poured two mugs of the fresh morning nectar that drove the lives of so many people in the world. "I also cooked a simple omelet for you."
Ruby accepted the cup and stared in wonder at Velvet. "If you keep this up, I won't let you move out."
Velvet laughed. "I'm sorry. I know you have a career of your own and that you're out of school, but I remind myself everyday that you're still a child. I can't help but want to take care of you and help out."
Ruby frowned. "I'm supposed to be the one helping you, Velvlet."
It was Velvet's turn to frown. "I know. I'm sorry. I sound ungrateful, don't I?"
"Not at all. Just remember that just because you're living with me it doesn't mean that you need to work for rent or anything. I don't owe any rent. As I said, Headquarters bought this place for me." Ruby went into thought. "Now that I think on it, I'll bet it's because I'm fifteen."
"A fact that surprises me every time I remember that it's true," Velvet commented. "You want me to drive you to work today?"
Ruby was about to decline, but thought better of it. "Sure. That'd be lovely. Let me eat real quick, then I'll grab my work coat and we'll be on our way."
Mercury sipped at a cup of coffee as he watched his monitor intently. He had been doing research all night long and barely got any sleep. Feeling stiff in his joints, he stood and stretched. Making his way to the window, he looked outside and sipped from his mug once more, allowing himself a moment of rest and relaxation. He savored the flavour of the dark liquid. God bless Neo. No one makes coffee quite like she does. He paused in that thought. Well...maybe Militia.
Glancing down towards the road, he saw a white four door car pull up and stop. A visitor? He got an answer when he saw Ruby step out of the passenger side door. She turned and waved to the driver, whom upon very, very close inspection Mercury could barely make out that it was a woman. He smiled a coy smile.
"What's up with that creepy look?" came the voice of Jaune from behind.
Mercury chuckled lightly. "It's nothing."
"Ah. So, we got any cases today?"
"Not yet. But we've not been terribly busy this past week. Give it a few minutes. I'm sure something will turn up."
"How do you figure?"
"Because I'm convinced that if we go longer than five days without a witch sighting then the world must be about to end."
"Hm...job security? Or end of the world?" Jaune said in a joking tone. "Tough choice."
Blake and Yang entered the room from the elevator, with Ren trailing not far behind them. After a few minutes of the group making casual conversation, Ruby entered at long last to join her coworkers. The work day seemed to be at a slow start.
The blonde haired man casually strolled into the building, feeling very sure and confident. Today was playing out very, very differently from how he thought it would be. Last night he thought he'd just laze about as usual. Unable to find a job, he planned to find a corner to beg for money on, or should he get hungry he would just steal from the local farmer's market. That's how he always spent his days.
But then the voice came to him in the night. Everything changed in that moment. His life was turning around. He could help himself to whatever he wanted.
"Hello," came a woman's voice from behind the counter. "Welcome to the Bank of Vale. How may I help you today, sir?"
He smiled. "I'd like to make a withdrawal."
"Alright, and how much are you taking from your account today?"
He reached into his pocket and swiftly pulled out a pistol. "How much can you fit into a bag?"
The woman was startled, but her training kicked in and she tried to reach for the alarm. Her arm quickly reached outward...
And the man's arm grabbed and stopped her. It was odd, because it was his right hand; the same hand that held the gun. She looked up and saw five of him standing in front of her; one held the gun, the others stared menacingly at her. "I wouldn't try that again," they all said at once with the same voice. "We'll be taking that money now."
Militia sat relaxed in her empty cafe. Really, she wondered why she ever agreed to call it the Malachite Cafe; it was much bigger than a typical cafe, the menu contained more than the typical cafe, and how many cafe's actually had a bar for serving alcohol? Part of her wished that she received more business, but she had enough money flowing in the both keep the restaurant open and to live comfortably. As was the arrangement she had with Beacon. She sighed. Living the double life of a waitress and an informant did make her daily life somewhat stressful, but it was only rarely that she acted as the latter. Even then, it was always Ren who came to her, never any of the other Hunters.
She remembered her last business exchange with Ren; it was a couple of months back, before Weiss ever treated them to dinner. He had come asking about something that seemed very personal to him. Militia was very good at keeping secrets, so Ren was able to trust her with finding the answers to his questions. But that wasn't the part that she remembered most.
It was his parting line as he paid for his tea. He had donned his coat and he made a request. Not an official request for her job, but a personal one for her to act upon of her own accord if the need ever came. I know what it's like to have someone close to you be something else...if you ever seen that person, don't hesitate to call me.
She smiled. You clever man, Lie Ren. No one else knows, yet you saw right through me somehow, she thought. Sighing to herself, she decided to pour herself a glass of wine. The Merlot was quite nice, so she popped the cork and helped herself. I pay for it, so why shouldn't I indulge every now and then.
It was a few minutes later, when a delivery man entered that she felt surprised. At first she thought he was a customer, so she quickly hid the wine behind the counter. "How may I help you today, sir? Would you like lunch?"
He smiled politely, almost giving her an apology. "Actually, I'm here for work, Ma'am. I have a delivery for a...Miss Militia Malachite?"
"That would be me."
Nodding he handed her a brown envelope and a clipboard to sign. Confused, she signed and the man went about his business. She stared at the envelope curiously. Who could have sent me something? What could it be? Sipping once more of her wine glass, she pulled the tab to tear into the cardboard envelope and pulled out the paper within. There was a scrap of paper and a photograph.
The photograph stunned her. Only two copies of it existed; the other was resting peacefully on the wall behind her. It was a photo of her and her sister, standing together with mirrored smiles. Setting it down, she read the scrap paper several times, allowing the words to sink into her soul.
"I'll be visiting soon,".
Ren's words echoed in her mind. If you ever see that person...don't hesitate to call me.
Without thinking, she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.
"Hello?" he asked.
Taking a deep breath, she calmly said, "She's back."
Ironwood put the phone down. He had been standing in the office area conversing with Torchwick when it rang; the number on the caller ID was the Vale Police Department. He turned to Mercury with a grim expression. "We may have a witch sighting on our hands, and this one was a little more than public."
"Just great," Ren said dryly. "How many witnesses?"
"Hard to say at the moment, but initial reports indicate that there are no injuries. Everyone involved is safe and sound. VPD should be sending surveillance footage to you now, Mercury."
Nodding, Mercury checked his email. "Got it."
"Bring it to the conference room. We'll review it and begin our investigation," Ren ordered.
The team of hunters moved as one to their seats within the conference room, each one carried a look of dread at the concept of living witnesses. "I hate to say it," Blake muttered. "But I prefer corpses. They don't speak to the living and reveal secrets that should never be revealed."
"That being said," Ruby added. "I'm glad that there weren't any casualties. I'm not fond of...messy crime scenes."
Mercury typed away and clicked once on his keyboard. Everyone's holographic display popped up with a silent piece of footage. A blonde man approached the counter, said a few words, and drew a gun on the teller. "Looks like a human robbery to me," Jaune said. As the woman reached for the alarm, the man split into four additional bodies, creating a total of five. Only the original carried the gun, however. "I take it back," the blonde hunter corrected.
"He can clone himself," Mercury said with a whisper. "He must have just awakened. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Glad I'm not the only one," Ruby added. "I've hunted a plethora of witches, but that's definitely a first."
Ironwood turned to the tech manager and said, "Mercury, start searching our database for any similar powers that have manifested in history. Cross reference them, and also see if you can get us a photo ID match of the suspect. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of our one man army."
"You got it boss."
"Everyone, stay safe on this hunt. I want you all to..."
Ren's phone rang suddenly, catching everyone off guard. He looked at his pocket and turned to Ironwood.
"Who could be calling?" he asked.
"Only three people have my number sir; you, Mercury, and Militia."
Ironwood nodded. "Answer it. It must be important."
Nodding, Ren retrieved the phone and answered, "Hello?" He sat silently for a moment before his eyes went wide. "Are you sure? You're certain that she's back?" He nodded. "I see. I'll send you a body guard immediately. It's best to not take risks. Call me tonight. Bye." He hung up the phone and stood. "Militia's sister, Melanie, has come back to Vale."
Everyone was silent for a moment. "Isn't that a good thing?" Jaune asked.
"No. She's not human, Jaune. She's a witch."
Mercury's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me! How come we didn't know?"
"I only found out by chance. She left to avoid being hunted. It seems she's decided to come back now, and somehow Headquarters never ran into her."
Ren turned to Ironwood. "Sir, mind if I take charge for the day?"
Ironwood smiled. "There your team. Do what you need to do."
"Right. Yang, Jaune, you two are with me. We're going to investigate the bank robbery. Blake and Ruby, you two are going to stick with Militia. If Melanie shows up, hunt her."
"How will I know what she looks like?" Ruby asked.
"Look for Militia's double," was all he said. "Let's get to work!"
Weiss sat in her office, enjoying a cold glass of water. She had seen that Velvet was feeling much better now that she was living with Ruby. It brought her a genuine smile to her lips at the thought of the once distraught and damaged Velvet now feeling happy again.
There was something about that teenage girl that just made people happy. At least from Weiss's experience at least. The mere sight of her made Weiss feel like she herself was a teenager again. She was still young, but twenty-three was a sizable distance away from fifteen. As much as Weiss liked to currently entertain the notion of a relationship with Ruby, the thought of the criminal allegations alone made her shudder. She pushed the doubt from her mind, content with just being a social guide post for Ruby and allowing herself to aid the young hunter whenever needed.
Still, she wanted to do something to thank Ruby specifically. The phones were a gift to Beacon, not to Ruby, so that didn't really count. The girl had saved her from an assassination attempt, helped rescue Velvet, and gave the poor girl a place to live for a while. All of these things Weiss would be eternally grateful for, but she wanted the chance to prove it.
A thought occurred to her. She'd never really dabbled in cooking before, but maybe...just this once she'd try it out for Ruby. Smiling, she set her glass of water down and left her office. Seeking Velvet out, she informed the girl that she was taking the rest of the day off. I've got some recipes to study. She thought as she climbed into her car.
All the while, as she left, she never once noticed that the glass of water that she held moments earlier had a thin layer of ice on the side of the glass. It was room temperature when Velvet brought her the glass, and there wasn't an ounce of ice anywhere near it. Yet there it was, slowly melting off of the glass and pooling on the wooden desk, coming seemingly from nowhere.
Song: Buikikaesu-Maximum the Hormone
Author's Note
Hello again! Long time no Witch Hunter! How've you been? I've been doing good, for the most part. My work schedule has been stacked, so I've had to carefully pick and choose what stories to write for and what stories to let rest for a bit. I miss the days when I had enough free time to simply have three windows open and spend an hour or more per story a day.
No, really, that's what I did. I'm not joking when I say that I usually write several stories at once. Until my schedule got crazy as hell, I was writing this, Eternity Rising, The Melancholy of Jaune Arc, The Downward Spiral¸ my original work (The Shifted Universe), as well as several concept stories for both RWBY and my original work (I have an original Sci-Fi in the works now...it feels cool to be doing that.) Now every time I write, I am forced to choose a story and spend days writing a single chapter to release to you guys. I hate it.
So, to make up for it, can I reveal to you some concept stories? No? Too bad! I'm telling you anyway!
Keep in mind, there is no promise that these will ever come out. But I do like the ideas behind them.
Namely, I have two stories in the works that relate to my Shifting Remnant AU (The Longest Night and Eternity Rising)
The Darkest Night- The What If stories from The Longest Night story line. What if instead of Cerberus, a giant dragon like Grimm called Niddhog showed up that could control Nevermores? What if Weiss was the sole survivor of the entire Beacon Academy? What if no one had been prepare at all? I like these kinds of stories.
The Man Behind the Curtain- a series of chapters or short stories following Ozpin. I can't go into detail on why I like this one yet because of spoilers for another story, but trust me when I say it should be good...if I ever get around to writing it.
Side Note: This was Episode 9 of Witch Hunter Ruby: the reason I use the term Episodes instead of Chapters is because I have a goal in mind, and this part of WHR, which I call Awakening is only 13 episodes long. We're nearing the "end". However, I said this part. I plan to do a sort of Season 2 and hopefully stretch this bad boy out to 26 Episodes. Again, that's assuming I even can. I don't know. My plans don't usually pan out like I hope.
Fun Fact: My manager is kick ass. I spent an hour at work today doing nothing but talking to him about comic books. Me and my f**king manager were both nerding out about super heroes and about how we hope Batman vs Superman isn't a shitstorm of bad movie. I had a good day at work. :)
Till next time, when we Rush!If there is one minister who is being targeted by media it is Smriti Irani. She is being simultaneously vilified as an intellectual lightweight, an RSS plant, a Modi favourite, an Ambani agent and worse. But why this special hate for Irani? Here I explain why Irani is facing a combined onslaught from almost all sections opposed to the BJP.
Academic credentials and astrologer controversy
Suffice to say that Irani had cleared the air on her degree from Yale almost immediately. Her words were torn and twisted and she was harangued as a liar. She is being portrayed as a bimbo who has been airlifted into a high profile ministry with little administrative experience and lack of a typical Oxbridge education. In fact, this clubbed with her previous stint as a model and actress in television soaps (shown as regressive by intellectuals) has made her an object of ridicule. Derisive comments on her past by paragons of liberalism are common.
The latest photograph of her consulting an astrologer has added to her image. Almost all politicians consult astrologers. It is a reality and flippant comments about an HRD minister believing in mumbo jumbo don’t wash. This is because paramount rationalist and secular-e-hind Shri Arjun Singh himself was a big believer in astrology. Previous HRD minister Kapil Sibal too was associated with PV Narasimha Rao’s astrologer NK Sharma. Not too many comments by media personalities then! It is obvious standards are different for BJP ministers and Congress ones!
Gandhi plot
Most in the media are closet Gandhi family sympathisers. Not only are they feudal in thinking but also dependent on the crumbs the family has thrown at them in the past. Some are also enamoured by their star power just as many of us get star struck when we meet famous Bollywood actors. (I confess to meeting Govinda in a lift once and not being able to muster the courage to ask him for an autograph. Indeed I was almost bowing!)
Smriti Irani waged a spirited battle in Amethi and almost tripped Rahul Gandhi. Since her loss she has adopted Amethi and has been nursing the constituency showing her seriousness in sticking to the area. She would be a made-for-TV opponent to Priyanka Vadra should she launch herself in the next elections. This has quite obviously rattled the Gandhi family and therefore, Irani is bearing the brunt of covert opposition attacks. The Gandhi family has ordered surreptitious hit jobs on her since any direct attack on her will be charged as motivated.
For example, there were some journalists and media commentators who were poking fun at her for distributing 12,000 sarees in Amethi. First, almost all MPs distribute such gifts in their seats. Second, compare and contrast her saree distribution programme with that of Azam Khan. Third, it is my contention that had Priyanka Gandhi distributed such gifts there would have been adulatory by-lines on “Didi giving return gifts” etc.
Hitjob through innuendo
In the Lok Sabha campaign Modi made his brother-sister relationship with Irani known in public. She too made no bones about the fact that she was grateful he had given her a second chance to prove herself. Malicious voices in the media started disgusting rumours regarding their pure relationship. People who claim to be liberal in public showed themselves up when they question how a man and a woman cannot work closely together without any illicit relationship.
The cat was set in the pigeons by Modi hater turned fan turned cautious critic Mrs. Madhu Kishwar, when she alleged the worst of relations between the Prime Minister and Irani. It has been quite obvious to many of us that Kishwar has some deep personal grudge against Irani and as has been proven by her frequent ejaculations – Kishwar made the allegation in an unstable frame of mind.
However, this was a signal to more mainstream critics to taint by rumour. Almost all female politicians have had to face such dirty tricks. So there is nothing new in the manner in which such a campaign is being conducted against Irani. What is repulsive however is that Irani has a family who too are affected, unlike many other successful women politicians, and the fact that the Prime Minister’s personal life has been above reproach in such matters.
Left-liberal and media caucus
The HRD ministry is of special interest to media people and their close friends in the academic world. This is because most of them are either related to each other or developed friendships and bonds in college and university days as media persons and academicians tend to be the intellectual ones in colleges. They are dependent on HRD ministry for their sinecures and retirement postings. Visiting faculty appointments, tenures, VC ships, scholarships etc. can be directly influenced by the HRD ministry. Most importantly, future minds can be altered through education.
So it is clear anyone appointed, as HRD minister would have been vilified almost immediately. The RSS is trying to correct the anti-Hindu, anti-nationalist literature that is passed of as intellectual output in our education system. For BJP, governance is not just about grabbing power but about shaping India. Education is central to this effort. Irani is a casualty of this tug of war between the nationalists and left-liberal caucus.
Proof of media’s over focus is the countless columns on fringe elements like Dinanath Batra and on PM’s comments in jest about plastic surgery. More serious is the effort to paint Sanskrit as a communal out-dated language. Equally serious is the exertion in defending the discretionary imposition of German as a third language rather than a more practical foreign language like Spanish, Mandarin or even Japanese.
Contentious Issues
The HRD ministry deals with contentious issues like language policy, education programmes, universities etc. These are closely debated and hotly contested by state governments, students, bureaucrats, and political parties and last but not the least – parents. These issues are so divisive that no national consensus has emerged on even one of these issues in the last 60 years. An HRD minister tries to keep these issues on the back burner and takes decisions on less contentious policies while, hoping that these issues will get resolved by market forces. Unfortunately, with a hostile media Irani has not had such luck.
Consequently, everything she has done is marked by controversy and the media too rakes up hot issues to put her on the back foot. A whisper campaign has started across staff rooms and corridors of educational institutes that she is not up to it. The successful implementation of the PM’s talk on Teachers Day too has rattled leftists who fear an entire generation with little reverence for Nehru and Indira Gandhi and the name of Modi on its lips will come up.
Add to this the heavy presence of left-friendly bureaucracy in the ministry and we know why almost all decisions are leaked before hand. It will take time to clean up the ministry from vested interests who are not implementing the government’s programmes faithfully. For more information on how media is selectively playing up controversies please read articles by PT Kartikeya Tanna’s who has emerged as a truth-o-meter on all matters contentious.
Cabinet infighting
As a loyal supporter I hesitate to bring this up but as Atal ji had said “Kinchit nahin bhaybhit main, Kartavya path par jo bhi mile, Yeh bhi sahi woh bhi sahi”. Smriti Irani’s rise in politics has been virtually vertical. This has obviously created many rivals within the party who want to pull her down. Moreover, a weighty ministry to a first time MP has rankled many who fear she could become the senior most woman leader in the party. However, I am less concerned about this because Modi is known for his no-nonsense approach to infighting. A necessary condition to be on Team Modi is willingness to work in a team.
To conclude it is now clear why Smriti Irani is being targeted. This blog is for those right wing supporters who were wavering in their support to her. Hopefully, it will now be clear why she is the victim of a plot rather than any inefficiency on her own.After a four-month review of federal lands and waters, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says President Trump should modify 10 national monuments. (Monica Akhtar,Juliet Eilperin,Darryl Fears/The Washington Post)
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended Thursday that President Trump alter at least three national monuments established by his immediate predecessors, including two in Utah, a move expected to reshape federal land and water protections and certain to trigger major legal fights.
In a report Zinke submitted to the White House, the secretary recommended reducing the size of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, as well as Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, according to multiple individuals briefed on the decision.
President Bill Clinton declared the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante in 1996, while President Barack Obama designated the 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears last year. Cascade-Siskiyou, which now encompasses more than 113,000 acres, was established by Clinton shortly before leaving office and expanded by Obama in January.
Trump had ordered Zinke to examine more than two dozen sites established by Clinton, Obama and George W. Bush under the 1906 Antiquities Act. The nearly four-month process pitted those who have felt marginalized by federal actions over the past 20 years against backers who see the sites as bolstering tourism and recreation while safeguarding important relics, environments and species.
The Interior Department did not give specifics on Zinke’s recommendations, instead releasing a report summary that described each of the 27 protected areas scrutinized as “unique.”
Yet his proposal takes direct aim at a handful of the nation’s most controversial protected areas out west, according to several individuals who asked for anonymity because the report has yet to be made public. Zinke, who had called for revising Bears Ears’ boundaries in an interim report in June, is recommending a “significant” reduction in its size, an administration official said.
The report also calls for changing the management rules for several sites, such as allowing fishing in marine monuments where it is currently prohibited, and would affect the boundaries of other monuments beyond the three officials identified Thursday.
“No President should use the authority under the Antiquities Act to restrict public access, prevent hunting and fishing, burden private land, or eliminate traditional land uses, unless such action is needed to protect the object,” Zinke said in a statement. “The recommendations I sent to the president on national monuments will maintain federal ownership of all federal land and protect the land under federal environmental regulations, and also provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation.”
A White House official confirmed that Trump had received the report but would not say when it would be released or when the president would act on Zinke’s recommendations. The secretary had earlier taken six monuments off the review list without any detailed explanation of why.
Alex Taurel, deputy legislative director at the League of Conservation Voters, speaks as activists rally in front of the Interior Department. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)
“Comments received were overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining existing monuments and demonstrated a well-orchestrated national campaign organized by multiple organizations,” Zinke said in the statement on Thursday. He acknowledged supporters’ point that monuments can bring economic benefits to local communities.
But he also noted opponents’ concerns that designations had translated into reduced public access, confusing management plans “and pressure applied private land owners … to sell.”
Zinke did not recommend abolishing any monument. Still, some of the key constituencies most critical of sweeping restrictions for federal lands and waters — ranchers, fishing operators and local Republican politicians — won key concessions in his final set of recommendations.
“Quite frankly, previous administrations got a little too greedy,” said Ethan Lane, executive director of the public lands council at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Nearly 3 million people submitted comments to Interior on the review, which stemmed from an executive order Trump signed in late April. The overwhelming majority of those comments supported the idea of preserving public lands and the sites’ existing boundaries, though Interior officials noted that many of the comments received were form letters.
President Barack Obama used his authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to create national monuments 34 times, more than any other president. Now Trump's order to review National Monument designations has been completed. Will those monuments continue to stand? The Post's Juliet Eilperin explains. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)
Zinke traveled to five states during the process, visiting Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Cascade-Siskiyou plus Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine; Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in New Mexico; and Gold Butte and Basin and Range in Nevada. He also discussed the fate of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which lies roughly 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, with a top official from the New England Aquarium and then later with fishing and industry groups in Boston.
While the president’s executive order targeted designations of at least 100,000 acres, Zinke later made an exception and added Katahdin Woods and Waters. Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), a Trump ally, ranks as one of that monument’s most vociferous opponents.
The administration plans to leave six designations in place: Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients; Idaho’s Craters of the Moon; Washington’s Hanford Reach; Arizona’s Grand Canyon-Parashant; Montana’s Upper Missouri River Breaks; and California’s Sand to Snow. In each case, according to Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift, there was “very little, to no, local opposition.”
Zinke focused instead on the most contentious designations by the three past presidents — mostly by Clinton and Obama.
Environmental groups have made clear that they would file legal challenges in an effort to preserve these sites’ existing boundaries and protections. While Congress can alter national monuments easily through legislation, presidents have reduced their boundaries only on rare occasions.
Woodrow Wilson nearly halved the acreage of Mount Olympus National Monument, which Theodore Roosevelt had established six years earlier. In 1938, the U.S. attorney general wrote a formal opinion saying the Antiquities Act authorized presidents to establish a monument but did not grant them the right to abolish one, and several legal scholars argue that Congress indicated in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 that it reserved the right to alter any existing monument.
Robert D. Rosenbaum, who serves as counsel to the National Parks Conservation Association, said Wednesday that no president has sought to shrink a monument’s boundaries in the past four decades: “If the president attempts unilaterally to take adverse action on any of the monuments under review, he would be on very shaky legal ground, and we expect the action would be challenged in federal court.”
Tribal officials have lobbied hard to preserve Bears Ears, which boasts extensive ancestral Pueblo artifacts and rock art. Seven tribes in Utah and the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of Montana, which counts Zinke as an adopted member, passed resolutions this month calling for the monument’s boundaries to remain in place.
But many western Republicans criticized such large protected areas as a distortion of the law’s original intent. In a call with reporters on Thursday, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said that “Congress never intended one individual to unilaterally dictate land management policies for enormous swaths of federal land.”
“It’s about how we protect our resources, not if we protect them,” said Bishop, noting that Obama had applied his authority under the Antiquities Act to more than 550 million acres of land and sea. “That’s 190,000 acres of land and water locked up for every day he was in office.”
Utah has become a flash point for tensions over the relatively obscure 111-year old law. Kane County Commission Chairman Dirk Clayson, whose county includes Grand Staircase-Escalante, said in an interview Tuesday that much of it “has been designated as primitive, and you can’t promote visitation, create trail heads or restrooms for a safe, comfortable visitor experience … Extreme conservation groups want to protect and tie up the land.”
Yet Nicole Croft, executive director of Grand Staircase-Escalante Partners, refutes such claims — in part by citing language in the monument’s proclamation that specifically maintains existing permits for livestock grazing, for example. She said commissioners “refused to even sit down at the table” with the monument’s supporters or to acknowledge how it has helped to power the local economy.
And Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued a scathing critique of the process the administration was using to scale back the designations.
“Teddy Roosevelt would roll over in his grave if he could see what Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are trying to do to our national treasures today,” she said. “Secretary Zinke’s secret report to the president is the latest step in a rigged process to try and turn over our public lands to oil and gas companies |
were prepared for the worst when it came to Rush Limbaugh. Actually they were a little too well prepared.
Shortly after the news broke that the conservative political radio talk show host was hospitalized, Wikipedia updated his page – and pronounced him dead.
Folks (like us) who happened to take a look at Limbaugh’s biography, saw this:
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (pronounced /ˈlɪmbɔː/;born January 12, 1951, died December 30, 2009) is an American radio host and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United States. It airs throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks.
That was posted shortly after midnight, EST.
Rush, of course, was very much alive and about 15 minutes later Wikipedia pronounced him so, altering their bio by removing the information that he had died.
Limbaugh remains hospitalized Thurday.Jordan's ace of spies
By David Ignatius
Sunday, December 13, 2009
When the spy movie ends, the suave intelligence chief -- having outsmarted his enemies -- dusts off the lapels of his perfectly tailored suit and disappears into his world of illusion and control.
That's not how it ended in real life, alas, for Gen. Saad Kheir, the brilliant but emotionally wounded spymaster who headed Jordan's General Intelligence Department (GID) from 2000 to 2005. He died in a hotel room in Vienna on Wednesday of a heart attack, the official Jordanian news agency reported. He was just 56.
Kheir at his best was among the greatest Arab intelligence officers of his generation. He ran a series of masterful penetration operations against Palestinian extremist groups and, later, al-Qaeda. "He set the standard for how we do it," said one former CIA officer who worked closely with him.
I got to know Kheir five years ago when I was researching a novel about the Middle East called "Body of Lies," which was later made into a movie that starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Kheir was the model for my fictional Jordanian intelligence chief, "Hani Salaam." Like all GID chiefs, Kheir was addressed by the Ottoman honorific of "pasha," so I gave the sobriquet of "Hani Pasha" to my fictional version.
Hani Pasha (played in the movie by British actor Mark Strong) stole the show, and for a simple reason -- he was based on a true master of the game. My character's tradecraft, manners, even his wardrobe were all modeled on those of the real pasha.
It was George Tenet, then director of the CIA, who first described to me Kheir's brilliance as an operator. I asked Tenet in 2003 if any foreign intelligence services had been especially helpful against al-Qaeda, and he answered instantly, "The Jordanians," and continued with Tenetian enthusiasm, "Their guy Saad Kheir is a superstar!"
So the next time I was in Amman, I asked the royal palace if I could meet the legendary intelligence chief, and it was duly arranged. I was driven to the GID's fearsome headquarters, past its black flag bearing the ominous warning in Arabic "Justice Has Come" and escorted upstairs to the pasha's office.
Kheir had a rough, boozy charm -- somewhere between Humphrey Bogart and Omar Sharif. He was dressed elegantly, as always -- in this case, a cashmere blazer, a knit tie and a pair of what looked to be handmade English shoes.
The pasha told me a few stories, and others filled in the details: He made his name penetrating Palestinian extremist groups, such as the Abu Nidal organization. Once he had burrowed into the terrorists' lair, he was able to plant rumors and disinformation that set the group's members fighting among themselves. Before long, Abu Nidal's fraternity of killers had imploded in a frenzy of suspicion and self-destruction. I stole that idea for "Body of Lies."
Kheir researched his targets so thoroughly that he got inside their lives. A former CIA officer told me about one sublime pitch: Kheir tracked a jihadist to an apartment in Eastern Europe and handed him a cellphone, saying: "Talk to your mother." The man's mom was actually on the line, telling him he was a wonderful son for buying her a new TV and a couch and sending her money. "The spoken message was, 'We can do good things for you.' The unspoken message was, 'We can hurt you,' " explained the CIA officer. I took that scene, too, verbatim.
Like many Arab intelligence services, the GID has a reputation for using brutal interrogation methods, and I'm sure that it didn't get the nickname "the fingernail factory" for nothing. But Kheir's successes in interrogation often came from a different kind of intimidation. Colleagues recall him standing behind a suspect, his voice deep with menace, as he talked of the suspect's family, friends and contacts. That was much scarier than physical violence would have been. He waited for them to break themselves, and it usually worked.
Kheir ran afoul of his boss, King Abdullah, when he began pushing into politics and business. It was the classic overreach of intelligence chiefs in the Middle East, and he was sacked in 2005. His dismissal took a cruel toll: Kheir could be seen carousing late at night at his favorite restaurant in Amman, no longer a master of the universe or even, fully, master of himself. But in his prime, he was a genius, and it's hard to think of a foreigner who helped save more American lives than Saad Pasha.
davidignatius@washpost.com
© 2009 The Washington Post Company“Stormin’ Norman,” as headlines proclaimed him, was lionized by millions of euphoric Americans who, until weeks earlier, had never heard of him. President George Bush, whose popularity soared with the war, gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Congress gave him standing ovations. Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary knight. European and Asian nations conferred lavish honors.
In his desert fatigues, he was interviewed on television, featured on magazine covers and feted at celebrations in Tampa, Washington and other cities. He led the Pegasus Parade at the Kentucky Derby in Louisville and was the superstar at the Indianapolis 500. Florida Republicans urged him to run for the United States Senate.
Amid speculation about his future, a movement to draft him for president arose. He insisted he had no presidential aspirations, but Time magazine quoted him as saying he someday “might be able to find a sense of self-fulfillment serving my country in the political arena,” and he told Barbara Walters on the ABC News program “20/20” that he would not rule out a White House run.
Within weeks, the four-star general had become a media and marketing phenomenon. Three months after the war, he signed a $5 million contract with Bantam Books for the world rights to his memoirs, “It Doesn’t Take a Hero,” written with Peter Petre and published in 1992. Herbert Mitgang, reviewing the book for The New York Times, called it a serviceable first draft of history. “General Schwarzkopf,” he wrote, “comes across as a strong professional soldier, a Patton with a conscience.”
All but drowned out in the surge of approbation, critics noted that the general’s enormous air, sea and land forces had overwhelmed a country with a gross national product equivalent to North Dakota’s, and that while Iraq’s bridges, dams and power plants had been all but obliterated and tens of thousands of its troops killed (compared with a few hundred allied casualties), Saddam Hussein had been left in power.
Postwar books, news reports and documentaries — a flood of information the general had restricted during the war — showed that most of Iraq’s elite Republican Guard, whose destruction had been a goal of war planners, had escaped from an ill-coordinated Marine and Army assault, and had not been pursued because of President Bush’s decision to halt the ground war after 100 hours.
“The Generals’ War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf” (1995), by Michael R. Gordon of The New York Times and the retired general Bernard E. Trainor, portrayed a White House rushed into ending the war prematurely by unrealistic fears of being criticized for killing too many Iraqis and by ignorance of events on the ground. It cast General Schwarzkopf as a second-rate commander who took credit for allied successes, blamed others for his mistakes and shouted at, but did not effectively control, his field commanders as the Republican Guard slipped away.
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He was depicted more sympathetically in other books, including “In the Eye of the Storm” (1991), by Roger Cohen and Claudio Gatti. “His swift triumph over Iraq in the 1991 gulf war came as a shock to a nation that had been battered, by failing industries and festering economic problems, into a sense that the century of its power was at an end,” they wrote. “Schwarzkopf appeared abruptly as an intensely human messenger of hope, however illusory or fragile.”
Old official photographs show a medaled military mannequin, a 6-foot-3-inch 240-pounder with grim determined eyes. But they miss the gentler man who listened to Pavarotti, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan; who loved hunting, fishing and ballet; and, like any soldier, called home twice a week from the war zone.
Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. was born on Aug. 22, 1934, in Trenton, one of three children of the man whose name he shared and the former Ruth Bowman. At 18, he dropped the Jr. and his first name but kept the initial. His father, New Jersey’s first state police superintendent, investigated the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping; he was also a West Point graduate, fought in World Wars I and II, became a major general and trained Iran’s national police in the 1940s.
As a boy, General Schwarzkopf attended Bordentown Military Institute near Trenton. But from 1946 to 1950 he lived in Iran, Switzerland, Germany and Italy with his father. Fluent in French and German at 17, he enrolled at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa., played football and was a champion debater.
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At West Point, he was on the football and wrestling teams and sang in the choir. He loved history and dreamed of leading men in battle. “He saw himself as Alexander the Great,” recalled Gen. Leroy Suddath, his old roommate, “and we didn’t laugh when he said it.” In 1956, he graduated 43rd in a class of 480.
After infantry and airborne training at Fort Benning, Ga., he served two years with airborne units in America and Europe, took a two-year assignment in Berlin and a career-officer course at Fort Benning, then earned a master’s in guided-missile engineering in 1964 from the University of Southern California.
Captain Schwarzkopf went to Vietnam as an adviser to a South Vietnamese airborne division in 1965 and once withstood a 10-day enemy siege. He returned a major in 1966, taught at West Point for two years, and as a lieutenant colonel attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
In 1968 he married Brenda Holsinger. They had three children: Cynthia, Jessica and Christian.
A battalion commander in his second Vietnam tour, in 1969-70, he was wounded twice and won three Silver Stars for bravery. Men in his command were killed in two 1970 actions that deeply affected him.
On Feb. 18, an artillery shell aimed at the enemy roared over a hill where one of his companies was dug in. It hit a treetop and exploded, killing Sgt. Michael E. Mullen. Form letters sent over the colonel’s name seemed to implicate him, and the sergeant’s parents held him partly responsible as they crusaded to expose military callousness. The case became an antiwar cause célèbre and tarnished the colonel’s record, perhaps unjustly. A 1976 book, “Friendly Fire,” by C. D. B. Bryan, called the death accidental, but a 1995 memoir by the sergeant’s mother, “Unfriendly Fire,” blamed the military.
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On May 28, the colonel ordered his helicopter down to rescue troops who had wandered into a minefield. Some were airlifted out, but he stayed behind with his troops. A soldier tripped a mine, shattering his leg and wounding the colonel, who crawled atop the thrashing victim to stop him from setting off more mines. Three other troopers were killed by an exploding mine, but the colonel led the survivors to safety. The episode sealed his reputation as a commander willing to risk his life for his men.
He came home dismayed at the Army’s leadership and convinced that the peace movement and the news media were prolonging the war. One of his sisters, Ms. Barenbaum, had become a peace activist, and for years they did not speak. He later concluded that politicians had lost the war, and the failure, at a cost of 58,000 American lives, left him devastated. For a time, he considered resigning his commission.
His decision to stay in the service came at a military nadir for America. As historians have noted, the Army during and after Vietnam fell into decay — a conscript force rife with racial antagonisms, drug abuse and disciplinary failures. Soldiers were disillusioned, the uniform seemed tarnished in a nation that no longer cared, and once proud traditions had given way to progress measured by infamous “body counts.” But in the late ‘70s and the ‘80s, reforms in recruitment, living conditions, planning, training and leadership restored much of what had been lost: self-respect and professionalism in an all-volunteer service.
He became a colonel in 1975, a brigadier general in 1978, a major general in 1982 and a lieutenant general in 1986. He moved from personnel and planning to brigade posts in Alaska and Washington State, from the Pacific Command in Hawaii to a division in Europe and back to Washington in charge of personnel.
In 1983, while assigned to an elite tank division at Fort Stewart, Ga., he was tapped to coordinate the task force that invaded Grenada. Revolutionaries had staged a coup, killed the prime minister and, with Cuban aid, were building an airfield, purportedly to supply Latin American insurgents. It was also feared that American medical students on the island might become hostages. Operation Urgent Fury suppressed the rebels, restored order and brought the students home safely.
In 1988, General Schwarzkopf was given his fourth star and named commander of the United States Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, supervising military activities in 19 countries in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf. He developed contingency plans for war in Iraq, and two years later they were needed.
On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait. General Schwarzkopf moved his headquarters to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and amassed hundreds of ships, thousands of aircraft and 765,000 allied troops, including 540,000 Americans and large Arab contingents under Prince Khaled bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia, who was co-commander in the gulf war. A trade embargo and warnings failed to force an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, and after a deadline passed on Jan. 15, 1991, the world’s first heavily televised war began.
Audiences saw live missiles striking targets and fighters taking off from aircraft carriers. Cable news delivered continuous reports, and networks anchored newscasts from Baghdad. In Riyadh, General Schwarzkopf controlled the flow of information in briefings. Some reporters were allowed into the field, subject to military supervision and censorship. The result was a dramatic war — and a highly visible commander in fatigues.
The ground war was over in a few days, thanks to what he called his “left hook” strategy, in which he placed forces behind enemy lines for a swift, decisive strike.
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The general supported Mr. Bush’s presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004 and Senator John McCain’s 2008 race against Senator Barack Obama, but he never ran for political office.Parts of southeast Louisiana continue to deal with the floodwaters from the tremendous downpours that hit the area late last week.
Here is why the disastrous flooding occurred and four other things to know about the situation.
(LATEST NEWS: Thousands of Rescues in Louisiana )
1.) Described as "Like an Inland Tropical Depression"
Deep, tropical moisture in combination with low pressure near the earth's surface and aloft were the main ingredients that fueled the serious flooding in Louisiana and adjacent parts of southwest Mississippi.
On Friday morning, NOAA's Weather Prediction Center said this when talking about the heavy rain event: "The best description of this system is that of an inland sheared tropical depression."
The rainfall it produced was indeed very similar to what one would expect from a slow-moving tropical depression or storm since rainfall potential is related to the forward speed of those types of systems.
Rainfall totals in the double digits from slow-moving tropical depressions or storms can wreak extreme havoc on a region. Rivers can rise rapidly and easily exceed flood levels by a wide margin, inundating homes and businesses and in some cases making travel impossible. We've seen all of that happen in Louisiana and southwest Mississippi.
(MORE: Tropical Storms Can Be Destructive and Deadly )
More evidence for how this situation was similar to an inland tropical depression is the amount of moisture that was in the atmosphere.
A weather forecast discussion from the National Weather Service in New Orleans Friday morning said that the moisture content in the atmosphere was higher than what has been observed there during some tropical cyclones. It was even close to an all-time record for the area, they added.
When that much moisture is available in the atmosphere, thunderstorms can produce excessive rainfall of several inches in a single hour, leading to astronomical totals over time.
While no one likely forecasted 24+ inches of rain ahead of this event like we saw in southeast Louisiana, this is the type of thing that can happen on a very localized scale in situations like this one.
The moisture was pulled in by the aforementioned surface low pressure system which actually intensified as it moved from near the Alabama coast to northwest Louisiana Aug. 11-13, according to Dr. Jeff Masters of wunderground.com.
2.) River Records Shattered by 4 to 6+ Feet
More than a half dozen river gauges have set new record highs in southeast Louisiana, exceeding the previous record by several feet in some cases.
One of the most extreme of those was in Magnolia, Louisiana, where the Amite River crested at 58.56 feet. This topped the old record at that location by more than six feet set on April 23, 1977.
The Amite River in Denham Springs hit 4.7 feet above its previous record set in 1983 on Sunday morning. Records there date back to at least 1921, making this an impressive feat.
3.) More Rain Fell Than Los Angeles Has Seen in 3+ Years
Since the start of 2012, Los Angeles has seen a total of 29.18 inches of rain. In just a few days time, Watson, Louisiana, picked up two inches more than that amount with 31.39 inches of rain during the event.
Obviously, this is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison since Los Angeles has a drier climate than the Gulf Coast states, but still impressive. Los Angeles averages nearly 15 inches of rain annually while Baton Rouge, which is located near Watson, sees about 60 inches of rain each year.
The National Weather Service in Hanford, California, says the amount of rain that fell in parts of southeast Louisiana exceeds what Bakersfield, California, has seen in 5+ years.
Watson, Louisiana, also saw more rainfall during this event than what Omaha, Nebraska (31.10 inches), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (30.57 inches) average for an entire year.
4.) Second 24+ Inch Rain Event in Louisiana This Year
This is the second time in a matter of months that Louisiana has seen more than 24 inches of rain from a single event.
Almost 27 inches of rain fell south-southeast of Monroe, Louisiana, on March 8-11, 2016. The official airport reporting station in Monroe picked up 20.66 inches of rain.
Record flooding was observed on five river gauges in parts of the state, also topping the previous records by several feet.
(MORE: March 2016 Rain Recap )
5.) Flood Threat Not Over as Tropical Moisture Expands
The potential for heavy rain and flooding will continue the next few days as the tropical moisture expands northward from the Gulf Coast and interacts with a stalled frontal boundary.
Additional locally heavy rain will impact parts of the Gulf Coast, including southeast Texas and west Louisiana, though amounts will not be nearly as heavy as what we've seen the last few days.
Farther north, areas from Arkansas to southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and lower Michigan will see the potential for flooding increase early this week. This will particularly be the case in areas already saturated by rain this weekend.
Some locally heavy rain could also impact parts of the Northeast, leading to isolated flooding, even though conditions have been dry recently.
(MORE: Heavy Rain Forecast )
PHOTOS: Gulf Coast Flooding August 2016A little over a month ago, we announced that Uphold would support Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
We are excited to share that starting today, Uphold members can now buy, hold and convert value to BCH with just a few clicks, right from their account. This means that we believe BCH has achieved the stability and liquidity to graduate from Tier Four to Tier Three in our reserve.
We make buying, holding, converting and sending Bitcoin Cash easy for anyone to understand and anyone to do – just as we’ve done for Bitcoin, Ethereum and any of the 30+ other currencies we support. Additionally, those members who held value in BTC in their Uphold wallets on August 1st were issued the equivalent number of BCH coins and can now access those funds.
How to enable a BCH card within your Uphold wallet:
Members Can:
Buy BCH directly from their Uphold Wallet
Convert BCH from any other currency in their Uphold Wallet
Hold BCH in any value for any length of time for FREE
Send BCH from external wallet into Uphold Wallet
Send BCH to anyone with an email or Uphold account for FREE*
Pricing and Fees:
100% FREE to send and receive within Uphold
A 0.95% fee is applied to all exchanges
Bitcoin Cash’s price index is determined in real-time directly from external exchanges, which are separate to and independent of Uphold
Visit our FAQ to learn more
Our support of Bitcoin Cash is another example of how Uphold continues to innovate and further represents our expansion and support of the growing demand for digital currencies, including tokens, coins and emerging assets.
Click here to learn more about Bitcoin Cash.
Drop us a note at [email protected] and let us know your thoughts on Bitcoin Cash and if you plan to hold BCH — your opinion matters!
-The Uphold Team
*Currently not available to Uphold members in New YorkIn 1604, a new star appeared in the night sky that was much brighter than Jupiter and dimmed over several weeks. This event was witnessed by sky watchers including the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler. Centuries later, the debris from this exploded star is known as the Kepler supernova remnant.
Astronomers have long studied the Kepler supernova remnant and tried to determine exactly what happened when the star exploded to create it. New analysis of a long observation from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is providing more clues. This analysis suggests that the supernova explosion was not only more powerful, but might have also occurred at a greater distance, than previously thought.
This image shows the Chandra data derived from more than 8 days worth of observing time. The X-rays are shown in five colors from lower to higher energies: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. These various X-ray slices were then combined with an optical image from the Digitized Sky Survey (light yellow and blue), showing stars in the field.
Previous analysis of this Chandra image has determined that the stellar explosion that created Kepler was what astronomers call a "Type Ia" supernova. This class of supernovas occurs when a white dwarf gains mass, either by pulling gas off a companion star or merging with another white dwarf, until it becomes unstable and is destroyed by a thermonuclear explosion.
Unlike other well-known Type Ia supernovas and their remnants, Kepler's debris field is being strongly shaped by what it is running into. More specifically, most Type Ia supernova remnants are very symmetrical, but the Kepler remnant is asymmetrical with a bright arc of X-ray emission in its northern region. This indicates the expanding ball of debris from the supernova explosion is plowing into the gas and dust around the now-dead star.
The bright X-ray arc can be explained in two ways. In one model, the pre-supernova star and its companion were moving through the interstellar gas and losing mass at a significant rate via a wind, creating a bow shock wave similar to that of a boat moving through water. Another possibility is that the X-ray arc is caused by debris from the supernova expanding into an interstellar cloud of gradually increasing density.
The wind and bow shock model described above requires that the Kepler supernova remnant is located at a distance of more than 23,000 light years. In the latter alternative, the gas into which the remnant is expanding has higher density than average, and the distance of the remnant from the earth is between about 16,000 and 20,000 light years. Both alternatives give greater distances than the commonly used value of 13,000 light years.
In either model, the X-ray spectrum - that is, the amount of X-rays produced at different energies - reveals the presence of a large amount of iron, and indicates an explosion more energetic than the average Type Ia supernova. Additionally, to explain the observed X-ray spectrum in this model, a small cavity must have been cleared out around the star before it exploded. Such a cavity, which would have a diameter less than a tenth that of the remnant's current size, might have been produced by a fast, dense outflow from the surface of the white dwarf before it exploded, as predicted by some models of Type Ia supernovas.
Additionally, to explain the observed X-ray spectrum in this model, a small cavity must have been cleared out around the star before it exploded. Such a cavity, which would have a diameter less than a tenth that of the remnant, might have been produced by a fast, dense outflow from the surface of the white dwarf before it exploded, as predicted by some models of Type Ia supernovas.
Evidence for an unusually powerful Type Ia supernova has previously been observed in another remnant with Chandra and an optical telescope. These results were independently verified by subsequent observations of light from the original supernova explosion that bounced off gas clouds, a phenomenon called light echoes. This other remnant is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy about 160,000 light years from Earth, making it much farther away than Kepler and therefore more difficult to study.
These results were published in the September 1st, 2012 edition of The Astrophysical Journal. The authors of this study are Daniel Patnaude from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA; Carles Badenes from University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA; Sangwook Park from the University of Texas at Arlington, TX, and Martin Laming from the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.Masahiro Tanaka equaled the mark for Japan’s longest winning streak within a single season as he improved to 20-0 on Friday in the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’ 3-2 win over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
The 24-year-old Eagles ace has won 24 consecutive decisions dating back to Aug. 26, 2012. Although Tanaka (20-0) went the distance, he needed a little help from his friends to nail down this one after surrendering two runs over the first four innings.
“I didn’t help much tonight, so I’ll try to do a competent job in my next game,” said Tanaka, who allowed just three base runners after the fourth inning. “The team had to score three runs to come back because of me, and after we did, I managed to do some good at the end.”
The Eagles, who saw their Pacific League lead increase to six games over the Chiba Lotte Marines, were stymied through four innings by marquee Fighters rookie Shohei Otani, who allowed two runs in five innings.
Rakuten got to the rookie in the fifth, when Kazuya Fujita’s two-run single tied it.
“I’d made an easy out in my previous at-bat, and when I got back to the bench, Masahiro shot me this look that said, ‘Not again?’ ” Fujita said. “So when I came up (in the fifth), I was going to do anything to avoid getting that look.”
Eagles captain Kazuo Matsui, who threw out a Fighters runner at the plate in the fourth inning, broke up the tie in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer off reliever Toshiya Yanuki (2-2).
Tanaka, who won his 13th consecutive start, allowed seven hits and two walks, while striking out 11 in a 128-pitch effort. With 20 straight wins in a single season, he matched the mark of Hall of Famer Kazuhisa Inao, who won 20 straight in 1957 en route to a 35-6 season for the Nishitetsu Lions.
Squaring off against Otani for the first time, Tanaka retired the visitors in order in the first before surrendering a leadoff homer in the second to cleanup hitter Michel Abreu.
Tanaka misplaced a 2-0 slider up and over the plate that found the fat part of Abreu’s bat. It sailed over the wall in center for the Cuban’s 28th home run, tying him with injured teammate Sho Nakata for the PL lead.
Poor location forced Tanaka to pitch out of a two-on, one-out jam in the third. But the Fighters put a run on the board in the fourth on a single by Eiichi Koyano, a double by Shogo Akada and an RBI single by Kenji Sato. The damage could have been worse, but Matsui’s relay nailed Koyano easily at the plate for the second out.
Lions 8, Marines 0
At Chiba’s QVC Marine Field, Seibu submarine right-hander Kazuhisa Makita (6-9) scattered seven hits, issued a walk and hit one batter and two relievers completed a shutout that sent Chiba Lotte to its third straight loss.
The Lions welcomed back slugger Takeya Nakamura, who went 1-for-5 with an RBI single in his first game of the season after having surgery last year.
Hawks 1, Buffaloes 0
At Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, Yuki Yanagita broke up a scoreless pitchers’ duel when he led off the top of the ninth inning with a home run off Yoshihisa Hirano (2-5) as Fukuoka Softbank edged Orix.
Hawks ace Tadashi Settsu went eight innings and improved to 15-5, with Ryota Igarashi picking up his eighth save.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
BayStars 5, Carp 4
At Yokohama Stadium, Takehiro Ishikawa overturned a 1-0 deficit with a two-run, fifth-inning single and Taketoshi Goto belted a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the seventh as Yokohama topped Hiroshima to win its third straight game.
Tigers 8, Giants 4
At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin captain Takashi Toritani went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and five RBIs in a win over league-leading Yomiuri.
Tigers ace Atsushi Nomi (9-6) allowed two runs in seven innings to win for the first time since July 9. The lefty allowed seven hits and three walks, while striking out three.
Swallows 6, Dragons 4
At Nagoya Dome, Ryosuke Morioka broke up a tie game against the team that once discarded him with a seventh-inning, pinch-hit double that lifted Tokyo Yakult over Chunichi.
NPB home run leader Wladimir Balentien remained on 52, three shy of the single-season record after going 1-for-5 with a single.(Newser) – If you're reading this while at work, watch out: Doing so could someday become a federal offense, LiveScience reports. Two Boston College professors recently wrote a paper on a hypothetical broad interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act—an interpretation that could make it illegal for employees to violate their companies' computer policies. The 1986 act was intended to protect against hacking, but the authors say companies may be able to successfully sue their employees for doing anything from checking Facebook to sending a non-work-related email while on the job.
Of course, the law was written long before Facebook or any such site existed, and experts point out that technology has progressed faster than the laws that deal with technology. Some appeal courts have already ruled that things like accessing social media constitute a violation of CFAA, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently took a narrower interpretation of the law in a case involving the employee of an executive recruiting firm who was trying to set up a competing business. Perhaps the Ninth Circuit is "at the forefront of a new trend that recognizes dangers in the CFAA as a catch-all statute to pursue employees for fraudulent or disloyal use of workplace computers," the authors write. (Read more computers stories.)After eight years with the club, Alex McCarthy looks finally set to be moving onto Premier League side QPR.
The 24-year old was subject of interest from Rangers and considering Adam Federici was selected as Nigel Adkins’ number one choice keeper, McCarthy was always destined to leave. The fee is believed to be around £3 million and the keeper said his goodbyes this afternoon.
Just leaving Hogwood. McCarthy was saying his goodbyes. He’s off to #QPR now to tie up his move #readingfc? Charles Watts (@charles_watts) August 28, 2014
Macca will challenge Rob Green for the number one jersey at Loftus Road, with his move set to be confirmed tomorrow. With fellow goalkeeper Mikkel Andersen still with us at the moment, it is expected he will remain with the Royals as back-up to Federici.
I don’t agree with fans for slating McCarthy for wanting to leave – I would want to if I was on the bench for a Championship side when I’d been in the England squad just over a year ago. The time was right for him to move on, with Feders proving his is more than capable.
Being an academy product, we wish Macca the best of luck in his future career and he certainly has the potential to wear the jersey for his country one day. And when he can kick a ball properly, he will be a very good Premier League goalkeeper – best of luck to him!It's safe to say that Pokemon Go has become a global sensation and there are no visible limits to the extent to which players are willing to go to catch a Pokemon. Players are so involved in the game that it has finally broken the big barrier of the porn's lead on the internet.
Pokemon Go is bigger than pornography, Twitter and Instagram.
According to a report by the Independent, most people on the internet are searching for Pokemon Go than they are for porn, a search term which has long dominated the web. The report also found that Pokemon Go searches spiked on July 11 and has since stayed on top of porn on Google search. Most searches come from areas where the game has officially been released.
Pokemon Go was launched in select countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., on July 6 and has since expanded to Germany and the U.K. While it is expected to expand to other regions soon, massive interest has been generated from countries like the Netherlands and Canada.
Pornhub, the popular pornography site, also found a sudden spike in the searches for Pokemon on its website. According to Pornhub's statistics, Pokemon searches increased 136 per cent than the daily average prior to the launch of the game. The porn site also shared insights about Pokemon search demographics.
Pornhub found that men were 62 per cent more likely to search for Pokemon porn than women and searches among the 18-to-24 year age group were 336 percent more likely compared to all other age groups. The report further revealed that Android users were 51 percent more likely to search for Pokemon on Pornhub than iOS device users.
Pornhub's informative graphs showed that countries in Central and South America, including Bolivia, Peru and Chile, were most likely to search for Pokemon porn than other regions.tl;dr The scope of backtracking try should be minimized, usually by placing it inside the definition of a parser.
Have you ever written a Parsec parser and gotten a really uninformative error message?
"test.txt" (line 15, column 7): unexpected 'A' expecting end of input
The line and the column are randomly somewhere in your document, and you're pretty sure you should be in the middle of some stack of parser combinators. But wait! Parsec has somehow concluded that the document should be ending immediately. You noodle around and furthermore discover that the true error is some ways after the actually reported line and column.
You think, “No wonder Parsec gets such a bad rep |
calculated by using the binomial distribution, which yields an overall probability of 3.2%. Hence, the precise locations of the individual planets in the Solar System do result in a rate of change of eccentricity that is small compared to that typical of planetary systems constructed by making small modifications to the Solar System's architecture.
This is an encouraging result; but, in detail, the results in Table 2 are surprisingly variable, since it is easier to get a low average frequency by getting all planets in approximately the right locations than it is by getting some very precisely positioned (e.g., Jupiter) while having others with far-from-optimal placement (e.g., Saturn). One possible explanation is that the positions of individual planets are not independent variables. If there are dynamic constraints on relative locations of planets, then it may not be possible to get all planets simultaneously into “good” positions. This possible explanation for the anomalies in Table 2 will be investigated next.
7. Near-Commensurability
It has been known for several decades that there is a preference, within the Solar System, for near-commensurabilities in orbital period. For example, the time taken for Jupiter to orbit twice around the Sun (59.3 years) is almost the same as five times Saturn's orbital period (58.9 years). Statistical analysis of all such pairings (including those in the giant planet–satellite systems) by Roy and Ovenden (1954) showed that near-commensurabilities comfortably exceeded the number expected by chance at the 0.44% significance level (chosen to be equivalent to a 3σ deviation). More recent observations of near-commensurability in extrasolar planetary systems (Udry et al.,2007) suggest that this may be a common property in many planetary systems.
Goldreich (1965) attempted to explain near-commensurabilities for satellite systems. In his theory, tidal dissipation leads to evolution of satellite orbits at differing rates, so that, at some point in time, satellite pairs by chance approach near-commensurability. Once this occurs, perturbation theory indicates that satellites can exchange significant angular momentum. The evolution of the two satellites then becomes coupled, and the near-commensurability is locked in. Tidal dissipation is too small for this process to explain planetary (rather than satellite) near-commensurabilities, but Goldreich (1965) pointed out that “the stability proof discussed in this paper would apply equally well to other phenomena which might produce secular changes in semi-major axes.” He goes on to speculate that such forces were probably present during the formation of the Solar System and that this would explain planetary near-commensurabilities. More recent numerical modeling studies (e.g., Thommes et al.,2008) support this idea that effects such as gas-drag and planet-planet scattering in the early stages of planetary system formation produce evolution toward a relatively stable state in which there are near-commensurabilities in orbital periods.
Hence, both observation and theory support the idea that near-commensurability is a natural outcome of the evolution of planetary systems. This may explain the unexpected discrepancies seen in Table 2 and discussed earlier. To investigate this possibility, and following Roy and Ovenden (1954), the remainder of this section will assume that pairs of adjacent planets have orbital radii that give rise to orbital periods with ratios near n:m where 1 ≤ n ≤ 6 and 2 ≤ m ≤ 7, which gives rise to 15 distinct ratios. The overall scale of the resulting planetary systems will be fixed, as before, by keeping Neptune in its true location, and the ratios given above are then used to specify the orbits of the remaining seven planets. This gives rise to 157 ∼ 170 million alternate solar systems, which is far too many to model exhaustively; hence, specimen systems will be picked randomly from this population (i.e., Monte Carlo modeling is undertaken).
There is one further difficulty that must be discussed before the results of this modeling are presented. Strictly speaking, the simple Laplace-Lagrange method addressed breaks down when pairs of planets approach commensurability, since additional terms then become necessary in the equations, and these have the effect of greatly increasing the frequencies. This explains why the frequencies given in column 3 of Table 1 are slightly underestimated compared to those in columns 1 and 2 (which have some compensation for near-commensurability). Fortunately, the resulting resonance peaks are very sharp so that, as Table 1 demonstrates for the Solar System, this complication can be ignored as a first approximation, provided planets are merely close to, rather than precisely at, such locations. Hence, although the systems modeled below assume exact commensurability, the results actually approximate those for planetary systems where the semimajor axes have been modified slightly to move away from these resonance peaks.
Given this caveat, the mean frequency for each of the alternate solar systems described above can be calculated and compared to the mean frequency for the system closest to our Solar System (Table 3) that has a mean precession frequency of 10.2″/y (cf. 9.7″/y in Table 1). After modeling 10,000 randomly chosen systems, 3.9% ( = 386) of these have frequencies less than or equal to 10.2″/y. Thus, the particular configuration of near-commensurabilities in this system has an unusually low frequency compared to most alternate systems that have different combinations of near-commensurabilities. Furthermore, these results support the proposal given above that Saturn, in particular, is far from its individual optimal position because of additional constraints imposed on the structure of the Solar System by planetary formation processes and subsequent evolution.
Table 3. Nearest Approximation to the Solar System Assuming That Orbital Periods of Adjacent Planets Are in the Exact Ratio n:m and That Neptune's Location Is Fixed to Set the Overall Scale Inner planet Outer planet n m a true (AU) a predicted (AU) Mercury Venus 2 5 0.39 0.36 Venus Earth 3 5 0.72 0.67 Earth Mars 1 2 1.00 0.94 Mars Jupiter 1 6 1.52 1.50 Jupiter Saturn 2 5 5.20 4.94 Saturn Uranus 1 3 9.54 9.11 Uranus Neptune 1 2 19.19 18.94 Neptune 30.07 30.07
8. Discussion
8.1. Milankovitch timescale sensitivity
The general methodology outlined in this paper is capable of discriminating between anthropic selection for slow climate change, anthropic selection for rapid climate change, or the possibility of no significant anthropic effect at all. Three separate tests for an anthropic effect on Milankovitch timescales have been attempted here, and all three show a clear preference in the true Earth for slow climate change compared to similar, alternate systems. Firstly, consideration of the properties of the Earth-Moon system suggests that only 0.77% of alternate models have slower precession (and hence obliquity) change. Secondly, treating the locations of the major planets as independent variables suggests that only 3.2% of alternate solar systems have slower average frequencies (hence slower rate of change of eccentricity). Finally, the assumption that the Solar System's structure can be approximated by one in which adjacent planets have simple relationships between their periods leads to the conclusion that only 3.9% of alternate structures have slower frequencies. The probability that the results from all three of these tests are purely coincidental is less than one in 105.
The motivation for looking at Milankovitch cycles is that demonstration of their optimization is a tractable problem. This approach was chosen despite the fact that Milankovitch cycles are a second-order influence on climate and of far less significance than factors such as solar (Newmann and Rood, 1977), biological (e.g., Gray, 1993), and geological processes (Walker et al., 1981). Given this, it is perhaps surprising that the Milankovitch-selection effect appears to be so strong.
The explanation for this surprisingly strong effect may lie in the particular periodicities typical of Milankovitch cycles (i.e., ∼104 to 106 years), since populations of organisms may be particularly sensitive to climate change on these particular timescales. Climate changes on much shorter timescales (i.e., ∼102 years) are comparable to large-organism lifetimes, so organisms must have adaptations to cope with such changes (e.g., hibernation as an adaptation to seasonal variations). On very long timescales (i.e., >106 years), on the other hand, climate change is sufficiently slow that organisms simply co-evolve with the climate by Darwinian selection. However, problems might occur on intermediate timescales where change may be too fast to allow Darwinian evolution but too slow for the full range of conditions to be experienced during the lifetime of an individual organism. Under these circumstances, organisms that happened to be adapted to a wide range of temperatures would be out-competed by organisms more closely adapted to current conditions. Closely adapted organisms might therefore flourish at the expense of climate generalists, but their descendants would be too specialized to cope with subsequent changes in conditions. In other words, on these interim timescales, there is no evolutionary stable strategy (Smith and Price, 1973), and organisms are unable to adapt effectively to medium-term changes in climate.
8.2. Alternate mechanisms
This paper has presented preliminary evidence that Earth's Milankovitch cycles are significantly slower than might be expected on a randomly chosen Earth-like planet in a randomly chosen solarlike planetary system and has suggested that this is the result of anthropic selection for slow climate change. One potential flaw in the foregoing arguments is that it is possible that Milankovitch-rate minimization is a general property of all dynamically stable planetary systems. The presently known small, incomplete, and highly biased sample of extrasolar planetary systems does not yet allow this alternate hypothesis to be directly tested, although this may become possible as the results from currently planned exoplanet-finding programs become available over the next few decades. This possibility could also be tested by using advanced planetary system modeling programs [e.g., “Mercury” developed by Chambers (1999)] to examine the long-term stability of a small sample of the systems generated for this paper. However, it is worth pointing out that the discovery that stable planetary systems have minimized Milankovitch frequencies would represent a major breakthrough in a celestial mechanics problem that has remained unsolved for centuries; namely, the problem of proving the stability of the Solar System. Proof of the stability of the Solar System has eluded Newton, Laplace, and Poincaré, among others, and such a simple solution seems far less likely than the explanation promoted in the present paper, that is, that this is a peculiar property of our Solar System and a consequence of anthropic selection. It is also worth mentioning that the dynamical stability explanation also fails to explain why the properties of the Earth-Moon system also show near minimization of Milankovitch-cycle frequencies.
Nevertheless, the anthropic selection explanation of the results from this paper is likely to be a controversial proposal, and further work will be required to confirm or refute this idea. Such work could use improved models of tidal-drag evolution and more detailed models of planetary orbit evolution. Future extrasolar planet search programs should also help to resolve the outstanding issues.
9. ConclusionsIntroduction
President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. (left), watches Republican National Convention proceedings with former Sen. Bob Dole (center) on July 18, 2017, in Cleveland. Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX via AP
The troubled government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is pouring millions of dollars into a new Washington lobbying campaign featuring prominent Republicans.
Among those working on the Congolese effort: former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole and Adnan Jalil, who worked for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign helping it communicate with Congress.
Also involved is Jason Epstein, a longtime lobbyist who has represented the Turkish embassy and other foreign clients. Epstein is former director of legislative affairs at B’nai B’rith International, according to his online biography.
( Update, 12:56 p.m., May 15, 2017: Epstein, in turn, is bringing on other lobbyists, including former Rep. Bob Livingston — who endorsed Trump early last year — and his eponymous firm. Epstein has also hired DLM Group, another firm he’s affiliated with, to help with the Congolese matter, federal filings show.)
In an unusual arrangement, the lobbying campaign on behalf of the Congolese government is being coordinated by an Israeli security company, Mer Security and Communications, whose chief executive says it was chosen for its “personal relationship” with the country’s current leadership.
The African nation is paying Mer Security roughly $5.6 million this year in connection with the lobbying effort, according to a Center for Public Integrity review of disclosures filed with the Department of Justice. Already, the Congolese government has paid $4.5 million of that sum, a chunk of which Mer Security is using to hire Washington, D.C.-based lobbyists for the effort.
“That’s a lot of money,” said Joe Sandler, a lawyer and an expert in foreign lobbying.
Lobbying firms routinely receive seven-figure sums when advocating for foreign governments, particularly ones with bad reputations.
A prime example: South Sudan, which spent $2.1 million on K Street public relations and lobbying firms during 2014 and 2015, including the outfit led Democratic super-fundraiser Tony Podesta.
But rarely do foreign lobbying contracts command more than $5 million.
The bodies of people killed during election protests lie in the street, as Congolese troops stand near by in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sept. 19, 2016. Witnesses say at least four people died. The protests were organized by activists who are opposed to longtime President Joseph Kabila. John Bompengo/AP
The Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing political upheaval and civil unrest. The current leader, Joseph Kabila, has promised to hold elections before the end of the year, though opponents have questioned whether he’ll uphold the agreement.
The embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for comment from the Center for Public Integrity.
Lobbying firm Alston & Bird, which employs Dole, received $500,000 from Mer Security on April 27.
Mer Security’s filings with the Justice Department describe the money as a “payment to engage in political activities.”
Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Alston & Bird is required to publicly disclose it is representing a foreign government within 10 days of agreeing to represent a foreign government.
It did not.
After several inquiries from the Center for Public Integrity, Alston & Bird filed its disclosure report, which included a signed April 19 engagement letter with Mer Security, on May 10.
The firm’s letter of engagement said Dole would be lead attorney on the matter.
The $500,000 covers three months of Alston & Bird’s work.
Alston & Bird, Mer Security’s subcontractor, said its engagement terms said the firm would be offering advice on “strategic communications, policy issues and compliance with” lobbying disclosure laws.
The agreement terms “do not include or anticipate our representation of, or advocacy for, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo before the United States government.”
Dennis Garris, the managing partner of Alston & Bird’s Washington office, did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did Dole, whose role only became public once the firm filed its disclosure.
Dole, the only former Republican presidential nominee who endorsed Trump before the GOP convention last summer, is a savvy Washington insider who most recently attracted notice for his lobbying on behalf of Taiwan. Dole’s efforts led to a stunning call between Trump and Taiwan’s president, angering China.
Dole’s retainer for the Taiwan work, which includes direct lobbying, is $25,000 a month, per federal disclosures.
Both Epstein and Jalil said in emails that the point of their work is to promote an “open, productive” discussion with a goal of improving the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Epstein’s disclosures show he is receiving $138,000 for three months of work.
“The Congolese people, their safety and human rights can only improve if the United States takes an active and engaging role in the largest country in Africa,” said Jalil, who has so far received $45,000, according to filings.
Jalil, who’s only current lobbying client is Mer Security, said he joined Trump’s campaign as a liaison to the House of Representatives in early spring of 2016 “and was part of a very small, loyal, and dedicated team in Washington.” Trump has been critical of Washington’s lobbying and influence industry, and in January, he issued an executive order banning administration officials from ever lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.
Nonetheless, some Trump alumni have pursued lobbying work — former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, most notably.
Seeking access to U.S. politicians
Mer Security said in its disclosure filings that it had agreed to advise Congolese officials on U.S. policy and political concerns regarding African security issues.
It will also advise the country’s government on the appointment of a special envoy to the United States and “strategic planning to the envoy’s engagement in bilateral diplomacy with the United States.”
A special Democratic Republic of Congo envoy is expected to visit Washington in June, according to the filings.
In describing its work on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mer Security’s tells the Department of Justice that it has “agreed to generate interest in and participation at meetings of senior U.S. administration officials and key policy makers in various congressional committees.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo has experienced significant political turmoil in recent months.
Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, center, waves as he visits the city of Kindu on June 30, 2016. John Bompengo/AP
The current leader, Joseph Kabila, was supposed to step down late last year. But he negotiated a deal to stay in power in exchange for a promise to hold elections by the end of 2017.
This week, Kabila named a new transitional government, something opponents said is a violation of the agreement allowing him to stay in power. Kabila has said election delays are due to logistical and budgetary challenges, which could prompt questions about his government’s decision to spend millions of dollars on a Washington lobbying campaign.
The U.S. State Department has warned Americans to avoid unnecessary travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo, citing security concerns.
The Obama administration sanctioned high officials in Kabila’s government. And earlier this month, Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, described the government as “corrupt” and said it “preys on its citizens.”
An unusual middleman
A review of federal disclosures shows no previous instance of Mer Security lobbying in the United States.
In public filings, the company said its main business activities are “manufacturing, supplying and installing telecommunications and electricity systems, developing command and control software, constructing command and control centers and integrating and implementing physical security systems.”
Omer Laviv, Mer Security’s CEO, said in an e-mail to the Center for Public Integrity that the company was hired “to explore opportunities through which the U.S. government can support the DRC government in its efforts to bring peace, stability and prosperity to the Congolese people.”
The company has “extensive experience” in advising and consulting with governments on national security, he said, and has operated for many years in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Personal relationship[s] that are characterized by a high level of trust have been established between MER and the leadership of the country,” Laviv wrote.
“This level of trust led the Congolese government to appoint MER to this assignment.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo had previously been represented in Washington by BGR Government Affairs, a prominent Republican firm.
Disclosures show BGR Government Affairs’ representation ended Jan. 31.
This article was co-published by TIME.Vernon Howard’s The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power presents what seems to us the out of the world spiritual and philosophical truths in a simpler way. It’s a book containing several stories from history where people put everything at stake for the sake of truth and eventually found peace and wisdom. Howard, in his book, also provides the truth about relationships and how you can have a meaningful one.
1.Insight
In a relationship, the person having the deeper self-insight is the gifted one. She will be grounded, calmer and more confident.
2.Manipulation
Never let the other person manipulate you. Nobody should dictate how you feel and act.
3.Intentions over actions
We usually make the mistake of judging people by their actions and often ignore their real intention. Stop trusting people at their face value. Observe them with other people and you will know their real side.
4.Individuality
Never lose the real you. A relationship should not require you to give up your individuality. If there is any change that a relationship is allowed to bring about in you, it is to inspire you to become a better person.
5.Love thyself first
Loving yourself is the first step to a fulfilling relationship. You cannot make the other person feel happy when you yourself are not feeling so. According to Howard, mystically all of us are similar in nature. Therefore, if you hurt yourself then automatically you are hurting others and vice versa.
6.Desire
Temptation has been labelled as our spiritual enemy since ages. When you keep distance from unnecessary desires, it becomes difficult for you to be deceived.
7.Resistance
Howard says that it is psychologically mature when you cease defending yourself angrily towards unjust allegations. He thinks that resistance disturbs your own peace of mind.
8.Self-knowledge
Having a clear perception of your own self — strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, and motivations — is important not just for your own sake but is also crucial in understanding others. The more self-aware you are, the more correctly you will be able to perceive the attitudes and responses of the other person.
9.A wholesome experience
Let yourself experience, completely, all the happiness and disappointments in your relationships. When you have experienced everything, you tend to see things more clearly in future.
10.Know what is love
Try understanding the real meaning of love. Love does not mean that the other person will be at your beck and call. It doesn’t mean that the one you love will (by rule) love you back and with the same intensity. If you know the real meaning of love, then you will not be anxious or insecure.
11.Learn to deal with heart breaks
Dealing with a heart break or moving on doesn’t mean that you rush out to find a replacement. Doing this never lets you to examine your heartache and the emotions keep bottling up inside you.
12.Social validation
Do not go out there in the world (real or virtual) seeking social validation. At times, being a ‘nobody’ is better than being on a false cloud nine. Be true to yourself.
13.Learn from experiences
Every single moment you spend with your significant other cannot be pleasant. There will be moments of unpleasantness. The combination of both will help you know the other person as they really are.
14.Know what harms you
Don’t be blind to the harmful part of your relationship. Sometimes we become so ignorant of the injuries that when a third person points them out, we feel surprised and are taken aback.
15.Recognise the virtue in others
You tend to overlook the qualities of the other person when you yourself don’t possess them. Move away from such a habit and be aware of the virtues of other people.
16.Lust vs love
Never mistake your desire for someone as your love. Desire makes you insecure and you are always seeking endless gratification. Instead, love is at peace with itself. It never seeks validation from outside.Positivity
17.Positivity
We all have a positive and a negative side. But you should never let the latter take the charge. Try looking for the positive side of every situation. Negativity wires your brain for complaining.
18.Self esteem
Stop thinking about what others will think and rather concentrate on what you think about yourself. Believe in yourself and don’t live in a fear of other people’s judgment.
19.Be genuine
You will never fit into other people’s expectations however much you try. Therefore, strive to be a genuine person and not a pleaser.
20.Transform yourself for the better
In any kind of relationship, the best gift you can give to the other person is your attempt to reform yourself for the better. Make yourself worthy of the love of your partner.Phil Jackson, left, is reportedly being pursued by the Phil Jackson, left, is reportedly being pursued by the Raptors. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Just days after legendary coach Phil Jackson confirmed he has engaged in conversations with multiple NBA organizations about a possible front-office role, the Raptors have reportedly emerged as a team interested in his services.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment -- the company that oversees the Raptors, the National Hockey League's Maple Leafs and Major League Soccer's Toronto FC -- announced the hiring of former AEG executive Tim Leiweke as president and CEO on Friday. Leiweke, who was based in Los Angeles while working for AEG, told Toronto-area reporters in a conference call that he is friends with Jackson, but he wouldn't commit to having any formal conversations about a role for Jackson with the Raptors.
ESPNLA.com reported Friday the Raptors are interested in Jackson, with current general manager Bryan Colangelo's future up in the air.
Sources told ESPN.com this week that the Raptors have interest in talking with Jackson about the Pat Riley-style role he craves in charge of a team's basketball operations. ESPN.com reported last week that Jackson, after nearly two seasons in retirement, is itching to return to the NBA next season, preferably in a role similar to Riley's in Miami that allows him to oversee both the basketball department and the coaching staff or perhaps as a high-level consultant such as Jerry West in Golden State.
Colangelo has a contract option for the 2013-14 season which has not yet been picked up but which will soon require a decision. Leiweke told reporters Friday he will speak with Colangelo about his status next week.
Jackson told the San Francisco Chronicle this week he's not interested in a return to coaching but he would like to help "implant the game [and] a culture" by serving in an unspecified personnel position.
"I've had some talks with people and there are some interesting situations that are presenting themselves, but I really haven't made up my mind yet what I'm going to do," said Jackson. "None of it involves coaching.... There are three or four teams that have been interested." Jackson said he would be interested in a developing team "where you'd have the influence in (selecting the) coaching staff and the kind of culture that goes along with it. It goes all the way down to - not down to, but includes - trainers and the people who are doing the hands-on work with players, that have to be really embedded with how you put a team together."
Jackson, 67, was linked in rumors to a return to the Lakers' bench after former coach Mike Brown was fired following a 1-4 start back in November. Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak reportedly met with Jackson before hiring Mike D'Antoni.
Jackson -- who retired in 2011 after winning 11 titles as a coach -- has said the possibilities of a return to coaching are "slim and none." That hasn't stopped his name from popping up in rumors linking him to the Nets, who fired coach Avery Johnson and appointed assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo as an interim coach in December. Over the last year, he has also been linked in rumors to the Blazers and the Kings, should they relocate to Seattle and become the Sonics, in front office roles.Kevin Tanaka/For Sun-Times Media
Just when you thought Mayor Rahm had done all the damage he could do to our schools, CPS starts pulling kids out of Drummond's classrooms to rat on their teachers.
When I got word yesterday that central office inspectors were hauling in kids from the classroom to interrogate them about their teachers, I said—no way!
Mayor Emanuel may be hardheaded, vindictive, and pugnacious, but he would not—I repeat, not—stoop so low as to force grammar school kids to rat on their teachers.
Hear that, Mayor E.? When push came to shove, I defended you. That's correct. Far from being one of your knee-jerk opponents, I was, instead, a knee-jerk defender.
'Cause I love you, man.
Then it turned out—it's true! Central office inspectors really were interrogating kids without parent notification at Drummond elementary school about their teachers and the ISAT.
Dang, Mayor Rahm—you're killing me. I mean, it's one thing to close schools and fire teachers. But bringing in kids for questioning? What's next—faking protests in favor of school closings? Oh, wait, you did that already...
Back to Drummond...
"I got a call at 10:30 [AM] from a parent who said something crazy is going on," says Jonathan Goldman, chair of the Drummond LSC. "Two CPS inspectors from the law department were pulling kids from the class one by one."
Goldman says he doesn't know how many kids were called in for questioning. But they were as young as third-graders. And they were being asked about the ISAT. "They were pulling in kids as young as eight years old," says Goldman.
Explanation! The ISAT is a standardized test that CPS officials insists kids take even though they—the officials—are phasing it out.
Over the last few weeks, it's been the subject of a minirevolt. Hundreds of parents have requested that their children opt out of taking it. And dozens of teachers—including several at Drummond—declared that they could not in good conscience give it.
In response, CPS officials threatened to punish teachers who don't give the test, perhaps by stripping them of their state certification, thus making them virtually unemployable. Here—read all about it.
Goldman headed over to Drummond soon after he heard about the interrogations.
"I asked one of the CPS investigators what authority they had to do this without getting permission from parents, and he said 'in loco parentis.'"
Huh?
"That's an old legal doctrine. It's Latin for 'in place of the parents.'"
Oh, God, I love it when CPS officials break into their Latin.
"Generally, it's intended for cases of a medical emergency," Goldman explains. "Like when school officials can give children medicine."
As opposed to grilling little Johnny about what he knew and when he knew it.
By the way, Drummond—which is in Bucktown—is a relatively middle-class school with no shortage of lawyers among its parent body.
So presumably, messing with Drummond kids will carry more consequences for the mayor than, oh, closing scores of schools in poor south- and west-side neighborhoods.
In any case, the investigators asked the kids what their teachers had told them about taking the ISAT, says Goldman.
"I think their point is that teachers are not supposed to be on the clock telling kids they should opt out of the ISAT," says Goldman.
Clearly, this whole interrogation thing violates the mayor's assertion that every minute in school is sacred. He invoked that theme when parents pulled their kids from school to protest his plan to divert tens of millions of TIF dollars from CPS to build a basketball arena for DePaul and a hotel for Marriott.
So apparently it's OK for kids to miss valuable class time to rat on their teachers. But it's not OK to miss time to oppose the mayor's TIF deals.
After outraged Drummond parents called CPS to complain, a CPS spokesman issued one of the system's classic explanations: "CPS officials only spoke with students who opted to talk with them."
How reassuring. I hope the eight-year-olds were notified of their Miranda rights.
One more time—the ISAT is meaningless test. It's being phased out. It plays no role in high school or college placement. So this whole showdown is little more than another attempt by Mayor Emanuel to show CTU president Karen Lewis that his thing is bigger than hers.
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Hold it—breaking news!!!
I just got word that CPS investigators are interrogating kids at Saucedo elementary. Teachers and parents are going to have a press conference this afternoon.
Oh brother, Mayor E.—you're making it harder and harder for me to defend you.We’re happy to announce the release of Kotlin/Native v0.5, Christmas edition! This release adds support for using Kotlin/Native code from C, Objective-C and Swift, supports development using iOS simulator, along with LLVM 5 support and creating WebAssembly from Linux and Windows hosts.
Reverse interop from Objective-C and Swift
In the previous release of Kotlin/Native we introduced calling Apple frameworks from Kotlin/Native, assuming they provide Objective-C headers. Now we go another way around, and add support for calling Kotlin code from Swift and Objective-C. For that, a new compiler option, -produce framework, has been implemented. It generates a self-contained framework, which could be used from other parts of your application, as if it was written in Swift. Let’s take a look at the calculator example. It has UI written in Swift along with calculator logic written in Kotlin. Swift code intermixes with Kotlin transparently. For example, this line of Swift code:
private let parser = KAPPartialParser(composer: KAPCalculator(), partialComposer: PartialRenderer()) 1 private let parser = KAPPartialParser ( composer : KAPCalculator ( ), partialComposer : PartialRenderer ( ) )
creates an instance of the Kotlin class PartialParser, and gives it an instance of a Swift class PartialRenderer implementing a Kotlin interface ExpressionComposer.
Note, that basic types like numbers and strings are transparently mapped between Swift and Kotlin worlds.
To build the project, just open it in XCode and compile it for either a real device or the simulator, see the README.md for details.
And Kotlin code in IntelliJ IDEA:
Reverse interop from C
For other platforms we also support reverse interoperability, allowing to call Kotlin/Native code from the outside world. The lowest common denominator of modern languages is C, so this was the language we interoperate with. Compiler option -produce dynamic produces a dynamic library (such as.dylib on macOS,.so on Linux and.dll on Windows) containing everything needed to work with Kotlin/Native code. To make things fancy we decided to demonstrate this interoperability by creating Python extension. Python calls to C implementations and they call Kotlin implementation like this:
if (PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "Lss", &session_arg, &string_arg1, &string_arg2)) { T_(Server) server = getServer(); T_(Session) session = { (void*)(uintptr_t)session_arg }; const char* string = __ kotlin.demo.Server.concat(server, session, string_arg1, string_arg2); result = Py_BuildValue("s", string); __ DisposeString(string); } else { result = Py_BuildValue("s", NULL); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 if ( PyArg_ParseTuple ( args, "Lss", & session_arg, & string_arg1, & string_arg2 ) ) { T_ ( Server ) server = getServer ( ) ; T_ ( Session ) session = { ( void * ) ( uintptr_t ) session _ arg } ; const char * string = __ kotlin. demo. Server. concat ( server, session, string_arg1, string_arg2 ) ; result = Py_BuildValue ( "s", string ) ; __ DisposeString ( string ) ; } else { result = Py_BuildValue ( "s", NULL ) ; }
The Kotlin/Native compiler produces a dynamic library, and then Python distutils build tool produces another dynamic library, depending on that one. So Python launcher code calls Kotlin/Native objects via C bridge and gets both object and primitive types properly converted.
Other improvements
In Kotlin 1.2, the kotlin.math package was added to the Kotlin standard library. With v0.5 Kotlin/Native supports operations available in kotlin.math package as well
package was added to the Kotlin standard library. With v0.5 Kotlin/Native supports operations available in package as well LLVM 5.0.0 is supported with this release, as both clang toolchain and bitcode codegenerator and optimizer
Code for WebAssembly targets ( -target wasm32 ) now can be produced from Linux and Windows hosts (before only macOS hosts were supported)
) now can be produced from Linux and Windows hosts (before only macOS hosts were supported) Workers API was improved by allowing easier consumption of worker execution result and adding ability to pass primitive values from and to worker
Bugfixes and improvements
Getting the bits
Binaries could be downloaded below:
Feedback
Please report bugs and issues in the Kotlin bug tracker. Questions are welcome on #kotlin-native channel on Slack (get invite here).The Final Call | Technology
Young Africans putting digital tech to use
By AP | Last updated: Sep 17, 2015 - 12:01:39 PM
What's your opinion on this article?
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A solar backpack that powers a lamp at night and a tablet loaded with a school’s curriculum are two ways that innovative young Africans are putting digital technology to use.
With a slick production in Johannesburg’s high-rise financial district, hundreds of digital enthusiasts gathered Wednesday to share what’s new in Africa’s digital landscape.
At the Digital Edge conference headlined by American director Spike Lee, speakers enthusiastically described how young Africans are turning to technology to solve existing social problems.
In South Africa, two young innovators have designed a backpack that charges by day on the backs of schoolchildren and becomes a lamp by night to help students do their homework, according to Musa Kalenga of Facebook’s Africa operations.
Kenyan developers have created a specialized tablet that can be loaded with a school’s curriculum, covering subjects from mathematics to languages and religious studies, using video and animations, according to a video by international advertising agency Young and Rubicam, which has offices in Johannesburg and Nairobi. Known as eLimu, the Swahili word for education, the program is aimed at overwhelmed state schools in the East African country.
In Nigeria, Lagos’ gridlocked traffic leads to a loss of 3 billion working hours each year, according to the developers of a carpooling app. Developed in May with 10,000 registered users already, Jekalo—the Yoruba phrase for ‘let’s go’—matches commuters on the same route with willing drivers to form a lift club.
The digital age also allows young Africans to define their own culture in an interconnected world, as a skateboarder and break-dancer in Zambia’s capital Lusaka learned. The two founded Street Culture, a digital platform that connects Zambian youths interested in extreme sports, dance and other urban culture to an online community.I'm sorry, |
flow,” said Cannon Michael, a sixth-generation farmer whose family settled in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1800s. “But the river was disconnected for a reason.”
Initially diverted to provide water for agriculture and encourage family farms, the San Joaquin River has become the latest battleground of California’s century-old water wars. Its dams, hydro-electric plants and diverted flow illustrate the benefits as well as the costs of 20th century efforts to tame the state’s natural resources.
Damming the river in 1942 was an engineering feat that made the San Joaquin a keystone of a complex water system that ultimately allowed a semi-arid state to provide water for 40 million residents and grow more fruits and vegetables than any other U.S. state, on land watered almost entirely by irrigation.
But construction of Friant Dam near Fresno also eliminated the Pacific Coast’s southernmost runs of Chinook salmon. The river is dry most years along two stretches for a total of 60 miles. It was recently named the second-most endangered U.S. river by the group American Rivers.
“Old-timers tell stories of the water being so thick with salmon that you could practically walk across it,” said Doug Obegi, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
In 1988, that environmental group sued the federal government, saying diverting the river broke state law protecting fish. After 18 years of court battles, environmentalists, the federal government and water users finally agreed to restore the river to again support salmon.
Since that 2006 settlement, efforts to restore the river have been slowed by engineering challenges, tense negotiations with farmers and other delays. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Friant Dam, is now set to release enough water to reconnect the river this fall, said program manager Alicia Forsythe.
But improvements targeted for completion by 2013, including levees to prevent flooding and screens to keep threatened fish out of irrigation canals, have yet to start.
Environmentalists, government officials and farmers are still arguing over the path the river should take because agricultural land has encroached on its traditional route.
And farmers who rely on water diverted at Friant Dam will get less under the plan. Their allocations will drop by about 18 percent as more water is allowed to flow downstream.
Near Mendota, where levee construction is planned to begin next year, a road runs across the dry riverbed. Abandoned furniture sits in the dirt, and a target with bullet holes hangs from a tree.
Costs have ballooned, rising from an estimated $250 million to $800 million in 2006 to $1.5 billion today, said Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Shane Hunt.
The latest projected completion date is 2029.
“It’s a giant waste of time and money,” said Greg Pearl, who farms 800 acres near the river.
U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, a Republican who represents part of the area, said the cost of restoring the river is too high, and the benefits too few. He backs a plan to build a reservoir upstream of Friant Dam so farms and communities can have access to more water from the San Joaquin, not less.
Republicans in the U.S. Congress have attached proposals to do that to numerous bills, some getting as far as the Senate before stalling there. A compromise brokered two years ago by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein also stalled.
Among conservationists, however, excitement about re-connecting the river is palpable.
Slideshow (14 Images)
Former NRDC scientist Monty Schmitt predicted dramatic results even from this fall’s planned releases of modest amounts of water, designed not to flood riverbanks before levees are built.
“In the span of five minutes you can go from a dry channel to a river that is 30 feet wide,” he said.
For video, click here
Reporting by Sharon Bernstein, Editing by Ben Klayman and David GregorioBuilding a new PC? Let us do the work for you!
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* Product descriptions and part numbers are subject to change, and may not reflect manufacturer product changes. Please check the manufacturer's website and use the item's manufacturer part number to find the most up to date product description.Earlier this year, Liverpool FC launched a special competition in which fans were asked to send in their photographs of the Main Stand redevelopment for the opportunity to win a unique prize and have their work critiqued by Jürgen Klopp and club photographer John Powell.
The supporters’ pictures of the stand - which is currently undergoing major development work for expansion - was shortlisted down to 10 before the duo narrowed the submissions to just two.
Now fans have the chance to vote for the winner.
The victorious shot will appear in the official LFC magazine, matchday programme and across the club’s social media platforms.
As well as that, the image will be hung up at Melwood and in the museum at Anfield, and the winner will receive a framed copy signed by Klopp and captain Jordan Henderson.
Klopp and Powell recently got together at the club’s training facility to look through the submissions and decide upon their two favourites, and you can watch that entertaining discussion in our free video above.
Snaps by Eamon Hudson and David Laverty were the ones that made the cut - and now it’s down to you to help decide who deserves the prize.
You can have your say by clicking here to vote in our Twitter poll on @LFC, but first, scroll down to see the final two images as well as the other eight that made our shortlist…
The final two...
Eamon Hudson
David Laverty
The other eight photos to make our shortlist were...
Connor Williams
Craig Bascombe
Pimtawan Sunglaw
Jason Armstrong
Matt Owens
Mark Verdonck
Patrick Brickley
Atte KarhuDespite dropping a game for the first time this season, KT Rolster steps into the number one position in the LCK, defeating the Afreeca Freecs 2-1.
In a series that was headed by the monster match-up between Smeb and Marin, Score stole the spotlight in the first set, picking Ivern for the first time in LCK history.
In an interview with Daily eSports reporter Eun-bi Choi, Score goes into an extended discussion of his Ivern pick.
Q: How do you feel after defeating Afreeca Freecs?
A: I realized today that you should never let your guard down. We'll play harder to show you a better, more precise gameplay in the future. Don't worry about it.
Q: Is there a reason you picked Ivern in the first set?
A: I think I might be an attention seeker. I just wanted to play Ivern. I saw him played in other regions and thought he was good, so I mimicked their plays and picked him.
Q: What's the best way to use Ivern?
A: He's not easy for everyone to use. Unless it's a player like myself, he's not a champion you can use very well. He's almost like a support, kind of like how Nunu was back then. I hope other players try him out as well.
Q: Is there a reason for purchasing Redemption as your first item (as Ivern)?
A: It felt like all he did was walk around, I just felt kind of useless, so I bought Redemption to heal people. You know how it can heal, right? Yeah, I bought it so I can just heal my team.
Q: Isn't it frustrating how he has almost no offensive power?
A: It's frustrating, but a champion like that shouldn't be able to deal damage. I thought of myself as a supporter like Nunu, and played with a supportive mindset.
Q: You summoned Daisy as soon as the cooldown was up. Is it useful as a tank?
A: Yup, when you're trying to control the vision, Daisy will go in first, so you can go in any time you want. I think she's a great accomplice, wherever you go.
Q: Do you plan on picking Ivern often?
A: I'll pick him when the situation arises, but who knows when that will be. It could be as soon as next week. I hope you guys stay tuned.
Image credit: Daily eSportsRadiographs showed the OS was moderately exophthalmic with no osteolysis (Fig 1).
Hypernephroma of Thyroid, with Clinical Picture of Exophthalmic Goiter by Anatole Kolodny, PhD, MD, Iowa City
If ptosis, proptosis, and chemosis are also additionally found, it is severe exophthalmic ocular myositis (SEOM) (6).
The impetuous Spaniard would surely have found more inspiration in that expressionistic, exophthalmic male portrait bust from late antiquity than in a far more skillful portrait by a Hellenistic master, or by a modern master like Houdon.
Constantin Brancusi's exophthalmic Mademoiselle Pogany, 1912, and Joseph Bernard's genteel Young Girl with a Jug, 1912, contrast with the Germanic medieval izing of Wilhelm Lehmbruck's Kneeling Woman, 1911, not to mention a famed bas-relief of a frame-enclosed nude by Aristide Maillol.
Therefore, history of surgery should also be questioned in patients presenting with a decreased vision, red and exophthalmic eye with ophthalmoplegia.
Because of his wide interests and reading he was as comfortable writing about Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Socrates or the sculpture of Jacob Epstein as on exophthalmic ophthalmoplegia carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical spondylosis, the non-metastatic manifestations of malignancy, speech disorders and mind-body problems, to which he made notable contributions.
The most remarkable physical findings were a regular pulse of 120 beats per minute, palpable diffuse goiter with palpable right thyroid nodule, exophthalmic measurement OD of 18 and OS of 20, lid lag and hypereflexia.
Kocher also ventured extraordinarily in treating patients with exophthalmic goiter which had been described before by Graves (11).NYPD to Get Body Cameras
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Between the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and police officers in both Dallas and Baton Rouge, the question remains of how to bridge the seemingly unbridgeable gap between law enforcement and communities of color. The NYPD is no exception to the question, and they are turning to the people they protect for the answer. In the Fall of 2014, the NYPD started a small pilot program with 54 body cameras for officers, which is expected to expand to an additional 1,000 body cams on officers. But before officers are outfitted with these cameras, the NYPD is offering a questionnaire as a joint initiative by the Policing Project at NYU’s School of Law. The survey will allow New Yorkers to give their input on how they think cameras should be used, with the hope that it will foster a better relationship between the public and the police. Director of the Policing Project, professor Barry Friedman stops by to talk about the pilot program and the questionnaire.
Learn more about the work of New York University School of Law’s Policing Project and the proposed body camera policy they are developing with the NYPD.
Want to participate in the questionnaire? Share your input on how you think the NYPD should use body cameras before the proposed July 31 deadline.BRITISH hunk Tom Hopper is just as charming as you'd expect a Knight of the Round Table to be.
That's because he is one - Hopper plays Sir Percival in the hit BBC series Merlin.
And for the 25-year-old star, who was a fan of the Merlin legend when he was a young boy, the role is a dream come true.
"When you're a young boy and you hear about the whole concept it's definitely appealing," he said.
"It's (the role) a bit of a dream come true."
Sir Percival made his first appearance in the final episode of Series Three when he arrived with Lancelot just in time to save Arthur and Merlin.
He was later knighted by Arthur before continuing to fight along side him in the retaking of Camelot.
Percival returned in Series Four as one of Arthur's best knights.
"He's a gentle giant," Hopper said of his role.
"The one thing I've always said about him, he's very protective. He'll do anything for those he loves and I love that aspect about him."
The star said the set of Merlin was a fantastic way to spend his days.
"It's a really great working environment, it's a really fun place to work. And it's just not the cast, the crew are great too."
Hopper will make his first trip to Australia next weekend for the hugely popular Supanova Pop Culture Expo.
"I've never been to Australia before, it's going to be awesome."
Hopper will be in Brisbane for the expo and then take a trip down to Sydney for some sight-seeing.
"When Colin (Morgan - who plays Merlin in the show) came last year he said the best thing to do was see what offers you get and not plan anything," he said.
He said he had been to a fan convention like Supanova once before, but thought Supanova was a bit bigger.
"I'm really excited about meeting the fans. They seem so passionate and I get a lot of enjoyment out of talking and meeting them."
Hopper also guest stared an episode of Doctor Who, when Matt Smith made his first appearance.
What you need to knowTranscript for California Man in Coma After Police Altercation, Family Says
32 year old Vincent Valenzuela is in a medically induced coma. After an altercation with Anaheim police it happened Saturday morning nearest 7-Eleven on Broadway in magnolia. Police say they received a call of a suspicious man who followed a woman home. Officers confronted Valenzuela who they say was in possession of narcotics paraphernalia. And resisted arrest. While they were trying to take him into custody he could go into medical distress. The officers illegally performed life saving efforts called for Anaheim fire rescue came paramedics also performed. First aid transport in the hospital. Family members say witnesses told them Valenzuela was taser by the officers and went into cardiac arrest Albany. Somebody can come forward where that video. So we can see what really happened because this 7-Eleven and manager was not very cooperative with us he refused because apparently he will only give it to the police. The family and their attorneys believe this was a case of police brutality there always gonna do this and those gonna give these sensational stories of how it went down. I need to see evidence felons Willis family especially his nine year old son hope he'll pull through. We want. To view T Anthony. Basketball. Fans are going meat yeah. Police say they can't comment on whether he was taser to the officers were wearing body cameras. The footage from those cameras has been provided this attorney's office and it has been verified that the cameras are activated to tiny incident occurred. The office of independent review and the district attorney's office are now investigating the use of force. In Anaheim Melissa McBride a BC seven Eyewitness News.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.— A new online video has captured footage of potentially hazardous methane gases escaping from a natural gas leak in the San Fernando Valley.
Aerial footage posted on YouTube by the Environmental Defense Fund showed a giant methane plume spewing out from the Southern California Gas Company storage facility in Aliso Canyon.
The description for the video says the methane plumes were made visible by a “specialized infrared camera operated by an Earthworks ITC-certified thermographer.”
CBS News has confirmed the footage is real.
Earlier Monday, SoCal Gas Co. spokeswoman Anne Silva told the Los Angeles Times crews had pinpointed the location of the leak that has displaced thousands of residents in Porter Ranch.
Silva said crews discovered the site of the target around midnight on Saturday while using a magnetic ranging tool.
The leak was discovered around a depth of 3,800 feet within a “7-inch diameter steel pipeline that allows natural gas to be put into a naturally occurring underground storage field,” according to Silva.
The natural gas leak was located on Oct. 23. The county was notified five days later.
Since then, thousands of residents have been relocated from their homes after experiencing symptoms including headaches, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)“O ye that embark in the service of God,” exhorts a February 1829 revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Harmony, Pennsylvania, “see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day” (Doctrine and Covenants 4:2).
The remarkable career of John W. Welch has exemplified using mind in the service of God as well as that of anybody I know or know of. And, wonderfully, his is an energetic, insightful, creative, prolific and active mind. The LDS Church has been greatly blessed by his astonishing productivity.
Welch’s influence as a scholar of Mormonism and particularly of Mormon scripture began in 1967 with his discovery, while serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Regensburg, Germany, of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, a discovery that has permanently changed the way faithful scholars approach that book. And now, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his discovery, BYU Studies and Book of Mormon Central, with co-sponsorship from Brigham Young University’s College of Religious Education, the Interpreter Foundation (of which I am the chairman) and the Maxwell Institute, will celebrate a “Chiasmus Jubilee” on the campus of Brigham Young University on Wednesday, Aug. 16, from 7–9 p.m.
Accompanying the Wednesday evening celebration, which (among other things) will feature important guest speakers, musical numbers and special presentations on chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, will be a two-day conference on the subject of chiasmus, running both Aug. 15 and Aug. 16. Latter-day Saint scholars will be joined at this conference by prominent non-Mormon colleagues to consider such topics as criteria for identifying chiastic structures, the understanding of chiasmus as a tool in textual criticism, and chiasmus in the ancient Near East, the New Testament and Mesoamerica.
In connection with the scholarly conference and the “Jubilee” celebration, materials on chiasmus will be on display at BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library on BYU’s campus from the beginning of August through mid-September. For the evening event on Aug. 16, items concerning the impact and aftermath of the discovery of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, as well as progress in scholarship about chiasmus in the Bible and in other literatures, will be exhibited in BYU’s Joseph Smith Building.
While these events will be open to the general public at no charge, advance registration for them would be extremely helpful to their planners and organizers. For further information and registration forms, see bookofmormoncentral.org/events/chiasmus-day-2017.
Arriving even sooner than the chiasmus-related events at BYU, however, is the 2017 FairMormon conference, which will convene at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah, on Thursday, Aug. 3, and Friday, Aug 4. (Further information, including instructions for registration, are available at fairmormon.org/conference/august-2017.)
As always, the 2017 FairMormon conference will offer a rich and varied smorgasbord of topics and speakers. (This year, it will also include special musical numbers.) On Aug. 3, for example, Neal Rappleye will discuss reading the Book of Mormon through the lens of “mature historical thought,” while Elizabeth Kuehn will address “Finances and Faith in the Kirtland Crisis of 1837.” They will be followed by Keith Erekson, whose title is “Witnessing the Book of Mormon: The Testimonies of Three, Eight and Millions.”
The speakers during the afternoon of Aug. 3, will be Michael Ash (“After the Manner of Their Language: The Key to Wisdom”), Matthew Bowen (“Semitic Semiotics: The Symbolic, Prophetic, and Narratological Power of Names in Ancient Scripture”), Scott Peterson (“Jesus Christ, the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever: A Restoration of Primitive Christianity”) and Scott Gordon (“Mormon Temples and Freemasonry”).
The first two speakers on Aug. 4, Ben Spackman and Ugo Perego, will discuss the related issues of interpreting the book of Genesis and what the LDS Church teaches about evolution. Janiece Johnson will then offer insights regarding the witness of women in early Mormonism.
On the afternoon of Aug. 4, Tyler Griffin will speak on the internal consistency of Book of Mormon geography, after which Brant Gardner will treat “The Book of Mormon as a Seer Stone.” Gerrit Dirkmaat’s tantalizing title is “Lost Teachings of the Prophets: Recently Uncovered Teachings of Joseph Smith and Others from the Council of Fifty Record.” He will be followed by Daniel Peterson, the final conference speaker, whose somnolent voice will anesthetize the audience regarding the question “What Difference Does It Make?” — making the end of this, the 19th annual FairMormon conference, easier for them to bear.
The month of August will be an exciting one for those who care about faithful Mormon scholarship and deeper scriptural understanding.FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl will guest host "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Tuesday night, October 31. He will be filling in for Kimmel, who is taking time off while he prepares for his son's second heart surgery. Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum and Shaquille O'Neal will also step in for Kimmel this week.
Grohl's episode will feature Kristen Bell and Alice Cooper as guests. Cooper is also slated to perform on the show.
"As a precautionary measure, the scheduled second heart surgery for Jimmy Kimmel's son Billy had to be postponed this week due to the common cold," said a Kimmel representative. "Jimmy is very grateful to Shaquille O'Neal, Dave Grohl, Channing Tatum and Jennifer Lawrence for filling his very small shoes as guest host this week while he, his wife and children sneeze on each other."
Back in 2013, Grohl filled in for Chelsea Handler and guest-hosted "Chelsea Lately" for an entire week.
FOO FIGHTERS' new LP, "Concrete And Gold", debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart last month, selling 127,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release.
The band's fall North American tour kicked off earlier this month in San Bernardino, California with Cal Jam 17, a daylong festival featuring the FOO FIGHTERS headlining a bill that included QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ROYAL BLOOD, CAGE THE ELEPHANT and more.James Beddome said a Manitoba Green Party government would implement a carbon tax and a guaranteed income program that would cut the poverty rate in half.
The party leader sat down with CTV political reporter Jeff Keele Monday in the first of four one-on-one interviews with Manitoba party leaders ahead of next month’s provincial election.
“We’re 10 years ahead of the curve, and it’s time that we put new parties in the Legislature, particularly Greens in the Legislature,” Beddome said.
Although Beddome was critical of the NDP’s decision to hike the provincial sales tax in 2013, he said if elected, his party wouldn’t adjust the PST rate.
He said revenues from the tax would go towards paying down the provincial deficit.
“When you have a government in deficit, it’s kind of a moot point if you’re talking about what you’re going to do with the revenues when you’re looking at trying to get the budget back in order,” he said adding that PST revenues would also target green infrastructure.
Beddome also pledged a $50 per tonne carbon tax on key fossil fuels like diesel, gasoline and natural gas.
He said the new tax would raise about $500 million, with the majority earmarked to decrease the lowest tax bracket from 10.8 per cent to 9.5 per cent.
$166 million of that pot would also go towards green infrastructure, and another $60 million would be used to reduce the payroll tax, Beddome said.
The Manitoba Greens also promised to introduce a guaranteed income plan aimed at slashing poverty rates in half.
The benefit amount would be based on family size. Under the plan, the 12 per cent of Manitoba families currently below the low income cut off would see their income rise about 22 per cent.
The $1.4 billion program would be paid for by reallocating existing tax credits.
“One of the problems with these tax credits is they benefit everyone equally. They apply just as much to someone making $1 million to someone making $10,000,” he said.
“By removing those tax credits, rolling them into a single tax benefit, they would be targeted at lower income individuals. We think we can cut poverty nearly in half.”
Keele will interview the Liberal, NDP and Progressive Conservative leaders this week on CTV Morning Live. Tune in Tuesday to see Rana Bokhari outline the Liberals’ platform, Wednesday to hear the NDP’s plans from leader Greg Selinger and Thursday for a one-on-one with Tory leader Brian Pallister.Image copyright Reuters Image caption The FN's Laurent Lopez took 53.9% of the vote against UMP candidate Catherine Delzers
A candidate for the French far-right National Front (FN) party has won a by-election in the south-east, amid signs the party is gaining in strength.
Laurent Lopez won a seat in the Var regional council, defeating the centre-right UMP with 53.9% of votes.
Speaking on TV, FN leader Marine Le Pen said the results showed "a real desire for change by the French".
The party, once seen as a pariah in French politics, has made significant gains in popularity in recent months.
It has been expanding its appeal to disillusioned Socialist and opposition UMP voters with promises on crime and illegal immigrants.
'A lesson to the left'
Sunday's run-off poll was for a seat in the town of Brignoles, near Toulon.
Observers say the FN win there suggests the party may make gains in the 2014 municipal and European Parliament elections.
"This victory with an unambiguous score and a record turnout demonstrated that the National Front is a unifying party," Mr Lopez said after the results were announced.
He defeated UMP candidate Catherine Delzers to take one of 43 seats in the Var council.
Speaking on TV after the results were announced, Ms Le Pen said her party could win "hundreds, maybe a thousand" seats in local elections next March.
Image copyright AP Image caption Speaking after the results were announced, Ms Le Pen said it was the "death of the Republican front"
President Francois Hollande's party did not field its own candidate in the first round of voting, instead opting to back a Communist ally who failed to make it to Sunday's run-off.
The Socialist Party subsequently called on left-wing voters to back the opposition UMP but still failed to avert an FN victory.
President Hollande has seen a continuous fall in popularity levels since being elected last year, largely attributed to his failure to stem high unemployment rates and mounting concerns over crime.
Reacting to the by-election result, Socialist Party spokesman Eduardo Rihan-Cypel told LCI TV: "This should serve as a lesson to the left as a whole."
A poll of voting intentions for the European Parliament elections in May 2014 put the FN party ahead of France's two mainstream parties for the first time in any nationwide vote.
The Ifop poll for the Nouvel Observateur magazine said the FN was tipped to secure 24% of the vote and was "clearly ahead of both the (ruling) Socialist Party and the UMP", according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Marine Le Pen's party secured 17.9% of the votes in the first round of voting in last year's presidential election. It now holds dozens of local seats across France and two seats in Parliament.Iranian and Chinese officials have discussed a contract for constructing two nuclear power plants in the Islamic Republic’s southern coastal area of Makran, Iran’s atomic chief said.
Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi said that Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to discuss the issue of building power plants during his upcoming visit to Tehran, IRNA news agency reported on January19.
President Xi Jinping is scheduled to make a visit to the Middle East including Iran and its rival Saudi Arabia as well as Egypt over the week.
According to Salehi the power plants will generate 1000 megawatt of power and the construction of the power plants will start within the next several weeks.
He also added that the country is considering the construction of several small power plants with the capacity of 100 megawatt.
Speaking about the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, Salehi further added that a group of European countries as well as Asian states such as Japan, China and South Korea are ready to cooperate with Iran to develop its nuclear program.
In a joint statement on Jan. 16, the EU’s High Representative Federica Mogherini and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) and the removal of economic sanctions on Iran.
According to the statement, EU has confirmed that legal framework, providing for lifting of its nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions, is effective.
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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzThe Rheinpfalz newspaper reported, citing Gabriel, that on Sunday night unknown people had left messages with threats on an answering machine in a dentist clinic where the minister's wife works, Sputnik reported.
"The way Erdogan does this [criticizes the minister] motivates some people to try to harass and bother my wife… When a head of state starts to act against an individual, unfortunately there are people who think they have the right to organize oppression of this individual," Gabriel was quoted as saying by the Welt newspaper.
On Saturday, Gabriel called on Ankara to abstain from meddling in the country's general elections after Erdogan called Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens "enemies of Turkey" and urged ethnic Turks to vote against them in the September 24 election. Following Gabriel's statement, Erdogan lashed out at the minister, warning him to "know your limits."
The relations between Berlin and Ankara have soured in recent months after Germany banned several Turkish officials from coming into the country to campaign for Erdogan ahead of a referendum that granted him more executive powers.
Turkey's President had told German Foreign Minister to “know his limits” after Sigmar Gabriel accused the Recep Tayyip Erdogan of interfering in the his country's upcoming elections.
According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Turkish President lashed out against Foreign Minister of Germany over his remarks suggesting that Ankara was intervening in German elections, telling the top diplomat to “know his limits.”
“Now they have a foreign minister who does not know his limits. Who are you to talk to the President of Turkey? Talk to the Foreign Minister of Turkey. Know your limits. He is trying to teach us a lesson. What is your background in politics? How old are you?” Erdogan bellowed at his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) provincial advisory council meeting in the Aegean province of Denizli.
*(Image credit: SPD Saar/ flickr)Ireland – 1838
Aine’s O’Byrne’s gift of foresight had shown her the coming famine in Ireland that would destroy the potato crop. She saw the millions of Irish that would perish during this time. Desperate to alleviate some of her people’s peril, she and her husband Keegan set up magical devices that would aid the Irish. Before all these protections could be finished, Keegan was senselessly murdered.
Keegan’s death brought Aine a lot of gut wrenching sorrow—and maybe a little madness. Aine finishes the protections, but realizes that she does not have the strength to survive the birth of her child.
On the day of Haley’s arrival, Aine activates the magical devices with Birth and then Death magic—her death magic.
Shocked, the six daughters find themselves orphaned with mysterious magic’s working around them. They will have to learn how to deal with their own budding magic, the needy villagers, and the upcoming famine.
With the help of Druantia herself—and some special friends—the sisters will find the courage, the daring, and the determination to battle all the odds set up against them. They learn about freedom—the cost of freedom—life’s ironies, and the bonding of sisterhood.Master distiller Troy Smith points to a few sacks of corn on the floor of the small warehouse that houses Yellow Rose Distillery in a quiet, residential area just north of Tomball. "We use organic corn from North Texas," he says. "And we grind it all by hand."
That corn is the most important ingredient in the bourbon that he and partner Ryan Baird are distilling here. Important because unlike most bourbons -- and especially the Kentucky sour mash bourbons most Americans are used to -- this whiskey is made entirely from corn. A small amount of barley, only 1 percent of the entire recipe, is added to encourage natural enzymes to develop in the bourbon before it's fermented for four days, separated in a curvy copper still and then aged in small oak barrels for four to six months.
What's equally intriguing about the steam-powered still that Smith and Baird run is that it's the first legal bourbon distillery in the Houston area. And that's just how the two partners planned it.Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
The Eagles could use another defensive tackle for the rotation in their "wide 9 and double 3-technique" scheme. Trevor Laws and Derek Landri have not yet been retained and both were key contributors in 2011.
According to Philly.com, the Eagles could very well look to add a tackle via the draft. Several mocks, including NFL.com, have them picking Mississippi's Fletcher Cox.
However, with outside linebacker and safety still a concern, the Eagles could turn to free agency for a defensive tackle to supplement starters Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson. Here are the three best remaining options:
Amobi Okoye, Chicago Bears
Okoye is an intriguing option to consider. The 24-year-old has struggled to live up to his 2007 first-round billing in five pro seasons. Yet Okoye showed flashes of his tremendous potential in 2011 as a member of the Chicago Bears.
He operated as a penetrating 3-technique in the Bears' schemes and notched four sacks and 27 tackles as a rotational player. The 6'2" 292 pounder has excellent takeoff speed and has the quickness to fight through the guard-tackle gap and disrupt the backfield.
Playing in an Eagles' line scheme that demands he quickly gets up the field could see Okoye finally post the numbers to match his talent.
Luis Castillo, San Diego Chargers
Castillo may have spent most of his career in the 3-4, but he has always excelled at attacking the B-gap as an interior pass-rusher. The 6'3" 290 pounder is a great fit for Jim Washburn's line rotation.
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
His production has plummeted in recent seasons, but being deployed as a 3-technique in Philadelphia's adventurous schemes would be an ideal situation for Castillo.
Being given more opportunities to rush the passer from the inside could see the 28-year-old return to his best.
Wallace Gilberry, Kansas City Chiefs
Gilberry has played in a 3-4 for the Chiefs, but his role has been as a nickel pass-rusher. He comes in at defensive tackle whenever the Chiefs move to a four-man front in passing situations.
A natural 3-technique, interior rusher, the 27-year-old Gilberry has been very effective in this role, registering 14 sacks and four forced fumbles in the last three seasons. He also has 4-3 experience, having begun his career as a member of the New York Giants practice squad.
At 6'2" and 268 pounds, Gilberry plays with great leverage and deceptive strength. He has developed a niche as an inside pressure threat, and could be surprisingly effective on the Eagles' line.
Conclusion |
it:
"Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, to all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting:"
"Whereas George Burdick, an editor of the New York Tribune, has declined to testify before a federal grand jury now in session in the Southern District of New York in a proceeding entitled, 'United States v. John Doe and Richard Roe,' as to the sources of the information which he had in the New York Tribune office, or in his possession, or under his control at the time he sent Henry D. Kingsbury, a reporter on the said New York Tribune to write an article which appeared in the said New York Tribune in its issue of December 31st, 1913, headed, 'Glove Makers' Gems May Be Customs Size,' on the ground that it would tend to incriminate him to answer the questions; and,"
"Whereas the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York desires to use the said George Burdick as a witness before the said grand jury in the said proceeding for the purpose of determining whether any employee of the Treasury Department at the Custom
Page 236 U. S. 86
House, New York City, has been betraying information that came to such person in an official capacity; and,"
"Whereas it is believed that the said George Burdick will again refuse to testify in the said proceeding on the ground that his testimony might tend to incriminate himself;"
"Now therefore be it known, that I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, in consideration of the premises, divers other good and sufficient reasons me thereunto moving, do hereby grant unto the said George Burdick a full and unconditional pardon for all offenses against the United States which he, the said George Burdick, has committed or may have committed or taken part in in connection with the securing, writing about, or assisting in the publication of the information so incorporated in the aforementioned article, and in connection with any other article, matter, or thing concerning which he may be interrogated in the said grand jury proceeding, thereby absolving him from the consequences of every such criminal act."
"In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of the Department of Justice to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington this fourteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth."
He declined to accept the pardon or answer questions as to the sources of his information, or whether he furnished certain reporters information, giving the reason, as before, that the answers might tend to criminate him. He was presented by the grand jury to the district court for contempt, and adjudged guilty thereof and to pay a fine of $500, with leave, however, to purge himself by testifying fully as to the sources of the information sought of him, "and in event of his refusal or failure to so answer, a
Page 236 U. S. 87
commitment may issue in addition until he shall so comply," the court deciding that the President has power to pardon for a crime of which the individual has not been convicted and which he does not admit, and that acceptance is not necessary to toll the privilege against incrimination.
Burdick again appeared before the grand jury, again was questioned as before, again refused to accept the pardon, and again refused to answer upon the same grounds as before. A final order of commitment was then made and entered, and he was committed to the custody of the United States marshal until he should purge himself of contempt, or until the further order of the court. This writ of error was then allowed.
The question in the case is the effect of the unaccepted pardon. The Solicitor General, in his discussion of the question, following the division of the district court, contends (1) that the President has power to pardon an offense before admission or conviction of it, and (2) the acceptance of the pardon is not necessary to its complete exculpating effect. The conclusion is hence deduced that the pardon removed from Burdick all danger of accusation or conviction of crime, and that therefore the answers to the questions put to him could not tend to or accomplish his incrimination.
Plaintiff in error counters the contention and conclusion with directly opposing ones, and makes other contentions which attack the sufficiency of the pardon as immunity and the power of the President to grant a pardon for an offense not precedently established nor confessed nor defined.
The discussion of counsel is as broad as their contentions. Our consideration may be more limited. In our view, of the case it is not material to decide whether the pardoning power may be exercised before conviction. We may, however, refer to some aspects of the contentions of plaintiff in error, although the case may be brought to
Page 236 U. S. 88
the narrow question, is the acceptance of a pardon necessary? We are relieved from much discussion of it by United States v. Wilson, 7 Pet. 150. Indeed, all of the principles upon which its solution depends were there considered, and the facts of the case gave them a peculiar and interesting application.
There were a number of indictments against Wilson and one Porter, some of which were for obstructing the mail and others for robbing the mail and putting the life of the carrier in jeopardy. They were convicted on one of the latter indictments, sentenced to death, and Porter was executed in pursuance of the sentence. President Jackson pardoned Wilson, the pardon reciting that it was for the crime for which he had been sentenced to suffer death, remitting such penalty with the express stipulation that the pardon should not extend to any judgment which might be had or obtained against him in any other case or cases then pending before the court for other offenses wherewith he might stand charged.
To another of the indictments, Wilson withdrew his plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty. Upon being arraigned for sentence, the court suggested the propriety of inquiring as to the effect of the pardon, "although alleged to relate to a conviction on another indictment." Wilson was asked if he wished to avail himself of the pardon, to which he answered in person that
"he had nothing to say, and that he did not wish in any manner to avail himself, in order to avoid sentence in this particular case, of the pardon referred to."
The judges were opposed in opinion, and certified to this Court for decision two propositions which were argued by the district attorney of the United States, with one only of which we are concerned. It was as follows:
"2. That the prisoner can, under this conviction, derive no advantage from the pardon without bringing the same judicially before the court by plea, motion, or otherwise. "
Page 236 U. S. 89
There was no appearance for Wilson. Attorney General Taney (afterwards Chief Justice of this Court) argued the case on behalf of the United States. The burden of his argument was that a pardon, to be effective, must be accepted. The proposition was necessary to be established, as his contention was that a plea of the pardon was necessary to arrest the sentence upon Wilson. And he said, speaking of the pardon, "It is a grant to him [Wilson]; it is his property, and he may accept it or not, as he pleases;" and, further:
"It is insisted that, unless he pleads it, or in some way claims its benefit, thereby denoting his acceptance of the proffered grace, the court cannot notice it, nor allow it to prevent them from passing sentence. The whole current of authority establishes this principle."
The authorities were cited, and it was declared that "the necessity of pleading it, or claiming it in some other manner grows out of the nature of the grant. He must accept it."
There can be no doubt, therefore, of the contention of the Attorney General, and we have quoted it in order to estimate accurately the response of the Court to it. The response was complete, and considered the contention in two aspects: (1) a pardon as the act of the President, the official act under the Constitution, and (2) the attitude and right of the person to whom it is tendered. Of the former it was said that the power had been
"exercised from time immemorial by the executive of that nation [England], whose language is our language, and to whose judicial institutions ours bear a close resemblance; we adopt their principles respecting the operation and effect of a pardon, and look into their books for the rules prescribing the manner in which it is to be used by the person who would avail himself of it."
From that source of authority and principle the court deduced and declared this conclusion:
"A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of
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the laws, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed. It is the private [italics ours], though official, act of the executive magistrate, delivered to the individual for whose benefit it is intended."
In emphasis of the official act and its functional deficiency if not accepted by him to whom it is tendered, it was said:
"A private deed, not communicated to him, whatever may be its character, whether a pardon or release, is totally unknown, and cannot be acted on."
Turning, then, to the other side -- that is, the effect of a pardon on him to whom it is offered -- and completing its description and expressing the condition of its consummation, this was said:
"A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered, and if it be rejected, we have discovered no power in a court to force it on him."
That a pardon, by its mere issue, has automatic effect resistless by him to whom it is tendered, forcing upon him by mere executive power whatever consequences it may have or however he may regard it, which seems to be the contention of the government in the case at bar, was rejected by the Court with particularity and emphasis. The decision is unmistakable. A pardon was denominated as the "private" act, the "private deed," of the executive magistrate, and the denomination was advisedly selected to mark the incompleteness of the act or deed without its acceptance.
Indeed, the grace of a pardon, though good its intention, may be only in pretense or seeming; in pretense, as having purpose not moving from the individual to whom it is offered; in seeming, as involving consequences of even greater disgrace than those from which it purports to relieve. Circumstances may be made to bring innocence under the penalties of the law. If so brought, escape by
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confession of guilt implied in the acceptance of a pardon may be rejected, preferring to be the victim of the law rather than its acknowledged transgressor, preferring death even to such certain infamy. This, at least theoretically, is a right, and a right is often best tested in its extreme. "It may be supposed," the Court said in United States v. Wilson,
"that no being condemned to death would reject a pardon; but the rule must be the same in capital cases and in misdemeanors. A pardon may be conditional, and the condition may be more objectionable than the punishment inflicted by the judgment."
The case would seem to need no further comment, and we have quoted from it not only for its authority, but for its argument. It demonstrates by both the necessity of the acceptance of a pardon to its legal efficacy, and the court did not hesitate in decision, as we have seen, whatever the alternative of acceptance, whether it be death or lesser penalty. The contrast shows the right of the individual against the exercise of executive power not solicited by him nor accepted by him.
The principles declared in United States v. Wilson have endured for years; no case has reversed or modified them. In Ex Parte Wells, 18 How. 307, 59 U. S. 310, this Court said:
"It was with the fullest knowledge of the law upon the subject of pardons and the philosophy of government in its bearing upon the Constitution when this Court instructed Chief Justice Marshall"
to declare the doctrine of that case. And in Commonwealth v. Lockwood, it was said by Mr. Justice Gray, speaking for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, he then being a member of that court, it is within the election of a defendant "whether he will avail himself of a pardon from the executive (be the pardon absolute or conditional)." 109 Mass. 323, 339,. The whole discussion of the learned justice will repay a reference. He cites and reviews
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the cases with the same accurate and masterful consideration that distinguished all of his judicial work, and the proposition declared was one of the conclusions deduced.
United States v. Wilson, however, is attempted to be removed as authority by the contention that it dealt with conditional pardons, and that, besides, a witness cannot apprehend from his testimony a conviction of guilt, which conviction he himself has the power to avert, or be heard to say that the testimony can be used adversely to him, when he himself has the power to prevent it by accepting the immunity offered him. In support of the contentions, there is an intimation of analogy between pardon and amnesty, cases are cited, and certain statutes of the United States are adduced whereby immunity was imposed in certain instances, and under its unsolicited protection testimony has been exacted against the claim of privilege asserted by witnesses. There is plausibility in the contentions; it disappears upon reflection. Let us consider the contentions in their order:
(1) To hold that the principle of United States v. Wilson was expressed only as to conditional pardons would be to assert that the language and illustrations which were used to emphasize the principle announced were meant only to destroy it. Besides, the pardon passed on was not conditional. It was limited in that -- and only in that -- it was confined to the crime for which the defendant had been convicted and for which he had been sentenced to suffer death. This was its emphasis and distinction. Other charges were pending against him, and it was expressed that the pardon should not extend to them. But such would have been its effect without expression. And we may say that it had more precision than the pardon in the pending case. Wilson had been indicted for a specific statutory crime, convicted, and sentenced to suffer death. It was to the crime so defined and established that the
Page 236 U. S. 93
pardon was directed. In the case at bar, nothing is defined. There is no identity of the offenses pardoned, and no other clue to ascertain them but the information incorporated in an article in a newspaper. And not that entirely, for absolution is declared for whatever crimes may have been committed or taken part in "in connection with any other article, matter, or thing concerning which he [Burdick] may be interrogated."
It is hence contended by Burdick that the pardon is illegal for the absence of specification, not reciting the offenses upon which it is intended to operate -- worthless therefore as immunity. To support the contention, cases are cited. It is asserted besides that the pardon is void as being outside of the power of the President under the Constitution of the United States because it was issued before accusation or conviction or admission of an offense. This, it is insisted, is precluded by the constitutional provision which gives power only "to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States," and it is argued, in effect, that not in the imagination or purpose of executive magistracy can an "offense against the United States" be established, but only by the confession of the offending individual or the judgment of the judicial tribunals. We do not dwell further on the attack. We prefer to place the case on the ground we have stated.
(2) May plaintiff in error, having the means of immunity at hand, that is, the pardon of the President, refuse to testify on the ground that his testimony may have an incriminating effect? A superficial consideration might dictate a negative answer, but the answer would confound rights which are distinct and independent.
It is to be borne in mind that the power of the President under the Constitution to grant pardons and the right of a witness must be kept in accommodation. Both have sanction in the Constitution, and it should therefore be the anxiety of the law to preserve both -- to leave to each
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its proper place. In this as in other conflicts between personal rights and the powers of government, technical -- even nice -- distinctions are proper to be regarded. Granting, then, that the pardon was legally issued and was sufficient for immunity, it was Burdick's right to refuse it, as we have seen, and it therefore not becoming effective, his right under the Constitution to decline to testify remained to be asserted, and the reasons for his action were personal. It is true we have said (Brown v. Walker, 161 U. S. 601, 161 U. S. 605) that the law regards only mere penal consequences, and not "the personal disgrace or opprobrium attaching to the exposure" of crime, but certainly such consequence may influence the assertion or relinquishment of a right. This consideration is not out of place in the case at bar. If it be objected that the sensitiveness of Burdick was extreme because his refusal to answer was itself an implication of crime, we answer, not necessarily in fact, not at all in theory of law. It supposed only a possibility of a charge of crime, and interposed protection against the charge, and, reaching beyond it, against furnishing what might be urged or used as evidence to support it.
This brings us to the differences between legislative immunity and a pardon. They are substantial. The latter carries an imputation of guilt; acceptance a confession of it. The former has no such imputation or confession. It is tantamount to the silence of the witness. It is noncommittal. It is the unobtrusive act of the law given protection against a sinister use of his testimony, not like a pardon, requiring him to confess his guilt in order to avoid a conviction of it.
It is of little service to assert or deny an analogy between amnesty and pardon. Mr. Justice Field, in Knote v. United States, 95 U. S. 149, 95 U. S. 153, said that "the distinction between them is one rather of philological interest than of legal importance." This is so as to their ultimate effect, but there are incidental differences of importance. They
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are of different character and have different purposes. The one overlooks offense; the other remits punishment. The first is usually addressed to crimes against the sovereignty of the state, to political offenses, forgiveness being deemed more expedient for the public welfare than prosecution and punishment. The second condones infractions of the peace of the state. Amnesty is usually general, addressed to classes or even communities -- a legislative act, or under legislation, constitutional or statutory -- the act of the supreme magistrate. There may or may not be distinct acts of acceptance. If other rights are dependent upon it and are asserted, there is affirmative evidence of acceptance. Examples are afforded in United States v. Klein, 13 Wall. 128; Armstrong's Foundry, 6 Wall. 766; Carlisle v. United States, 16 Wall. 147. See also Knote v. United States, supra. If there be no other rights, its only purpose is to stay the movement of the law. Its function is exercised when it overlooks the offense and the offender, leaving both in oblivion.
Judgment reversed, with directions to dismiss the proceedings in contempt, and discharge Burdick from custody.
MR. JUSTICE McREYNOLDS took no part in the consideration and decision of this case.The Spearhead Traverse had been on my ‘to do’ list for a while. It's a neat traverse that connects Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb Mountain via 34km of alpine touring with around 1900m of elevation gain along a giant horseshoe. So instead of the 15 minutes it takes via the Peak-2-Peak gondola, you can spend 1-4 days doing the same thing on foot.
I’m a VOCer (the VOC is UBC’s Varsity Outdoor Club, and produces some of my favourite lunatic mountaineers) even though I haven't been a student at UBC for years. The VOC is like a family (cult?) – you don’t leave the VOC – you just move away. And I drank the VOC Kool-Aid DEEP. I was the newsletter editor, then President, then the manager of their hut system – the largest in the Sea to Sky corridor. With the VOC instilled in my blood I’m always keen for a classic VOC objective. The Spearhead Traverse was established by a legendary member named Karl Ricker and some friends before Whistler resort even existed. It took something like eight years to sort out the route. Having done the traverse, I’m not the least bit surprised.
If you’re interested in doing the Spearhead – go get John Baldwin’s (another VOCer) map – it’s phenomenal.
Vancouver was home to me for years and while I’ve done the nearby, similar length Garibaldi Neve Traverse more times than I can count, I’d never done the Spearhead. The main reason I never did it was really just cost – the traverse generally involves using the lifts on Blackcomb Mountains to gain about 1600m of elevation right off the bat and the cost of a backcountry access pass – good for a single bump up the mountain – is a vaguely unreasonable $58 and since the aforementioned Garibaldi Neve Traverse is free, just one drainage over and doesn’t involve having to deal with the giant mess that is Whistler, I tended to always find myself there instead.
There’s a problem though. A coalition of groups including ACC Vancouver, ACC Whistler, BCMC and some memorial hut groups are trying to install a series of three huts on the Spearhead. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a strong believer that the world needs more backcountry huts (desperately) – but adding giant, swanky huts (and the proposed huts are both huge and likely to be ACC style expensive compared with the 0-$10 of most coastal huts) would completely change the feeling and spirit of the Spearhead.
Given the popularity of the area as-is, my personal wish would be to see outhouses installed at the logical camp sites to minimize wilderness contamination, but no huts. There’s lots and lots of other places that would be better served by more huts (The Duffy, Callaghan, etc), but I why plenty of people that are keen to see this project go forward. Providing a Wapta-like experience of a series of comfortable, tightly spaced huts would provide an experience not currently found on the coast. Regardless, with a huge change to the Traverse coming, I wanted to get it done before the huts change the flavour.
This past East-Long-Weekend-Friday, Christine and I found ourselves at the base of Whistler, surrounded by chaos, trying to figure out where to buy our single bump passes. Turns out you can only get them from Guest Services, not a regular ticket kiosk, they require photo ID, they demand to see your avi gear and skins and they basically act like you’re being a hugely unreasonable inconvenience. Now, I know what you’re thinking – ‘Phil, you are a hugely unreasonable inconvenience’ – but remember, I had Christine with me and she’s an actually nice person and even she was nearly flipping out by the end of the couple of hours it took to navigate the byzantine bureaucracy.While the best teams from around the world are deep in preparation for the World Championship, the European challenger teams are gearing up for Dreamhack Bucharest. Romania’s capital will be hosting a Dreamhack event for a second year in a row and this time League of Legends will have a good representation in the face of eight teams from all corners of the Old continent.The biggest name in the tournament is definitely Copenhagen Wolves. This will mark Martin 'Rekkles' Larsson ’ possibly last time playing with them since he will be rejoining Fnatic ’s starting roster after the world finals end in early October. Wolves recently won a spot for the Season 4 LCS qualifier and have been on top of everyone for the last couple weeks in the weekly challenger tournament run by KaosTV, so they will be definitely looking to score another first place.Another serious contender for the top spot is Millenium. Their roster currently includes the former against All authority players Tony 'Shlaya' Carmona and Hugo 'Dioud' Padioleau. They also won the LoL tournament at Dreamhack Valencia earlier this summer.Season 1 winner Maciej 'Shushei' Ratuszniak will participate with his new Polish team, Pulse Esports. Also from Poland, we’ll see H2K (former KMT) who got second at gamescom’s qualifier for the Season 4 Promotion tournament. Their roster includes seasoned veterans like Remigiusz 'Overpow' Pusch and Paweł 'Celaver' Koprianiuk – definitely a team to look out for.Another participant in the tournament will be the Czech Reason Gaming Nardeus and company have a serious problem though – they have been left one man short since their jungler left. They still have a week left to find a new fifth player but the lack of enough practice with him may lower their chances of first place.Team Property will be present as well, coming all the way from Dreamhack’s homeland of Sweden. A rather unknown team, they have ex-Millenium’s support Hans 'Fatmamma' Bjerhem and the high solo queue player and sub for Fnatic during the spring split,Hulberto, in their roster. The team’s first big LAN event will be a serious test for their future ambitions.And last, but not least there are two teams that will be representing the host country of Romania –neXtPlease Gaming andThe Time Police. While the element of surprise is definitely in their favour, it is rather questionable if they are up to par with the rest of the participants.The tournament will be played in a single elimination, best of 3 bracket, but the exact matchups are yet to be announced. Quarter-finals and semifinals will be held on Saturday, September 14, and the final on Sunday, September 15. The prizepool is $10 000. If you want to warm up for the World Championship that starts on that same Sunday, but probably late at night for European viewers, tuning in for Dreamhack Bucharest is the best way to do so!BRACE YOURSELF FOR FULL-SCALE WARFARE!
Darkness descends upon the nations of the Iron Kingdoms as the undead legions of Cryx overwhelm Point Bourne, revealing their true strength. As war once again consumes the land, the embattled nations race to deploy colossal warjacks bristling with weaponry to turn the tide. But the emergence of new threats, both ancient and unseen, will force old enemies into uneasy cooperation in a fight for survival!
WARMACHINE: Colossals brings you the next thrilling chapter of the WARMACHINE saga. Elevate your game with:
Powerful new colossals—enormous warjacks that dwarf even the largest heavy ’jacks and bring all-new strategies to the table.
New warcasters for each faction, including the third incarnations of some of the Iron Kingdoms’ greatest champions.
Fully compiled and updated Unbound rules, allowing you to recreate iconic large-scale battles with specialized rules to enhance gameplay.
New narrative fiction picking up directly after the exciting events of WARMACHINE: Wrath.
A painting and modeling guide to help you prepare your colossals for combat.
Theme Force lists for each new warcaster, which allow you to create armies based on the specialized forces found in the WARMACHINE world.
FOCUS YOUR WILL AND CRUSH THE ENEMY BENEATH YOUR COLOSSAL MIGHT!
Product Information PIP Code: 1049 1049 Price: $34.99* $34.99* *Product information and prices subject to changeNational currencies aren’t as Centralized,
and Bitcoin isn’t as Decentralized, as you think.
The Surprising Way Dollars Actually Work
National currencies are not what we think they are. We think that all dollars are the same, but they’re not. As a currency designer, I can tell you that a currency follows one clear set of rules. Many different sets of rules, means many different currencies.
The dollars that are in your wallet are not the same as dollars in your bank account. Maybe this is obvious to you, but most people just don’t think about it. Dollars in your bank account can be transacted by writing a check, or electronic transfers. They can earn interest and have an effect on your credit rating. However, dollars in your wallet do none of those things. Instead, the transaction of dollars from your wallet leaves no trace, unless someone in the transaction wants to generate their own record. They follow different rules.
These are examples of two separate currencies that only seem the same because they are valued the same and exchangeable with each other. You can bring cash dollars to the bank and deposit them to your account. Or you can withdraw dollars from your account and walk out with cash. This makes us think they’re one currency when in fact they’re different currencies, with one name, that are designed to be so easy to exchange with each other that the seem like a single currency.
But the full picture is much stranger than that, because different banks have different rules from each other. Each bank is really creating its own currency for their own accounts. They used to even print their own paper bills. But now all the banks agree to exchange that currency on par with cash dollars, so all these diverse currencies appear to be a single unified one.
There’s a common misconception is that the government issues our currency. It doesn’t. Printing bills is completely different from issuing them into circulation as currency, not to mention that over 97% of our money supply is electronic bits in bank accounts, not paper bills. The Federal Reserve actually buys the bills for pennies on the dollar, as if they were paying for printing services, because basically they are. Then banks (including the Fed) issue dollars into circulation.
Inter-bank accounting
What’s the point of all this? Well, the point is that every branch of every bank issues their very own currency, and tracks in their own account ledger. When a person writes a check to another in the same branch bank, the payment is processed locally, transferring funds within that branch’s electronic account ledger. When you write a check to someone who’s account is in the same larger banking corporation, but at another branch, that transaction clears between the ledgers of two branches.
When you write a check between banking corporations like Citibank and Bank of America, all the transactions (in and out) between those two entities are totalled up into a “block” of transactions, and then the net difference is cleared through the Federal Reserve’s Automated Clearing House (ACH) each weeknight. To be able to scale their transaction system, each bank keeps ledgers of their own currency, then only clears net total transfers through a central clearinghouse. Finally, international transactions are cleared by SWIFT between the banks and clearinghouse systems of the different national currencies.
Scaling the Blockchain
Blockchains are slow. It takes time to synchronize transactions between lots of copies of the same ledger, and the more copies, the harder it gets. So for example, in Bitcoin, a new block of transactions is committed to the chain about every 10 minutes. Blocks are limited in size, so they can only hold a certain number of transactions. The current maximum throughput of bitcoin is 5 to 7 transactions per second (the VISA network is about 10,000 times faster).
Because the blockchain requires majority consensus across many copies of a single a global ledger, even if you increase the size and frequency of blocks, the synchronization of that global ledger across many peers, is not fast. The blockchain architecture is fundamentally hampered in scaling. And the longer the blockchain grows, with the more tokens issued, the longer it takes for each peer to validate each transaction, and the more memory it requires to hold it all (even with the optimization of tracking unspent tokens in a smaller data pool so you can keep it in memory).
To solve this problem, many have proposed an approach of creating sidechains that are interoperable with a parent chain, like bitcoin, and pegged to it. Sidechains would power different ledgers, periodically committing their hash to a parent blockchain, and clearing transactions between the sidechains through the parent chain. To scale further, those sidechains could be parent for other sidechains, so we can finally have the blockchain scale!
Wait a minute!?!?! That architecture sounds familiar… different currencies… with different ledgers… that progressively clear toward a main global ledger. Wait! That’s exactly how the banks do it! Except now, to be part of the elite that gets to issue currency, you need hundreds of thousands of dollars in specialized mining hardware instead of millions to purchase your bank charter.
Back Where We Started
Brilliant! In the final analysis, Bitcoin’s efforts to replace our broken national currencies, has resulted in duplicating the structure of the banking system (with the added benefit of burning as much electricity as the whole country of Ireland on useless computation that gets thrown away every 10 minutes just to reach a max rate of handful of transactions/second). We’ve just replaced an elite class of banksters, with an elite class of hacksters, and a few fast copies of the ledger with many slower ones.
So, now you can choose:
Put your money in the hands of unregulated hackers in China with slow, publicly visible, electricity wasting transactions, who might be able to manipulate the blockchain by controlling a majority of mining, and are certainly manipulating the evolution of bitcoin protocols to preserve their position of power.
Or put it with regulated bankers, with fast, quasi-private transactions, manipulating the whole economy for their profit, and to preserve their positions of power.
Obviously, Bitcoin hasn’t solved all our currency woes, but one thing it has done is ignite people’s imagination about what is possible with decentralized currencies, data, and applications.
As we’ve explored all possible configurations of currencies in the MetaCurrency Project, we’ve learned there are many valuable and powerful changes that can be made (other than how its ledger is stored). There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of other “knobs and dials” which can be tuned to achieve intentional relationship and wealth dynamics.
We’re building Ceptr to enable communities to launch highly scalable, fully customized, P2P current-sees.
If we really want to alter the dynamics of wealth imbalance, strengthen our communities, and build a thrivable world together, more crypto-geeks may need to become current-see-geeks so we can really build Deep Wealth together.In the midst of the chaotic lead-up to November's election, a 1993 letter from outgoing President George H.W. Bush to incoming President Bill Clinton has the internet nostalgic for political seasons past.
Bush penned the letter on Jan. 20, 1993, the day of Clinton's first inauguration. The previous November, he'd failed to secure a second term in office.
SEE ALSO: So that's 3 presidential debates, 0 climate change questions
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton posted the letter to Instagram in June:
After wishing Bill "great happiness" in the White House, Bush writes: "Your success is now our country's success. And I am rooting hard for you."
Those sharing the 1993 letter invoke Bush's words as an example of losing with dignity.
In contrast, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made headlines during Wednesday's debate when he declared that he may not accept the results of November's election should Clinton win. In a speech on Thursday, he followed up on that statement: He will accept the results of the election if he's the winner.
For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS.
The internet's response:
A perfect night to re-read this letter from President George H. W. Bush to President Bill Clinton. pic.twitter.com/9LYI20KX7A — Chris Sacca (@sacca) October 20, 2016
George Bush to Bill Clinton, having lost the election. Compare and contrast to the toxic orange warthog who leads the Republicans today. pic.twitter.com/FkGFLuKP9O — Alex Andreou (@sturdyAlex) October 20, 2016
George Herbert Walker Bush defined presidential. In light of #Trump's aversion to democracy, this letter Bush left for Clinton is #mustread https://t.co/ZALCnUu2yA — Charles Adler (@charlesadler) October 20, 2016
Forget politics. This letter from Bush #1 to Clinton is filled with a grace and elegance Trump is incapable of understanding. https://t.co/cv3A9BqRQB — Richard Marx (@richardmarx) October 20, 2016hand washing.jpg
Hand washing is the best prevention while health officials seek a link between shegellosis cases in Kalamazoo County.
(File photo)
KALAMAZOO, MI -- State health officials are helping Kalamazoo County health workers try to track the source or sources of a nasty bacterial intestinal bug that has taken a leap in numbers here since April.
While the investigation continues, the public's best protection is thorough, soapy hand washing, said Mike Phillips, disease surveillance nurse, Kalamazoo Community Health and Community Services.
Since April, Kalamazoo County has been logging more cases than usual of shigellosis, an acute bacterial disease involving the intestinal tract, with 29 cases so far this year. A more typical year sees fewer than eight cases, Phillips said in an interview Friday. The incidence of the disease in other counties--nonexistent or at those typically low numbers-- can be seen in the Michigan Department of Community Health's Weekly Surveillance Report.
Shigella is virulent bacteria, requiring less that 10 organisms to cause infection, Phillips wrote in the Summer 2014 edition of the county's Public Health Notes newsletter. Transmission can be caused by contact with a sick person, or the illness can be spread when the bacteria shed by a sick person or carrier is transmitted to food, objects, or other people. It can persist three or four days outside of the human body, scientists believe.
Onset of symptoms -- watery diarrhea, diarrhea with blood, fever,
abdominal cramping, bowel spasms, and sometimes nausea and vomiting-- typically occurs 12 hours to three days after exposure.
Outbreaks elsewhere in the country have been traced to drinking water |
, On the Fortunes of Alexander). We should regard our deliberations as, first and foremost, deliberations about human problems of people in particular concrete situations, not problems growing out of a national identity that is altogether unlike that of others. Diogenes knew that the invitation to think as a world citizen was, in a sense, an invitation to be an exile from the comfort of patriotism and its easy sentiments, to see our own ways of life from the point of view of justice and the good. The accident of where one is born is just that, an accident; any human being might have been born in any nation. Recognizing this, his Stoic successors held, we should not allow differences of nationality or class or ethnic membership or even gender to erect barriers between us and our fellow human beings. We should recognize humanity wherever it occurs, and give its fundamental ingredients, reason and moral capacity, our first allegiance and respect.
The American student must learn to recognize humanity wherever she encounters it and be eager to understand humanity in its ‘strange’ guises.
This clearly did not mean that the Stoics were proposing the abolition of local and national forms of political organization and the creation of a world state. The point was more radical still: that we should give our first allegiance to no mere form of government, no temporal power, but to the moral community made up by the humanity of all human beings. The idea of the world citizen is in this way the ancestor and source of Kant’s idea of the “kingdom of ends,” and has a similar function in inspiring and regulating moral and political conduct. One should always behave so as to treat with equal respect the dignity of reason and moral choice in every human being. It is this conception, as well, that inspires Tagore’s novel, as the cosmopolitan landlord struggles to stem the tide of nationalism and factionalism by appeals to universal moral norms. Many of the speeches of the character Nikhil were drawn from Tagore’s own cosmopolitan political writings.
Stoics who hold that good civic education is education for world citizenship recommend this attitude on three grounds. First, they hold that the study of humanity as it is realized in the whole world is valuable for self-knowledge: we see ourselves more clearly when we see our ways in relation to those of other reasonable people.
Second, they argue, as does Tagore, that we will be better able to solve our problems if we face them in this way. No theme is deeper in Stoicism than the damage done by faction and local allegiances to the political life of a group. Political deliberation, they argue, is sabotaged again and again by partisan loyalties, whether to one’s team at the Circus or to one’s nation. Only by making our fundamental allegiance that to the world community of justice and reason do we avoid these dangers.
Finally, they insist that the stance of the kosmou politês is intrinsically valuable. For it recognizes in persons what is especially fundamental about them, most worthy of respect and acknowledgment: their aspirations to justice and goodness and their capacities for reasoning in this connection. This aspect may be less colorful than local or national traditions and identities—it is on this basis that the young wife in Tagore’s novel spurns it in favor of qualities in the nationalist orator Sandip that she later comes to see as superficial—but they are, the Stoics argue, both lasting and deep.
The Stoics stress that to be a citizen of the world one does not need to give up local identifications, which can frequently be a source of great richness in life. They suggest that we think of ourselves not as devoid of local affiliations, but as surrounded by a series of concentric circles. The first one is drawn around the self; the next takes in one’s immediate family; then follows the extended family; then, in order, one’s neighbors or local group, one’s fellow city-dwellers, one’s fellow countrymen—and we can easily add to this list groupings based on ethnic, linguistic, historical, professional, gender and sexual identities. Outside all these circles is the largest one, that of humanity as a whole. Our task as citizens of the world will be to “draw the circles somehow toward the center” (Stoic philosopher Hierocles, 1st-2nd CE), making all human beings more like our fellow city dwellers, and so on. In other words, we need not give up our special affections and identifications, whether ethnic or gender-based or religious. We need not think of them as superficial, and we may think of our identity as in part constituted by them. We may and should devote special attention to them in education. But we should work to make all human beings part of our community of dialogue and concern, base our political deliberations on that interlocking commonality, and give the circle that defines our humanity a special attention and respect.
This means, in educational terms, that the student in the United States, for example, may continue to regard herself as in part defined by her particular loves—her family, her religious, ethnic, or racial communities, or even for her country. But she must also, and centrally, learn to recognize humanity wherever she encounters it, undeterred by traits that are strange to her, and be eager to understand humanity in its “strange” guises. She must learn enough about the different to recognize common aims, aspirations, and values, and enough about these common ends to see how variously they are instantiated in the many cultures and many histories. Stoic writers insist that the vivid imagining of the different is an essential task of education; and that requires in turn, of course, a mastery of many facts about the different. Marcus Aurelius gives himself the following advice, which might be called the basis for cosmopolitan education: “Accustom yourself not to be inattentive to what another person says, and as far as possible enter into that person’s mind” (VI.53). “Generally,” he concludes, “one must first learn many things before one can judge another’s action with understanding.”
A favored exercise, in this process of world thinking, is to conceive of the entire world of human beings as a single body, its many people as so many limbs. Referring to the fact that it takes only the change of a single letter in Greek to convert the word “limb” (melos) into the word “part” (meros), Marcus concludes: “If, changing the word, you call yourself merely a [detached] part rather than a limb, you do not yet love your fellow men from the heart, nor derive complete joy from doing good; you will do it merely as a duty, not as doing good to yourself” (VII.13). It is important to recall that, as Emperor, he gives himself this advice in connection with daily duties that require coming to grips with the cultures of remote and initially strange civilizations such as those of Parthia and Sarmatia.
I would like to see education adopt this cosmopolitan Stoic stance. The organic model could of course be abused—if, for example, it were to be taken to deny the fundamental importance of the separateness of persons and of fundamental personal liberties. Stoics were not always sufficiently attentive to these values and to their political salience; in that sense their thought is not always a good basis for a scheme of democratic deliberation and education. But as the image is primarily intended—as a reminder of the interdependence of all human beings and communities—it has fundamental significance. There is clearly a huge amount to be said about how such ideas might be realized in curricula at many levels. Instead of beginning that more concrete task, however, I shall now return to the present day and offer four arguments for making world citizenship, rather than democratic/national citizenship, education’s central focus. (The first two are modern versions of my first two Stoic arguments; the third develops one part of my Stoic argument about intrinsic moral value; the fourth is more local, directed at the pro-patriotism arguments I am criticizing.)
III
1. Through cosmopolitan education, we learn more about ourselves.
One of the greatest barriers to rational deliberation in politics is the unexamined feeling that one’s own current preferences and ways are neutral and natural. An education that takes national boundaries as morally salient too often reinforces this kind of irrationality, by lending to what is an accident of history a false air of moral weight and glory. By looking at ourselves in the lens of the other, we come to see what in our practices is local and non-necessary, what more broadly or deeply shared. Our nation is appallingly ignorant of most of the rest of the world. I think that this means that it is also, in many crucial ways, ignorant of itself.
Why should we think of people from China as our fellows the minute they dwell in the United States, but not when they dwell in a certain other place, namely China?
To give just one example of this—since 1994 is the United Nations’ International Year of the Family—if we want to understand our own history and our choices where the structure of the family and of child-rearing are involved, we are immeasurably assisted by looking around the world to see in what configurations families exist, and through what strategies children are in fact being cared for. (This would include a study of the history of the family, both in our own and in other traditions.) Such a study can show us, for example, that the two-parent nuclear family, in which the mother is the primary homemaker and the father the primary breadwinner is by no means a pervasive style of child-rearing in today’s world. The extended family, clusters of families, the village, women’s associations—all these groups and still others are in various places regarded as having major child-rearing responsibilities. Seeing this, we can begin to ask questions—for example, how much child abuse there is in a family that involves grandparents and other relatives in child-rearing, as compared with the relatively isolated Western-style nuclear family; how many different structures of child care have been found to support women’s work, and how well each of these is functioning.4 If we do not undertake this kind of educational project, we risk assuming that the options familiar to us are the only ones there are, and that they are somehow “normal” and “natural” for the human species as such. Much the same can be said about conceptions of gender and sexuality, about conceptions of work and its division, about schemes of property holding, about the treatment of childhood and old age.
2. We make headway solving problems that require international cooperation.
The air does not obey national boundaries. This simple fact can be, for children, the beginning of the recognition that, like it or not, we live in a world in which the destinies of nations are closely intertwined with respect to basic goods and survival itself. The pollution of third-world nations who are attempting to attain our high standard of living will, in some cases, end up in our air. No matter what account of these matters we will finally adopt, any intelligent deliberation about ecology—as, also, about the food supply and population—requires global planning, global knowledge, and the recognition of a shared future.
To conduct this sort of global dialogue, we need not only knowledge of the geography and ecology of other nations—something that would already entail much revision in our curricula—but also a great deal about the people with whom we shall be talking, so that in talking with them we may be capable of respecting their traditions and commitments. Cosmopolitan education would supply the background necessary for this type of deliberation.
3. We recognize moral obligations to the rest of the world that are real, and that otherwise would go unrecognized.
What are Americans to make of the fact that the high living standard we enjoy is one that very likely cannot be universalized, at least given the present costs of pollution controls and the present economic situation of developing nations, without ecological disaster? If we take Kantian morality at all seriously, as we should, we need to educate our children to be troubled by this fact. Otherwise we are educating a nation of moral hypocrites, who talk the language of universalizability but whose universe has a selfservingly narrow scope.
This point may appear to presuppose universalism, rather than being an argument in its favor. But here one may note that the values on which Americans may most justly pride themselves are, in a deep sense, Stoic values: respect for human dignity and the opportunity for each person to pursue happiness. If we really do believe that all human beings are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights, we are morally required to think about what that conception requires us to do with and for the rest of the world.
Once again, that does not mean that one may not permissibly give one’s own sphere a special degree of concern. Politics, like child care, will be poorly done if each thinks herself equally responsible for all, rather than giving the immediate surroundings special attention and care. To give one’s own sphere special care is justifiable in universalist terms, and I think that this is its most compelling justification. To take one example, we do not really think that our own children are morally more important than other people’s children, even though almost all of us who have children would give our own children far more love and care than we give other people’s children. It is good for children, on the whole, that things should work out this way, and that is why our special care is good rather than selfish. Education may and should reflect those special concerns—spending more time, for example, within a given nation, on that nation’s history and politics. But my argument does entail that we should not confine our thinking to our own sphere—that in making choices in both political and economic matters we should most seriously consider the right of other human beings to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and work to acquire the knowledge that will enable us to deliberate well about those rights. I believe that this sort of thinking will have large-scale economic and political consequences.
4. We make a consistent and coherent argument based on distinctions we are really prepared to defend.
Let me now return to the defense of shared values in Richard Rorty’s article and Sheldon Hackney’s project. In these eloquent appeals to the common there is something that makes me very uneasy. On the one hand Rorty and Hackney seem to argue well when they insist on the centrality to democratic deliberation of certain values that bind all citizens together. But why should these values, which instruct us to join hands across boundaries of ethnicity and class and gender and race, lose steam when they get to the borders of the nation? By conceding that a morally arbitrary boundary such as the boundary of the nation has a deep and formative role in our deliberations, we seem to be depriving ourselves of any principled way of arguing to citizens that they should in fact join hands across these other barriers.
For one thing, the very same groups exist both outside and inside. Why should we think of people from China as our fellows the minute they dwell in a certain place, namely the United States, but not when they dwell in a certain other place, namely China? What is it about the national boundary that magically converts people toward whom our education is both incurious and indifferent into people to whom we have duties of mutual respect? I think, in short, that we undercut the very case for multicultural respect within a nation by failing to make a broader world respect central to education. Richard Rorty’s patriotism may be a way of bringing all Americans together; but patriotism is very close to jingoism, and I’m afraid I don’t see in Rorty’s argument any proposal for coping with this very obvious danger.
The life of the cosmopolitan, who puts right before country, and universal reason before the symbols of national belonging, need not be boring, flat, or lacking in love.
Furthermore, the defense of shared national values in both Rorty and Hackney, as I understand it, requires appealing to certain basic features of human personhood that obviously also transcend national boundaries. So if we fail to educate children to cross those boundaries in their minds and imaginations, we are tacitly giving them the message that we don’t really mean what we say. We say that respect should be accorded to humanity as such, but we really mean that Americans as such are worthy of special respect. And that, I think, is a story that Americans have told for far too long.
IV
Becoming a citizen of the world is often a lonely business. It is, in effect, as Diogenes said, a kind of exile—from the comfort of local truths, from the warm nestling feeling of patriotism, from the absorbing drama of pride in oneself and one’s own. In the writings of Marcus Aurelius (as in those of his American followers Emerson and Thoreau) one sometimes feels a boundless loneliness, as if the removal of the props of habit and local boundaries had left life bereft of a certain sort of warmth and security. If one begins life as a child who loves and trusts its parents, it is tempting to want to reconstruct citizenship along the same lines, finding in an idealized image of a nation a surrogate parent who will do one’s thinking for one. Cosmopolitanism offers no such refuge; it offers only reason and the love of humanity, which may seem at times less colorful than other sources of belonging.
In Tagore’s novel, the appeal to world citizenship fails—fails because patriotism is full of color and intensity and passion, whereas cosmopolitanism seems to have a hard time gripping the imagination. And yet in its very failure, Tagore shows, it succeeds. For the novel is a story of education for world citizenship, since the entire tragic story is told by the widowed Bimala, who understands, if too late, that Nikhil’s morality was vastly superior to Sandip’s empty symbol-mongering, that what looked like passion in Sandip was egocentric self-exaltation, and that what looked like lack of passion in Nikhil contained a truly loving perception of her as a person. If one goes today to Santiniketan, a town several hours by train from Calcutta, the town where Tagore founded his cosmopolitan university Vishvabharati—whose name means “all the world”—one feels the tragedy once more. For all-the-world university has not achieved the anticipated influence or distinction within India, and the ideals of the cosmopolitan community of Santiniketan are increasingly under siege from militant forces of ethnocentric particularism and Hindu-fundamentalist nationalism. And yet, in the very decline of Tagore’s ideal—which now threatens the very existence of the secular and tolerant Indian state—the observer sees its worth. To worship one’s country as a god is indeed to bring a curse upon it. Recent electoral reactions against Hindu nationalism give some grounds for optimism that this recognition of worth is widespread and may prove efficacious, averting a tragic ending of the sort that Tagore describes.
And since I am in fact optimistic that Tagore’s ideal can be successfully realized in schools and universities in democracies around the world, and in the formation of public policy, let me conclude with a story of cosmopolitanism that has a happy ending. It is told by Diogenes Laertius about the courtship and marriage of the Cynic cosmopolitan philosophers Crates and Hipparchia (one of the most eminent female philosophers of antiquity)—in order, presumably, to show that casting off the symbols of status and nation can sometimes be a way to succeed in love. The background is that Hipparchia is from a good family, attached, as most Greek families were, to social status and pedigree. They resent the cosmopolitan philosopher Crates, with his strange ideas of world citizenship and his strange disdain for rank and boundaries.
[Hipparchia] fell in love with Crates’ arguments and his way of life and paid no attention to any of her suitors nor to wealth or high birth or good looks. Crates, though, was everything to her. Moreover, she told her parents that she would kill herself if she were not married off to him. So Crates was called on by her parents to talk their daughter out of it; he did all he could, but in the end he didn’t persuade her. So he stood up and threw off his clothes in front of her and said, “Here is your bridegroom; these are his possessions; make your decision accordingly—for you cannot be my companion unless you undertake the same way of life.” The girl chose him. Adopting the same clothing and style of life she went around with her husband and they copulated in public and they went off together to dinner parties. And once she went to a dinner party at the house of Lysimachus and there refuted Theodorus the Atheist, with a sophism like this: “If it wouldn’t be judged wrong for Theodorus to do something, then it wouldn’t be judged wrong for Hipparchia to do it either; but Theodorus does no wrong if he beats himself; so Hipparchia too does no wrong if she beats Theodorus.” And when Theodorus could not reply to her argument, he ripped off her cloak. But Hipparchia was not upset or distraught as a woman would normally be. (DL 6.96-8)5
I am not exactly recommending Crates and Hipparchia as the marital ideal for students in my hypothetical cosmopolitan schools (or Theodorus the Atheist as their logic teacher).6 But the story does reveal this: that the life of the cosmopolitan, who puts right before country, and universal reason before the symbols of national belonging, need not be boring, flat, or lacking in love.Good news, everyone! David Price is good again. That’s not breaking news, obviously, but it’s well received all the same. The $217 million dollar man is finally on the right track, with seven straight quality starts and a 2.99 ERA in the second half. There’s really no need for superlatives. He’s good, the team’s good, we’re all good. Good pitching is what this team desperately needed, and boy did they ever get it in Price, Rick Porcello, Drew Pomeranz (except for last night) and Eduardo Rodriguez.
The weird thing is, Price’s peripherals don’t jump out at you as fantastic relative to each other. In fact, they looked better in the first half of the year, with a 27 percent strikeout rate and a 3.38 FIP. His FIP in the second half is barely better, at 3.32, but his strikeout rate has dropped to 21 percent. There hasn’t been a change in the walk rate, and while he’s reigned in the homers a bit, he’s not burning through guys like he was in the beginning of the season. I mean, sure, he’s successful, but what gives? Why is he excelling with fewer strikeouts?
The answer lies in the cause for that drop in strikeout rate. Price, in the first half, really focused on getting that strikeout. He didn’t want anything to be determined by where the ball went when hit into play, and considering how hitter-friendly four of the five AL East ballparks are, I don’t blame him. The issue there is that whatever contact batters did make was loud. Price would get his strikeouts, sure, but they came at the cost of batters getting much more solid contact. Just take a look at how any time Price pitched in the zone – which, considering those strikeout numbers, was very often – he was demolished.
That’s pretty bloody.
Going for strikeouts is normally good! But with Price firing away inside the zone like that, it didn’t seem that way, and it ended up being bad, even though the FIP was over a full run lower than his 4.34 ERA. His sinker was getting hammered so badly he gave up eight dingers on that pitch alone, which is the same number of home runs given up on all of his other pitches combined.
There probably wasn’t a sole cause for this. Could he have been more hittable thanks to his lower velocity, which was due in part to a leg kick that didn’t go as high as it used to? Sure, that’s plausible. Maybe it was plain bad luck, because when you mix a.321 BABIP with a strand rate 5 percentile points lower than your average, you tend to do worse. That’s a nice theory as well. As with most things, it probably was a combination of all of that.
After a few months of Price saying he’s better than what he pitched, the second half was like a redemption tour. Price stopped gunning for that K. But he still stayed efficient. The walk rate didn’t spike, the home runs dropped, the sun came out, and world peace happened.
Turns out that Price was serving up hittable pitches a bit too often. He’d give up a line drive 25 percent of the time in the first half. The second half? 19 percent. He changed his approach to get a batted ball profile that didn’t hurt him when someone would inevitably hit it into play. So what did a lot of those line drives turn into? The most harmless batted ball type imaginable: pop ups. Good things tend to happen when a lot of your fly balls don’t go much farther than 100 feet.
Trading strikeouts for contact sounds bad at first, but with Price, it was necessary so he wouldn’t keep teetering on the edge between untouchable and batting practice. Compared to his first half, his second half heatmap is distinctly less terrifying to look at.
Like a breath of fresh air. That red spot in the middle looks bad, sure, but professional baseball players will seldom miss anything right down the pipe. The lack of red overall is very refreshing here.
The better news is that the strikeouts might be on the rebound as well. Remember that string of quality starts from earlier? Price has thrown 50 innings in that seven-start span. He’s gotten 51 punchouts in those innings. Expect that 21 percent strikeout rate in the second half to start going up sometime soon if this trend keeps up.
So far, so good. Pitching to contact isn’t the most reliable way to bounce back, but if it works, there’s no reason not to do it. It’s not like the strikeouts are gone forever either. As of right now, Price’s strikeout and walk rates are virtually identical to what he posted last year. The only difference now is the home run rate, and a few dingers will throw everything ERA-related out of proportion a little bit.
The question will probably be asked soon, and no, Price probably won’t start Game One of a playoff series over Porcello, but he’s sure as hell going to match him step-for-step the rest of the season. With the batted ball profile fixed and the strikeouts coming back, there are few things scarier than a resurgent David Price.
Photo by Bob DeChiara/USA Today Sports Imagesi need coffe via flickr America is losing the war on meth thanks to government cutbacks. Lab seizures have dropped by a third or more in the nation's top meth-producing states, according to an AP analysis.
Community Oriented Policing Services, or the COPS program, offered $19.2 million in 2010 aiding states with the $2,500 to $5,000 needed to clean-up toxic wastes left behind even in small "bake-and-shake" meth labs. Since February it has provided no money.
A Tennessee sheriff describes the'sickening' retreat:
In Warren County, Tenn., about 70 miles southeast of Nashville, deputies had "always been very aggressive on meth," Sheriff Jackie Matheny said. By midsummer a year ago, they had busted some 70 meth labs. This year, that number tumbled to 24.
"When you have to kind of kick it into neutral, it makes you sick to your stomach because we know it's out there," Matheny said.
"We didn't have an opportunity to prepare," Matheny said. "We just got a phone call saying, 'You're not going to have funds anymore.' It just absolutely crippled us.'"
After several years in decline, meth proves to be staging a comeback with first-time users increasing to 154,000 in 2009 from 95,000 the previous year, according to a survey by the Department of Health and Human Services.Commanders!
During the last weeks, many of you have raised concerns and asked questions about the new matchmaking system. Today, we would like to shed some light on the most important questions and help you understand the mechanisms and logic of the revised matchmaker.
1 What is the advantage of the 3-5-7 template? This template ensures enjoyable gameplay for all players regardless of their position on the team list. Each player can be useful and affect the battle outcome. Even if a Tier VIII vehicle fights against Tier X opponents, it can always find a suitable opponent to shoot or spot. In situations like these, you don't need to guess where to find suitable opponents.
2 Why does the matchmaker create so many same-tier battles and so few 3-5-7 battles? Statistically, this is not the case – the number of 3-5-7 battles is and was always higher than the number of one or two-tier battles. More than 65% of all battles fought in Tier VI–X vehicles are 3-5-7, about 25% are two-tier battles, and only 10% are one-tier battles. Of course, some of you might have played several one or two-tier battles in a row and therefore have a different impression. Currently, we use a mechanic which attempts to limit the number of battles played at the bottom of the team list, but if waiting for a battle takes too long, the matchmaker will send players into battle regardless of their position on the team list. Between waiting for battle and actually battling, we always prefer the latter. Let’s battle!
3 SPGs and light tanks – they are everywhere, why are there so many? Of course, right after the release of Update 9.18, there were many SPGs and light tanks per battle. However, we want to clarify that these high numbers of SPGs and light tanks only existed for a couple of days after Update 9.18 was released, as everyone wanted to try out the new and revised content in the game. After a month and a half, we can say for sure that the situation in Random Battles has not changed much in comparison to how it was before Update 9.18; everything is back to normal. Take a look at the number of battles with SPGs: Right after 9.18 Soon after 9.19 3 SPGs 25.35% 10.72% 2 SPGs 28.69% 24.38% 1 SPG 30.73% 38.40% No SPGs 15.23% 26.50% Below is the average number of light tanks per team: Right after 9.18 Soon after 9.19 Battle tier VIII 2.31 2.39 Battle tier IX 3.11 2.63 Battle tier Х 2.87 2.36
4 Three SPGs per team — is this normal? It is still acceptable. The number of battles with three SPGs is not excessively high, with about 11%. If you take a look at the tables above, you will understand the reason why you felt like too many battles included three SPGs per team, after the implementation of Update 9.18. Currently, the situation is different.
5 How is it possible that one of the teams has an SPG or light tank, while the other does not? Before the release of update 9.18, we provided a series of articles about the logic of the new matchmaker (see on the right). In short: the matchmaker attempts to assemble teams, taking into consideration the number of tank destroyers, light tanks, and SPGs, as well as platoon players. However, if creating teams takes too long, the mismatch of one vehicle of these types is allowed. In other words, battles in which one of the teams has a light tank or SPG while the other one doesn’t, are within the logic of the matchmaker, but less “fair” than we would like. For this reason, we improved the matchmaker some time ago, and tightened the team assembly criteria. As a result, the number of battles with a mismatch of SPGs, tank destroyers, light tanks, and platoon players decreased. We are going to make further improvements in regards to this. Stay tuned!
6 What about same-tier platoons? Those will stay as they are. There are many reasons for this, but please see the most important two: First of all, same-tier Platoons are fairer to teams, who will no longer be at a disadvantage from the very beginning of a battle because of someone joking around.
Secondly, one-tier battles considerably decrease the amount of work for the new matchmaker. Without them, the matchmaker would have a hard time creating equal 3-5-7 battles.
7 SPGs in platoons...you know what I'm talking about. In this case we admit that we’ve changed our initial decision due to your feedback. Artillery will be allowed to be played in a platoon again but will be limited to one per platoon. This decision was difficult and thoroughly discussed. Feedback from players across all platforms affected the decision — thank you for sharing your feedback. Together, we will change the game for the better.
8 Any changes to the conditions of the Personal Missions? Good news: in Update 9.19.1 we are changing the conditions of many Personal Missions. Head over to the forums and have a look at the planned changes. Feel free to share your feedback there as well!5 Steps for Having a Good Relationship With Your Suppliers
Constant communication with your suppliers, making all the payments on time and transparency will allow you to deliver a quality product or service that fully meets your customers’ expectations.
The need for having a good relationship
Having good relationships with suppliers is a vital objective that every company should strive to achieve to be successful in the market. This will allow you to source purchases for your business, at best prices, improve your quality and achieve future beneficial supply arrangements. Correct coordination with your suppliers will produce a better end product or service, generating greater customer satisfaction and higher sales for your business in the long term.
The need for good relationship becomes even more crucial when companies rely on a specific provider. A good relationship will allow you to get you over your competition, to negotiate favourably and solve any problems related to quality, quantity, delivery and price of the products.
How to have a good relationship with your suppliers
1. Finding the right supplier
The essential step for a good relationship lies in finding your supplier from the beginning. It should most closely match your interests and capabilities. It’s not about finding the best and most demanded supplier in the market, but the one that best suits your needs. A good supplier will be able to engage with your company and know in advance what you need, before you even ask for it. It should also look at aspects such as speed, efficiency and the ability to solve last minute problems.
2. Showing a good impression
Aspects such as punctuality, order, formality, behaviour and language used with your suppliers are key aspects that your company cannot ignore.
A good impression will open many doors. Even if your providers are someone you know well in business, you must treat them appropriately. To make a good impression, when negotiating, try to be brief by detailing the features of your products or services. Always show a positive, open attitude and seriousness for doing a business.
3. Meeting your reached agreements
Just as you expect your suppliers to be fast, efficient, with an ability to deliver the product at the agreed time and in good condition, you as an employer must ensure that the process of paying your bills is always done within the stipulated deadline.
4. Having ongoing communication
Every good relationship is based on communication. The same applies to the relationship with your suppliers. Having good communication should be fundamental for your business. This may include site visits, meetings or telephone conversations. Any problems with suppliers must be discussed openly. Always seek mutually satisfactory solutions. Communication should always be expedited by both parties.
5. Taking advantage of new technologies
New technologies should serve you well for in facilitating a good relationship with your suppliers. As a customer you can use latest technology solutions to check the status of your orders, estimated time of arrival, any incidents cause a delay in delivery and solutions taken in case of problems.
Manage Multiple Warehouses in One Place
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PHOTO: The Boston Massacre (death of Crispus Attucks)
This excerpt from Weed the People: From Founding Fiber to Forbidden Fruit by Jeremy Daw, J.D. is published with special permission.
When Samuel Gray heard Boston’s church bells ringing furiously into the night, he assumed the town called for help with a fire. But when he discovered that a crowd had been summoned to harry a group of British soldiers, Gray, a hardy brawler and street agitator, turned out into the streets. Others came with him, including a forty-seven year old man of mixed race named Crispus Attucks. The crowd swelled from outrage over the presence of British soldiers in the city and a series of punitive laws.
For Gray it was also personal. Only three days earlier he had been at work at John Gray’s ropewalk, one of the many employers providing good jobs in the colonial cannabis industry, when he saw one of the soldiers from the British garrison loafing about.
Guessing his game, one of Gray’s coworkers (or possibly Gray himself) called at the soldier, “Do you want some work?” Many of the British garrison, lately arrived in 1768, had taken part-time work at Boston’s factories, crowding native Bostonians out of the job market. John Gray’s was one of the few left in town which still proudly employed Patriots and there, contempt for the soldiers ran high. The Brit apparently didn’t realize this, responding with an eager yes. “Wee then, go and clean my shithouse,” came the sneering reply. The soldier challenged the Bostonians, who promptly chucked him out into the snow. But the redcoat returned later that day with a dozen of his friends from the garrison, and pummeled Samuel Gray and his Patriots.
That redcoat may have been Matthew Killroy, a soldier with the 14th Regiment under the command of Captain Thomas Preston. A witness at his trial would later testify that he heard Killroy swear that he “would never miss an opportunity, when he had one, to fire on” Bostonians. Another account recalls the ominous prediction of the wife of James McDeed, a British soldier stationed in Boston, who declared on the evening after the fray “that before Tuesday or Wednesday night [the British] would wet their swords or bayonets in New England people’s blood.”
The mob arrived at the Statehouse, and Samuel Gray saw Killroy among the redcoats |
-control profile that lets you tilt the gamepad to control the camera, similar to the aiming mechanic Nintendo uses for Splatoon. It feels great, like Portal 2 was made for the Steam Controller.
If true native Steam Controller support becomes a PC gaming standard, I'll never touch my Xbox 360 gamepad ever again... but in the meantime, I'm not getting rid of it. I was perfectly happy to use the Steam Controller for most of the titles in my library, but every now and then one wouldn't play nice with hybrid gamepad mode and also didn't feel right in WASD-keyboard-and-mouse mode. In these rare cases, reverting back to the Xbox gamepad worked best. Luckily, the Alienware Steam Machine natively recognized my wireless Xbox controller dongle.
With any luck, I won't need a backup Xbox 360 gamepad for very long -- Valve is constantly sending the controller firmware updates and adding features to mitigate common problems. Remember how I said the controller was lousy at emulating a traditional gamepad's right thumbstick? A few weeks after the controller shipped, Valve added a new "mouse-like-thumbstick," which lets users apply sensitive cursor control to games that don't play nice with the Steam Controller's hybrid mode. There's also a new "touch menu" mode that uses the Steam overlay to add extra on-screen hotkey buttons to any game that needs more inputs than the physical controller offers. It's nice to think that the controller will just get better and better with time.
The Steam Controller is pretty handy for text entry and web browsing, too. No, really -- pull up a text-entry field in SteamOS' Store search or web browser, and the system will let you use the dual touchpads to touch-type text. Simply drag your finger across the pad, use the on-screen cursors (one for each pad) to select a button and click down to select it. After years of smartphone text messaging, it feels completely natural, and it's my new favorite "game console" mechanic for text entry. The right touchpad also works like a real mouse in the web browser and the left works as a scroll bar. For the first time in my life, I'm comfortably browsing the web on my television. It's nice.
Finally, there's one killer feature the Steam Controller and the Alienware Steam Machine are missing: The ability to power on the console using just the controller itself. This is a standard feature for every other device in my entertainment center, but the Alienware box just can't do it. This isn't a surprise: Most desktop PCs can't be powered on from a device over USB, but some devices can be put into sleep mode and woken up by a remote controller. As far as I can tell, that's not an option here, either. If you want to play Steam, you'll have to get off your couch and turn the machine on yourself. How tedious.
Gameplay and performance
Okay, so the Alienware Steam Machine has the right operating system and the right controller -- but does it have the right components? Can it keep up with today's consumer game consoles and still pass muster as a gaming PC? Most of the time, yes.
My $749 test unit costs a pretty penny more than the highest-priced console on the market, but it has a lot to offer. The flagship Alienware Steam Machine packs in a Core i7-4785T CPU, 8GB DDR3 memory, a 1TB 7,200 rpm hard drive and a customized NVIDIA GTX 860M graphics chip with 2GB of video RAM. That turned out to be enough power to run almost everything in my SteamOS-compatible library on high visual settings at a decent frame rate.
Most games automatically configured themselves to medium visual settings by default, hovering at 45 frames per second or higher, depending on the title, but I found the system could push most of them a little further. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel happily bounced between 35 and 50 fps (depending on how much action was on screen) on maximum visual settings, and both Shadow Warrior and Spec Ops: The Line eclipsed 50 fps with the dials turned to 11. BioShock Infinite dipped just below 30 fps on Ultra, but maintained a solid 40 average when tuned down to "very high" settings. I had similar results with Serious Sam 3, finding Ultra to be just a tad too much, but High ran just fine. It should be no surprise that Valve's own games also ran great on the first official Steam Machine: Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2 had no problem hitting 60 fps on their highest visual settings.
Even The Witcher 2, one of my library's heavier hitters, ran moderately well, managing to stay above 30 fps on high settings and comfortably hitting the 40s on medium. Simpler offerings like Civilization: Beyond Earth had no trouble hitting playable frame rates on maximum settings, and the machine also shrugged off the plethora of indie titles available for SteamOS + Linux.
The games that ran poorly surprised me: Shadow of Mordor struggled to hit playable frame rates at my television's native 1080p resolution until I dialed back its graphics options to their lowest settings. I don't know if the game is simply more resource-intensive than I realized, if it's poorly optimized for PCs or if it's just a bad Linux port.
Installing, running and playing games on the Alienware was usually a seamless experience -- jumping directly from the SteamOS menu into a game. Most of the time, this led to a smooth, console-like gaming experience, although there was the occasional hiccup. The Witcher 2 doesn't launch straight into the game, and requires the user to click "play" in a launcher program before starting in earnest. To navigate this quirk, I had to press the Steam Controller's "home" button to change profiles multiple times.
A few games also suffered from weird stuttering despite running well at high specifications: BioShock Infinite, Spec Ops: The Line and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel would all occasionally drop a few frames, causing the game to look like it was "hanging" for a quarter of a second every few minutes. Weird.
Right now, our test unit represents the absolute best Steam Machine that Dell has to offer -- if you want more power, you'll have to upgrade it yourself. Fortunately, that's pretty easy: Four screws on the bottom of the tiny case are all you need to remove to get access to the Steam Machine's RAM, HDD slot and LGA 1150 CPU socket (compatible with Haswell and select Broadwell processors. Sorry Skylake fans).
Getting less power is pretty easy too: Dell sells a $649 model identical to our test unit, save for a downgraded Intel Core i5 CPU. Dropping down to the $549 build will saddle you with a Core i3 CPU and one fewer internal wireless antenna. A bottom-dollar $449 unit is available as well, shipping with the Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a smaller 500GB HDD. Fortunately, all configurations share the same NVIDIA GPU.
The library
Knowing that the Alienware Steam Machine can play modern releases (with a few caveats) is great, but that alone isn't enough to say if it can compete with traditional consoles or other gaming PCs. In an industry where content is king, are there enough Linux games available on Valve's platform for SteamOS to thrive? It depends on your perspective.
In a strictly numerical sense, SteamOS has tons of games -- over 1,500 titles available to download and play right now, today. In a more qualitative sense? Maybe don't bank on a Linux-based Steam Machine as your only game console. Not yet, at least.
That's not to say there aren't lots of great games available for SteamOS and Linux -- every single one of the titles I listed above ran natively on the system -- but there are definitely fewer multiplatform AAA titles on the Linux section of Steam's marketplace than you might find on Windows, Xbox or PlayStation. Worse still, some games that were promised to launch on Linux alongside Windows and consoles missed their mark: The Batman: Arkham Knight Linux port failed to surface when the game re-launched on PC and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is still absent from Steam OS five months after its Windows release.
On the plus side, Valve carries a lot of weight in the gaming industry, and it has a vested interest in convincing developers to port big-name games to Linux. It's extremely probable that we'll see an explosion in Linux-compatible releases over the next several years. In the meantime, SteamOS' Linux library offers one extra advantage: It's unique. There are literally hundreds of distinct, fun, independent and lesser-known titles lurking in the Steam marketplace that simply aren't available on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.
Not enough? Okay -- Valve has one more trick up its sleeve, but it requires another computer: Steam In-Home Streaming. This feature has been around for a while, but now it's baked directly into the SteamOS ecosystem. If you have a Windows PC anywhere on your network running Steam, you can pipe its games to the Alienware Steam Machine to fill in the holes in the Linux library. This trick tends to work better over Ethernet, and the whole thing depends on the health of your local network, but it's a good stopgap for folks with another gaming machine. Already have another gaming PC but don't want a Linux game console for your entertainment center? You may want to look at the Steam Link -- it's cheap; it comes with a Steam Controller; and it's designed specifically for users who want to stream their gaming PC to their TV without adding a whole new computer to the network.
Wrap-up
I used to laugh when I saw Linux users scramble to build compatibility layers to play "real" PC games. I chuckled when Valve CEO Gabe Newell lambasted Windows 8 as a "catastrophe for everyone," proffering Linux and SteamOS as a viable alternative. It seemed so far-fetched, so silly. Truth be told, I'm still laughing -- but now it's because I'm enjoying myself. The Alienware Steam Machine has some growing pains, but it's fun. Lots of fun.
The first commercial Steam Machine isn't quite an idiot-proof console just yet, but it's close. In fact, it's close enough I'm thinking about recommending it to friends who would otherwise be hesitant to step into the world of PC gaming. It's fun and easy to use. Most of the issues I encountered are minor and simple to troubleshoot. It still needs some major patches and a larger selection of supported games, but Valve seems committed to making these improvements a reality. Even as is, Steam Machines are good. Shockingly good. Soon, they could be great. Either way Valve is on the right track.China is stepping up development of 3-D printing, challenging U.S. industry's sizable lead in applying the technology in manufacturing.
A 3-D printer is used at DF Robot in Shanghai to make products such as iPhone cases and high heel shoes. China is behind the U.S. in using 3-D printing in manufacturing, but it is investing heavily to catch up. (Photo11: Nina Trentmann) Story Highlights Many more 3-D printers are being sold in China
Chinese government this year rolled out 10 research centers devoted to 3-D printing
But nation's old-line workforce must be retrained
SHANGHAI — Manufacturers hoping to use 3-D printing technology to slash labor costs and bring some production back to the U.S. from China didn't foresee this: China is furiously developing its own 3-D printing industry.
3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is still in the early stages in China, and the world's second-largest economy is far behind the U.S. But China has made significant strides this year in its effort to modernize its reputation as a center of cheap mass production. Some American industry officials say the U.S. should step up its investments to maintain its advantage.
Here at DF Robot's production facility in the Zhangjiang Business Park, a roomful of humming 3-D printers and robots substitute for a traditional factory's clanking presses and churning milling machines. One printer spews layer after layer of green molten plastic onto a canvas until an iPhone case takes shape in seven hours. Soon after, the versatile printer molds a pair of black high-heel shoes — a more complex task that takes 26 hours.
"Since 2012, we have seen a strong increase in demand for our printers," says Ricky Ye, CEO and founder of DF Robot, which both manufactures printers and uses them to make product prototypes on a contract basis.
3-D printers look like document printers but crank out 3-dimensional objects. Based on a digital design, they lay down hundreds or thousands of layers of powdered metal or plastic until parts or entire products are sculpted.
Since the 1980s, U.S. manufacturers largely have used the printers to quickly create prototypes. In recent years, a growing number have turned out limited runs of actual products, such as surgical tools and medical implants, as well as certain parts in airplanes, cars and other machines. Entrepreneurs and hobbyists are also snapping up inexpensive "personal" printers to make jewelry, toys and other trinkets.
In China, 3-D printers are making prototypes and quirky objects for consumers but — apart from artificial teeth and dental implants — lag in end-user part production. That's the more critical sector that has the potential to transform manufacturing.
Whether deployed in China or the U.S., 3-D printing can yield significant reductions in labor costs. Just a few employees oversee dozens of automatic printers, matching the production of several hundred or thousands of workers in standard factories.
3-D printers also cut waste, reduce lead times for product rollouts and are better than conventional factory machines at customizing objects. But they're expensive and not adept at mass production, making them most suitable for limited runs of niche products.
In China, about 17,000 mostly personal 3-D printers are in operation, estimates Terry Wohlers, president of consulting firm Wohlers Associates. The U.S. has about 47,000, and nearly half are industrial, he says.
Yet China is closing the gap. The country's stock of 3-D printers has grown more than sevenfold since 2008, Wohlers says. He says national interest in the technology intensified early this year after President Obama proclaimed in his State of the Union address: "3-D printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything."
"The comment more than lit a spark in China — it started a bonfire," Wohlers says, adding that Chinese sales of 3-D printers have surged.
Their growing popularity is laying the foundation for wider usage of 3-D printing in manufacturing. Wohlers says the Chinese government and industry ultimately intend to use the technology to make high-tech parts and "high-value finished products."
For now, even the spread of personal printers has huge potential, says Ye of DF Robot. "It takes forever to produce a prototype or a mold," he says. "Once you have a 3-D printer at home or in the office, you can speed up the innovation process. Many more people will be able transform their ideas into real products."
China's government, meanwhile, is sowing the seeds for industrial production, opening a 3-D research center this year and planning nine more. With Chinese labor costs rising sharply the past few years, the country has been losing production to factories in Vietnam and Bangladesh that pay lower wages. 3-D printing can help preserve China's reputation as "the factory of the world" while expanding beyond labor-intensive assembly lines, Ye says.
Developing the industry, however, will require retraining a work force of old-line factory employees. "We will need less unskilled workers if we use 3-D printers more frequently," Ye says.
Also, few Chinese engineers have the technical know-how to build the printers, says Jack Wu, the China representative of EOS E-Manufacturing Solutions, a German company that operates a research facility in Shanghai. Entrepreneurs and manufacturers, meanwhile, must be educated.
"There are customers that buy the most expensive 3-D printer and only use it once a week," says Kim Francois, head of the Chinese unit of Belgium-based Materialise, which builds printers and does contract printing and research. "Of course, such an investment will never pay off."
Francois teaches Chinese elementary and high schools students how to use the printers. "This is the next generation of Chinese entrepreneurs," she says. "If they get to use 3-D-printers early in their lives, they will potentially become much more innovative than their parents."
3-D, she adds, can help China transition from a "copy culture" that makes products designed elsewhere to one that turns out more domestically designed goods.
Wu thinks China will move swiftly to try to close ground with Western nations. "Companies, schools, universities and individuals will start using this," he says.
U.S. officials are taking notice. Ralph Resnick, founding director of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute in Youngstown in Ohio, says China's advances underscore the need for the U.S. to continue to invest in the technology.
"I think China's initiative has the potential to continue to make China more competitive," Resnick says. As other countries develop 3-D, "we have an innovation edge that has been slipping."
Davidson reported from McLean, Va., and Trentmann reported from Shanghai.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1cKnyhaAfter getting soaked and sent home during last Friday's practice, I was fortunate enough to come back and get a glimpse of the Detroit Lions' first practice open to the public on Monday afternoon. The crowd was much smaller than in recent past, but I assume that's because we were required to get tickets this year and keep it from getting too out of hand. That being said, it was a beautiful (albeit extremely hot) day for football and it was nice to see the players back on the field.
Offense
There are plenty of reasons why you should be excited about the offense this year. For one, it's Jim Bob Cooter's offense, and we've seen what he was able to do with limited weapons during the second half of last year. Secondly, the front offense has done a fantastic job of adding pieces to soften the blow from Calvin Johnson's retirement.
Pass this one along: For what the #Lions are paying, their WR corp. looks solid (and underrated). pic.twitter.com/dSUbwhOdSS — Justin Simon (@justincsimon) August 1, 2016
As our own Justin Simon pointed out earlier today, the top six receivers on the Lions are making approximately $8 million less than what Johnson's cap hit would have been this year. That's pretty remarkable.
I can also say with confidence that this year's WR crop looks much better than last year, and that is no slight to Calvin. There is much more depth this year from top to bottom, and the competition for the fourth and fifth (maybe even sixth) receiver spot is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
I don't have much to say about Golden Tate because we already know what he is at this point. He's Mr. Reliable and is more than likely going to get 90-100 receptions and be a key part of the offense as he and Matthew Stafford continue to strengthen their chemistry on the field. But surprisingly, Anquan Boldin is another guy who has already been connecting with Stafford a ton, and he's got some incredibly sticky hands. On one particular play, Boldin was matched up against Quandre Diggs in the slot and displayed strong hands to make a tough contested grab over the top of him. Get used to seeing Boldin become a big part of this offense. He's got plenty of gas left in the tank.
Another fun matchup to watch is Marvin Jones versus Darius Slay. Jones got the better of Slay a couple times during Sunday's practice, but Slay made up for it on Monday by breaking up a few passes. Still, Jones continued to impress on the field. The Lions are going to need his size and speed, and he looks like a legitimate deep threat out there. He also made an impressive catch on a designed screen play during 11-on-11 drills and moves extremely well for a taller receiver. If you weren't already a fan of the Marvin Jones acquisition, you will be soon. Trust me.
The UDFA receivers also stood out during Monday's practice, for better or for worse. Jace Billingsley had a rough day, dropping at least two passes and was overshadowed by Jay Lee and Quinshad Davis. Lee probably has the advantage over all three of them for now due to his speed and ability to stretch the field. He caught two passes for touchdowns, including one where he completely undressed Adairius Barnes on a double move. Lee also burned cornerback Alex Carter fairly easily on a deep route early in the day. Davis isn't nearly as fast as Lee, but he may have the most reliable and natural hands of the receivers fighting for a roster spot.
TJ Jones also had a solid practice and earned Play of the Day honors after laying out for a pass from Dan Orlovsky, bringing on loud cheers from the fans.
I wasn't able to see enough of the offensive line, as their individual drills were happening on the far side of the field, but I did get a good glimpse of the first and second teams during 11-on-11 drills. For the first-team offense, you had Taylor Decker in at left tackle and Riley Reiff on the right side. Laken Tomlinson (left) and Larry Warford (right) were your starting guards and Travis Swanson earned the starting reps at center. Decker is an absolute skyscraper on the field at all times and seems to fit in nicely on the left side. You should see some real improvement with the offensive line play this year.
As for the second-team offense... From left to right you had Cornelius Lucas, Joe Dahl, Gabe Ikard, Geoff Schwartz and Michael Ola. That means no Graham Glasgow, who continues to be the third-string center for now. You can tell that Ola still wants that starting right tackle job back, because he was noticeably good today and was stonewalling guys left and right during team drills.
There's not much to say about the quarterback situation just yet. Matthew Stafford is light years better than the guys behind him, and Dan Orlovsky appears to have the edge over Jake Rudock for now. Both of the backups were hot and cold, but Rudock's arm seems to be even worse than advertised. Orlovsky had a little more zip on his throws.
The running back drills were fairly tame throughout the day and you didn't see a whole lot of contact, but Ameer Abdullah was his same ole' shifty self. There is no one out there that can keep up with this kid's movement. Give him some room and he's going to put linebackers in the hospital. Once we get some more contact during running plays, I'll be able to get a better look at the running back situation.
It's early, but Eric Ebron looked like a stud on Monday and made a couple impressive one-handed catches. He also had a play where he nearly dropped an easy pass, but held on at the last second. He is noticeably faster and more fluid than the rest of the TEs on the roster, but I was also very impressed with Cole Wick. He's a bit sluggish, but can be a reliable option in 12 or 22 personnel packages.
Defense
Despite it taking place on the opposite side of the field, you could tell that the defensive linemen were getting the better of the offensive linemen in 1-on-1 drills. This doesn't surprise me a ton, because the Lions have some pretty quick defensive tackles and some slow offensive interior guys.
The starters in the secondary looked solid for the most part, but Darius Slay is on another level. No one looks smoother than Slay in individual drills, and Quandre Diggs is the only one that comes close. Slay had a few deflections during team drills, including one on a deep ball from Stafford to Marvin Jones and another where he was draped all over Jones on a short route. This man deserved an extension and the Lions got him for more than an affordable price. Lions fans should be ecstatic that he's locked up for another four years.
Nevin Lawson was your No. 2 CB across from Slay and continues to see his stock trending upward. He broke up a pass intended for Andre Caldwell late in team drills.
Rookie safety Miles Killebrew looks noticeably raw on the field, and ran with the third-team behind Rafael Bush and Tavon Wilson as a big nickelback, so I wouldn't expect to see him start anytime soon, but the upside is still through the roof with this kid. He has an impressive physique when standing next to the rest of the safeties.
Keith Lewis looked noticeably taller than the rest of the CBs and had a decent day overall. I don't expect him to make the final roster, but he's a guy I'll be keeping a closer eye on throughout camp. Johnson Bademosi also stood out to me, but not in a good way. He looks more like a safety than a CB and got beaten pretty badly on a few different reps.
The linebackers didn't stand out today, but Jon Bostic continued to work with the first-team defense, which I find interesting. That's something to keep tabs on throughout the rest of August. Josh Bynes looked very quick in 1-on-1 drills. It's not his best position, but I wonder if he'll have a shot at winning the starting SAM spot over Kyle Van Noy.
I was excited to see A'Shawn Robinson on the field today, but I don't remember seeing him once. Haloti Ngata also had some very light reps during Monday's practice. I don't know if he has a minor injury, or if they just want to play safe with him due to his age.
Stefan Charles and Laken Tomlinson got into a heated altercation during 1-on-1 drills early in practice and apparently Tomlinson threw a punch. That's about as heated as it'll ever get during Lions Training Camp unless Titus Young walks through that door.
Special Teams
I don't remember seeing the kickers take any reps on Monday, but that's not exactly a competition worth talking about anyway. Matt Prater has that on lock. The real focus is on the #LongSnapperWatch2016. Despite drafting Jimmy Landes with a sixth-round pick, Don Muhlbach has much more zip on his snaps and is a ton more consistent than the rookie out of Baylor. It will be interesting to see how this competition moves forward, because Muhlbach simply is outperforming Landes on every rep.
One thing worth noting is that Landes moves much better than the Muhldozer. If you're weighing in the ability to run in kick/punt coverage, that's probably the only area that Landes has the advantage right now.
Sam Martin is a lock to be your starting punter -- the Lions don't even have another punter at camp -- and he also showed off his supreme athleticism by making a one-handed grab while playing catch with Prater.
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Fellow Pride Of Detroit staffer Ryan Mathews also gave his observations in a Facebook Live session. You can watch that below.“It’s not as gay a club as it used to be”, grins James, a Village Manchester FC player for seven years.
This isn’t something you’d expect an amateur footballer to say about his team, but this club stands out from the crowd.
Village Manchester FC were formed in 1996 as a gay and inclusive club that welcomes anyone who loves football – gay, bi or straight. They currently have two teams and are among over 20 recognised gay teams in the country.
“I’d played for a few of the [gay] London clubs already so when I moved up I joined in the fun. It’s not really the sexuality element first here, it’s football for everyone – that’s the whole point,” says James.
Progress has been a strong theme in the club’s history. They started out as a small, yet determined group of friends who created a team to enable like-minded individuals to play a sport they were passionate about in a competitive local league.
Another motivation was to prove a point against a common view that a gay team could not compete in a predominantly straight league.
In the early years, the club struggled to retain enough regular players to even field a side, but in 2004 gained promotion to their Premier Division, and by 2007 had won their League and League Cup.
More silverware has followed, most notably the club’s ‘greatest glory’ – winning the IGLFA European Cup in 2013.
Someone who has witnessed almost the entire journey is current club chairman and player for 20 years, John Bridges. He’s been chairman on-and-off for about half of his playing career.
“We now coach and train a lot better, and we play at a much higher standard”, he says.
“It’s more international now. So many different nationalities you would not believe. We have around 100 players on the books in total. I think it’s a team that people who, irrespective of whether they’re gay, find very accepting and non-judgemental, so it’s easy to join and get involved.
“We had a guy a few years ago who had a big stammer, and he was getting the piss taken out of him at other teams, so he found it easier to play for us, because we didn’t. Well… we did take the piss, but not about that,” he laughs.
“We’ve got gay guys who join because they’re in regular clubs where they still feel uncomfortable,” Steve Joyce, the club’s communications officer and treasurer, elaborates.
“Some clubs might call it banter, but it’s more than that, from some of the stories we’ve heard. There still is homophobia out there, even at grass roots level.
“So some of our gay guys come because they just want to play at a club where they feel completely at ease, no tension and they don’t have to hide who they are. Other times they might just see us on Facebook, or posters up in The Village, and fancy trying it out.”
The inclusivity was clear to see at the beginning of the training session, when coach Jay McNaught led with: “I’m seeing some new guys at training tonight lads. If you see a new face, please do say hello. And if anyone wants to join us in Dublin… we’re going tomorrow! Book a flight, they’re cheap. Or failing that, a ferry!”
The club are off on a trip to Paris next year too, have just come back from Miami, and in recent weeks organised the ‘biggest gay summer football tournament’ there has ever been, where 300 people turned up.
Coach Alex West agrees about the welcoming nature of the club.
“I think it’s a very positive club. It’s football, and I love football, and I think everybody should be able to play it, regardless of who they are. That needs facilities, a culture, and an opportunity like this, for people who wouldn’t feel comfortable going into a big Saturday League Tier 10 club as an openly gay person and being themselves.
“The success this club has had in terms of playing football, actually winning games and even leagues and trophies – that in itself challenges a perception and creates a better culture within football.”
It isn’t just gay lads that play for the club though.
“We’ve got straight guys who come along too, for all kind of reasons,” Steve Joyce explained.
“Probably about 20% of the club is straight. Sometimes they come along because of convenience, but the nicest stories are where they actually accompany their gay mate who may be a bit nervous.
“Sometimes they end up sticking around whilst their gay mate decides it’s not for them, which is great because we want to be an inclusive club. It’s a safe place for gay and bi-guys to play the sport they love, but it’s also a very strongly inclusive club.”
“The interesting thing I’ve always found is that no one in straight football has ever really heard much about gay football,” says Richard, a central midfielder who has played at a number of both ‘straight’ and gay clubs. “There’s still quite a lot of work to do in terms of exposure. There’s still obviously quite a taboo in professional football too.”
But beyond a lack of awareness about gay clubs, there’s also the overt homophobia which still exists.
“This club is a bucket within the ocean. I think homophobia is a massive issue in football, because it’s a massive issue in society,” says Alex.
But Steve stresses that things have improved.
“I think there’s far less homophobia than there used to be 21 years ago when the club was formed, but it does still happen, and there’s a lot of distance to go.
“In my seven years here, we’ve twice complained to Manchester FA, one of which went up to Wembley FA about quite serious homophobia which included violence towards our players. It’s incredibly rare though and some is just banter.
“Once or twice you might hear a slightly homophobic comment from an opponent, then you see the player who said it suddenly realise they shouldn’t have and backtrack fast. But then you get the odd team of idiots who actually gang up on you.
“Sport is doing way better. There’s Football vs Homophobia month, the Rainbow Laces campaign, and top clubs are starting to back these things.
“Manchester City have flown the rainbow flag outside the Etihad stadium, a fantastic show of solidarity in conjunction with Pride. But they get abuse on Facebook from people who think they shouldn’t be promoting the elimination of homophobia, and those people question what it has to do with football. The very fact they’re saying those things proves there’s still homophobia around.
“There are barely any out gay players. By definition, there must be hundreds who are gay. You have to ask why, and we think a lot of that comes from management.”
Sure enough, a report published by the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee stated that sport must do more to fight homophobia, and a key factor in this argument was the lack of openly gay professional male players in British football.
“It takes a brave player to come out, but we think clubs and organisations like ourselves have to create an atmosphere where they can come out if they want,” says Steve.
“One of the things we strongly believe is that by a predominantly gay and inclusive team playing football every weekend in otherwise straight leagues, that’s how we do our bit – to show opposition teams that we’re every bit as good as them.”
There’s a really warm feeling of togetherness down at Village Manchester FC and it’s clear that things have gone from strength to strength over the course of their 21 year history.
Perhaps this line on their website sums it all up – ‘We don’t care who you love, as long as you love football!’
Check out the club on their website or Facebook.The author didn’t know who owned the patch of woods that abuts his Vermont farm. But when he finally followed his curiosity, a chain of surprises ensued. Good stories make good neighbors.
On a far corner of my farm in northeastern Vermont, there’s a 2-acre patch of mystery land.
The timbered lot is abutted on three sides by my property and on the fourth by a serene body of water called May Pond. With a sharp eye and time to kill, you can locate rusted iron survey “pins.’’ Otherwise spruce, birch, and dense puckerbrush seamlessly conceal the deeded boundaries.
It’s more picturesque than dramatic — except for several glacial boulders thrusting from the dark water a few feet from shore.
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Once, a girl named Svetlana perched on the largest and imagined herself a water sprite, a winged pixie of ripples and depths.
Once, a man named Wassily — an exile from Bolshevik Russia, spinner of economic theories, lover of ballet, ardent trout angler — dreamed of building a rustic dacha on the land.
He never did. But he did win the Nobel Prize.
Not that I knew any of this.
For 37 years, I’ve had hayfield, forest, and a house on the ridge above the 116-acre pond, actually a small lake. I hardly ever thought of my never-seen neighbor. Perhaps the elusive owner came by only to watch birds or spread a sleeping bag beneath the moon. It didn’t seem so strange that our paths never crossed. I was away often and long: a quarter-century as a foreign correspondent.
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Then I was back living in Orleans County, Vermont. And the 2 acres remained unvisited, untouched. No clearing for a tent, no ring of charred campfire rocks. As I brush-hogged a former pasture, just across a finger of water from the lot, I’d look at the boulders and wonder.
Finally wondered enough to ask around.
“Russians,’’ was all a retired town officer could offer. Another old-timer said: “They picked wild mushrooms. Read poetry.’’
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A poke through property records; an Internet search; some phone calls.
Turns out, the history of the waterside parcel stretches — through two generations of loving if largely absent owners — to places far removed from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. To St. Petersburg in the throes of the last czar. To the bloody Bolshevik revolution. To Harvard Yard. To Stockholm and the world’s most prestigious prize. To Berkeley, Calif. To Paris and l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
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A lot of back story for such a backwater.
Svetlana Alpers laughs to be called out of the blue by someone she doesn’t know about a place she’s known for most of her 81 years. She was talking by phone from her apartment near Manhattan’s Union Square.
The ice on May Pond disappeared in April. Bill Greene/Globe Staff
“It’s in my mind — so many rich memories,’’ says Alpers, who inherited the lot from her late father, Wassily W. Leontief, the Nobel laureate. She suggests her ashes might one day be scattered on the land.
Alpers, a renowned art historian, is professor emerita at UC Berkeley and the author of books on Rembrandt, Rubens, and Bruegel, among others. She also recently published an “anti-memoire’’ — her description — entitled “Roof Life.’’ The autobiography sold better in France than the United States. She lives in New York but is at home in Paris, Berlin, the Netherlands, and her 1936 birthplace, Cambridge, Mass. She’s been inducted into the French Order of Arts and Letters. Her PhD comes from Harvard.
And many of her happiest childhood memories were forged in Vermont.
“As a girl, I would climb onto the boulders and pose as the White Rock nymph,’’ says Alpers, referring to |
the ultimate Word of God, and that his words are the most important words in the world for us, Jesus is clearly in the latter category. So … our challenge is not to follower our religion, which has a very mixed track record when it comes to encountering the other – but rather to follow our leader, who models God’s heart in encountering the other.
RLC: Were there any major discoveries for you in researching the book?
Brian: Many. One of the first was the realization that it’s not our differences that keep us apart; it’s actually a profound similarity. We all build identity through opposition to the other. When we have that in common, things aren’t going to go well. That’s why Red Letter Christians have so much to offer – we believe Jesus gives another way of building identity.
RLC: What’s that different way?
Brian: Jesus doesn’t dominate the other, avoid the other, colonize the other, intimidate the other, demonize the other, or marginalize the other. He incarnates into the other, joins the other in solidarity, protects the other, listens to the other, serves the other, even lays down his life for the other. There’s a message that’s counter-cultural both in society and in many of our religious communities!
RLC: Give us one other discovery, something that was a fresh realization for you.
Brian: I talked about historical, doctrinal, liturgical, and missional challenges we need to face. There were so many new insights that came in each category. One of the most profound – both for me, in writing the book, and for people I’m speaking to about the subject on the road, comes in the doctrinal section. It has to do with the Trinity. As you probably know, the Doctrine of the Trinity has been used at different points in church history in some unsavory ways. Heresy hunters used it to drive people from their homes, marginalize them, imprison them, and worse. It was the ultimate litmus test. Yet I see in the doctrine one of the most powerful arguments imaginable for respectful treatment of the other. If in God there is Father-ness that doesn’t dominate Son-ness, but elevates Son-ness to equality, and if there is Spirit-ness that doesn’t colonize Father-ness or Son-ness, then we could say that God is simply a “One, ” but a “One-Another.” Relationality – relationship with otherness, difference without division, unity without uniformity – is inherent in the essence or nature of God. So … the way the doctrine has been abused in history to persecute so-called heretics was in itself heretical, in that it violated the love and heart of the Trinity. Trinitarianism can become – not a divisive dogma, but a “healing teaching” (recalling the word “doctor” which is hidden in the word “doctrine”). And not only that, it can become a way of relating – a practice, if you will. To me, that’s awe-inspiring.
RLC: You’re in the middle of a book tour. How’s it going?
Brian: It’s really been a pleasure. Not only have Christians been coming, but at many events we’ve had Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, atheists, and others … and they’re all intrigued to hear Christians facing the reality – which they see all too often – of our unresolved identity issues which produce unconscious but real hostility.
RLC: People can get the book through normal channels, right?
Brian: Yes. I’d encourage people to check out their local independent bookseller, or they can go to online stores and get it as a hardback, an e-book, or an audio book.
RLC: One more question. Is there anything you wished you had included in the book that you didn’t?
Brian: One thing. I mentioned that I deal with historical, doctrinal, liturgical, and missional challenges. There’s also the spiritual challenge – which has to do with a habit of the heart, an internal posture of the soul. That, it turns out, was the focus of my previous book – Naked Spirituality, which talks about four stages of the spiritual life. The last stage is harmony … and of course, that is essential to a renovation in Christian identity. I wish I had made that connection between the two books more clear. There’s always the second edition!The mysterious death of Adrienne Martin, his 27-year-old girlfriend, is the latest tragedy to hit the former first family of American brewing and its erstwhile playboy chief executive.
"The Fourth", as he is known, was the last in a long line of family members to run the Anheuser-Busch empire before the company's $52 billion takeover in 2008 by InBev, a Belgian firm – a corporate deal that delivered a major blow to the American psyche.
Family tradition requires each Busch baby to drink a few drops of Budweiser the day they are born.
Mr Busch, 46, who had lived life in the fast lane with a penchant for powerboats, motorcycles, jet planes and helicopters, took a lower profile after the merger.
But the new tragedy is the second time that the cowboy boot-wearing great-great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch has been linked to the death of a young woman.
Following a lengthy police investigation, no charges were brought when he was found at home in 1983 saying he had suffered amnesia after a woman was thrown to her death when the sports car he was driving crashed.
Mrs Martin was found dead at the luxury home in a gated community in an up-market suburb of St Louis, Missouri, on Sunday. But police only reported the news on the eve of the Christmas weekend, fuelling suspicions that there was an attempt to downplay the incident.
Forensic officials said there were no signs of illness or trauma but autopsy and toxicology results could take four to six weeks.
An unnamed law enforcement official told The St Louis-Dispatch that her death was being investigated as a possible drugs overdose. But her husband, Kevin, a medical doctor from whom she separated last year, said that she suffered from a potentially fatal heart rhythm disorder.
Mrs Martin, who was part Native American and had also worked as a waitress, had previously posted sultry posed pictures of herself on a website, saying that she was studying to be an art therapist and was hoping to pursue a career in modelling. "I really would like to do beer advertising! Since I have only just begun I can't wait for my exciting times ahead!" she wrote.
The couple had been dating for about a year, according to friends. Mrs Martin had an eight-year-old son with her husband while Mr Busch divorced his wife last year.
He has made no public comment, but his lawyer Art Margulis said: "I can tell you there is absolutely nothing suspicious about her passing, and it's a tragic and untimely death of a young person. A very kind young person, by the way."
After the InBev merger created the world's largest brewery, Mr Busch remained a board member on a salary of $120,000 a month, but had no role in day-to-day operations.
The death has put the spotlight back on his once-notorious reputation. On Nov 13, 1983, the then 20-year-old University of Arizona student left a bar near Tucson with a woman and, shortly after, crashed his black Corvette, police said.
The dead woman, Michele Frederick, 22, was thrown from the car, while Mr Busch was found six hours later at his home, dazed and bloodied. He had suffered a fractured skull and claimed he had amnesia. Authorities later said his blood alcohol level at the estimated time of the accident had been below the legal level for intoxication in Arizona.
The investigation took seven months, after which authorities declined to press criminal charges, saying there was not adequate evidence. They said the investigation took so long because of the "high profile" of the Busch family and because family lawyers had fought the taking of hair and fibre samples from Mr Busch.
Two years later, he was acquitted by a jury in St Louis on assault charges after a police chase that ended with an officer shooting out a tyre on his Mercedes-Benz.
Undercover drugs officers began the chase after Mr Busch's car nearly struck them, police had said. He was also accused of trying to run down two detectives, but he testified that he was fleeing as he feared the unmarked police vehicle carried would-be kidnappers.
The Buschs were for generations the biggest name and major benefactors in St Louis. But "the Fourth" was also the latest to have been touched by scandal, tragedy and allegations of reckless behaviour.
"He had a reputation as a bit of a risk taker," said Terry Ganey, a journalist who co-wrote the 1991 book Under the Influence: The Unauthorized Story of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty. "Rightly or wrongly, it will always be recalled that he was the CEO when the company was sold."
In 1934, Mr Busch's grandfather, August Sr, who was president of the company, killed himself with a revolver. In 1976, Peter Busch, the son of August Busch Jr. and half-uncle of August Busch IV, shot and killed a friend. He claimed the gun went off accidentally as he tossed it on a bed, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received five years' probation.
A 1997 profile of Mr Busch in Fortune magazine detailed his "tumultuous" history. "People think, 'Here's a guy who's got it all -- the Busch name, the best job in the world'," he said. "It's a very different reality."A Craigslist prostitute believed to be one of 10 victims of Long Island’s elusive Gilgo Beach serial killer was likely “strangled” to death, a renowned forensic pathologist revealed Friday.
“There is insufficient information to determine a definite cause of death, but the autopsy findings are consistent with homicidal strangulation,” New York City’s former chief medical examiner, Michael Baden, wrote in his analysis of Shannon Gilbert’s demise.
The findings fly in the face of an initial autopsy performed by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office, which listed Gilbert’s cause of death as “undetermined.”
In his report, Baden noted that while most of Gilbert’s skeletal remains “appeared normal” with no trauma, her hyoid bone showed signs of “roughness at the margins” and her larynx was missing.
“These structures, the larynx and hyoid bone, are often fractured during homicidal strangulation,” Baden said in his report.
Gilbert’s family attorney, John Ray, elaborated, saying that the two horns at either end of her U-shaped hyoid bone had been “broken off,” which would indicate strangulation.
Baden was hired by Gilbert’s family to perform an independent autopsy on her skeletal remains, which were discovered in December 2011 along a 15-mile stretch on Long Island’s south shore around Gilgo Beach.
About a year earlier, police, accompanied by bloodhounds, stumbled across the first of 10 corpses — nearly all prostitutes and one infant girl — wrapped in burlap sacks in the same marshy area. Several of the hookers had been strangled.
Gilbert, 23, was last seen alive in the wee hours of May 1, 2010, after she visited a client in Oak Beach, LI — about a mile from where her remains were later found.
She called a 911 operator while she was frantically running away to report that someone was trying to kill her.
The investigation languished for years with the local authorities, prompting the FBI to announce recently that it was joining the probe. Police believe that one, or possibly two killers, were responsible for the murders — and rumors abound that a cop might be the culprit.It would not. Instead it would turn out to be the most controversial of the trilogy. Levin was given a very dubious knockdown count in the first round and then twice had a point deducted by the referee for excessive clinching. The second point deduction was enough for Levin to decide that he was done for the evening; he exited the ring mid-fight and the belt passed to Marcus.
What happens with Levin and GLORY now is anybody's guess, but does Levin deserve the entirety of the blame or does referee Al Wichgers shoulder some of the burden? Bloody Elbow's 'Aftermath' Panel weighs in on what will surely (hopefully) turn out to be kickboxing's most controversial fight of 2016. Joining me here are BE colleague Fraser Coffeen, Dave Walsh of the venerable Liverkick, Michael Stets of MMA Mania, Rob Tatum of Combat Press and Andreas Georgiou of UK outfit MMA Plus.
Fraser Coffeen: GLORY officials were putting the blame on Levin post-fight, but I strongly believe it goes to Wichgers. I actually don't have a massive issue with his penalties - the problem I have is that the fight quickly spiralled out of control and he failed to stop it.
I'm reminded of the Andre Ward vs. Edwin Rodriguez fight from 2013 where the two men fought very sloppily and things were similarly getting out of hand and referee Jack Reiss restored order with a combination of penalties, fines, and threats to DQ both men. And you know what? It worked. Wichgers needed to take a similarly strong hand here, and he did not. The result was a bizarre ending that left no one satisfied.
I don't take huge umbrage with Levin here, and will happily see him back, as I suspect GLORY will too. Do I want to see him back against Marcus? No. He's had three shots against him, and regardless of any controversy, I think it's clear Levin can't beat him. Move on to other things.
Andreas Georgiou: The main event was an absolute disaster and I would echo Fraser's point: Wichgers lost control of the fight. In short, if you penalise Levin for the clinch, you have to do the same of Marcus. That being said, Levin's decision to walk out of the fight is not what you expect from a world class professional, albeit his frustration was understandable. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think we'll see him back in GLORY.
Dave Walsh Two amazingly talented athletes, the best of the best in their division and it's been that way for a long time, yet whenever they get together it's like one of those weird Donald Trump face memes with a long fart accompanying it.
In a base sense I understand why fans get all worked up at the prospect of THE BEST vs. THE BEST, but I had a real difficult time getting pumped up for this fight. Or this event, even, because the whole thing was sold on Levin vs. Marcus. It's almost like people didn't see the first two fights.
These are two guys who just don't blend well together. Even their disdain for each other couldn't make for a heated brawl. Instead it was the clinch-fest we all feared it would be. Now, before someone goes crazy in blaming Levin for the clinches, watch how Simon moves and how he's forcing the clinch. To claim that the clinch is either fighter's fault is most likely a degree of favoritism. Both guys clinch a lot less against other opponents, but against each other they know what's up and that the guy they are facing has a similar skillset. It just doesn't work out.
People are gonna rag on Levin for walking out, but honestly, Al Wichgers decided that fight, not Artem Levin or Simon Marcus. That's a perfect example of an intrusive referee and I'm not sure what we can even do about it at this point. Wichgers' name is tied up in the Derek Munson death so his name is already trash in the kickboxing world. His going full Joop Ubeda (in fact, way worse) will not endear him to anyone.
Artem Levin is one of the most talented fighters in the world but he and GLORY don't need each other. He's more comfortable in Muay Thai and his name is worth a lot more in Russia and China, where I presume he'll comfortably land in the near future. I could see Levin/Marcus IV happening in Kunlun or even WLF. If I'm GLORY I don't want Artem around any more and if I'm Artem I don't want to with GLORY any more.
Rob Tatum: I don't want to just pile on Wichgers here, but it's been a rough last six months for officiating and judging under the GLORY banner. You've seen inconsistency from both Wichgers and Stefano Valenti in the ring, plus nearly every title fight that's gone the distance has led to controversy.
If there's a silver lining in what transpired on Friday night, it was that Simon Marcus wasn't robbed by the judges (again). I agree wholeheartedly with Fraser that Levin can't beat Marcus and each fight has been progressively worse. And to expand on what Andreas said, certainly no one wants to see a champion quit in a title fight, especially given Wichgers involvement in the situation, but if Levin wasn't willing to continue fighting to the final bell, how can you feel sorry for him?
Levin is one of the best middleweights in the world, but what happened in Chicago has to leave a bad taste in the mouth of the fans, GLORY and future opponents.
Michael Stets: think it was pretty obvious to to ascertain that Wichgers went in there with definitive purpose to come down hard on Levin. I think we all agree on that. Levin is a notoriously holder as we all know. G27 was the fourth fight in his GLORY tenure where he got docked a point for that infraction (G16, LMS, G21 were the others).
I'd like to know what the conversation was in the pre-fight rules meeting also. That is key. I had no issue with Wichgers taking the first point because Levin turned his clinch on Marcus into a side headlock and a precedent needed to be set. However, the second point was overzealous and Marcus himself was clinching yet received zero warnings.
Dave is spot on, these two are just oil and water and don't make for a clean fight and never will. GLORY knows both of their styles. Wichgers does too. What's even more interesting to me is that Marcus has made vast improvements as far as adapting his clinch-heavy game to the GLORY rule set yet against Levin brings out his old game.
The first knockdown was questionable at best. I understand Levin's anger and frustration because he knew at the time of the first point deduction the fight was a loss unless he scored a knockout, and then got hit with another one. That being said, he's a champion and walking out of the ring and taking the "I'm taking my ball and going home" approach was weak.
GLORY doesn't need to lose Levin, he is still a very valuable asset to the promotion. Losing Schilling and Levin would be awful. Levin apologized publicly, so perhaps they smooth things over. We shall see. But he already fights in Russia and I'm sure he won't have any issue getting fights in Kunlun or anywhere else. However, GLORY may not want to have a fighter that just walked out of a title fight the way he did. But they need to know they are partially responsible for that, as is Wichgers.
JJ O'Regan Refereeing is one of the toughest jobs in sports and I hate armchair-quarterbacks who constantly criticize officials. But in this instance it is justified. That first knockdown call was absolute nonsense. I don't know what the justification was.
The first point deduction was justified, but it resulted in the complete deterioration of the relationship between Levin and Whichgers. After it Whichgers has eyes for nobody but Levin and it's like he is waiting, daring him to do something again. Levin responded by continuing exactly as before. Was he daring Whichgers to do something, was it an F.U, was it ego, or was it simply the response of a fighter who tends to treat rules and warnings as optional guidelines?
Whilst I feel Levin's tactics were awful and made for an ugly fight, I'd have like to have seen more balance in the refereeing and more restraint when it came to that second point: another warning or two in the strongest possible terms, plus maybe a word with his corner team in the interval.
Deducting the second point was a de facto removal of the title from Levin, obviously, so it should have been an absolute last resort. To me the whole thing looked like clashing egos. Whichgers was determined to teach Levin a lesson and Levin looked determined to ignore him.
Where Levin and GLORY stand on their relationship now is hard to say. I would not be surprised to see them part ways with mutual consent after that one and if GLORY wanted to let him go it would be understandable. As world-class and unique as his talents are, he is not adapting his style to the requirements of their rules.
Watching Levin box and move at distance is a thing of beauty. Watching him spoil and stall is not. It is boring and it turns viewers off. At the same time, his elite status cannot be denied and he deserves his place on the roster. It's a tricky question.Colombians have elected Juan Manuel Santos to a second term as president to continue to pursue a peace deal with leftist guerrillas that aims to end to more than 50 years of internal conflict.
With 50.9% of the vote, Santos, who heads a centre-right coalition, defeated rightwing Oscar Iván Zuluaga, who won 45% in one of the tightest presidential races in recent history.
Opinion polls had placed the two candidates in a virtual tie but in the end Santos won over a majority of voters.
"Colombians have voted for the hope of swapping fear for peace," Santos said amid cheering followers who waved their hands with the word "Paz" (Peace) written on their palms.
Though many Colombians say that their main concerns were jobs and insecurity, the debate in the campaign centered on the issue of the peace process that Santos' government began with leftist FARC rebels in late 2012. Several days before the vote, the government announced that it has begun preliminary talks with a second rebel group, known as the ELN.
Zuluaga, who ran as a candidate of a party created by ultra-conservative former president Alvaro Uribe, has been sharply critical of the talks with rebels, accusing the president of offering the guerrillas impunity for their crimes, which include kidnapping, killings and mass forced displacement. Santos has said impunity is not on the table in the talks, which are being held in Havana.
Zuluaga won the first round vote in May, but Santos sealed his victory by uniting political forces, including leftist parties and independents, around his promise of peace. "To those who supported me because they support peace, I take that backing as an immense challenge," Santos said. "We will not fail you."
FARC and government negotiators have reach preliminary agreements on three of five points on the agenda, in what is considered the best chance ever for Colombia to end its conflict. But the most contentious issues – transitional justice and decommissioning – have yet to be discussed.
Zuluaga, in his concession speech before of a crowd of disheartened supporters, said that the voice of the nearly 7 million Colombians who voted for him "will have to be heard".
When peace talks began, Santos raised hopes that a peace deal could be reached quickly saying the negotiations would last "months and not years". Support for the talks lagged and opinion polls have shown that while a majority of Colombians want to see their country at peace, they doubt the current process will be successful.
But the outcome of the vote showed a renewed hopefulness. "This election was an advance referendum on peace," said pro-Santos senator Armando Benedetti.Founder of Microsoft and the Gates foundation also accuses environmentalists of making misleading claims about the comparative price of solar
Bill Gates has branded fossil fuel divestment “a false solution” and accused environmentalists of making misleading claims about the price of solar power.
In an interview with US magazine the Atlantic, the founder of Microsoft and the Gates foundation criticised the global movement that has seen pension funds, universities, churches and local governments worth $2.6tn commit to pulling their investments out of coal, oil and gas companies.
“If you think divestment alone is a solution, I worry you’re taking whatever desire people have to solve this problem and kind of using up their idealism and energy on something that won’t emit less carbon – because only a few people in society are the owners of the equity of coal or oil companies,” he said. “As long as there’s no carbon tax and that stuff is legal, everybody should be able to drive around.”
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which Gates founded with his wife, is the world’s largest charitable foundation and funder of medical research. It has $1.4bn (£900m) invested in fossil fuel companies, according to its latest available tax filings.
Divestment campaigners said the criticism was misplaced.
Tim Ratcliffe, a campaigner at environmental NGO 350.org, which has spearheaded the movement, told the Guardian: “No one claims that divestment alone will solve the climate crisis, but it’s also clear that we won’t get anywhere unless we weaken the political power of the fossil fuel industry. If you want to see climate action, you simply cannot continue to invest in companies that are planning to burn five times more coal, oil and gas than our climate can take.”
Gates called on the US government to triple its annual budget for energy research and development to $18bn (£11.7bn), citing the billions invested by the US government and the role of private firms in fighting “the war on cancer”.
“As a percentage of the government budget, that’s not gigantic. In energy, no government – including the US, which is in almost every category the big R&D funder – has really made a dramatic increase,” he said.
He also criticised clean energy campaigners for making “misleadingly meaningless statements” about the comparative price of solar power and fossil fuels.
He said: “What they mean is that at noon in Arizona, the cost of that kilowatt hour is the same as a hydrocarbon kilowatt hour. But it doesn’t come at night, it doesn’t come after the sun hasn’t shone, so the fact that in that one moment you reach parity, so what?”
The move follows an announcement by Gates in June that he would invest $2bn (£1.3bn) in breakthrough renewable technology projects over the next five years, double his investments to date.
In March, the Guardian launched a campaign calling on the Gates foundation and the Wellcome Trust – the world’s largest charitable foundations and funders of medical research – to move their money out of fossil fuel companies.
Volunteers have been persistently campaigning outside the foundation’s visitor centre in Seattle for a month since the city’s former mayor started a campaign asking the foundation to divest.Feb.22 (GMM) Jarno Trulli has revealed he was offered a seat at Ferrari some years ago.
Jarno Trulli, Team Lotus Photo by: xpb.cc
After fifteen consecutive seasons in Formula One, the 37-year-old Italian has lost his Caterham race seat to the well-backed Russian Vitaly Petrov.
2004 Monaco Grand Prix winner Trulli, 37, drove since 1997 for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Caterham's former guise Lotus.
Writing in his New York Times blog, correspondent Brad Spurgeon said Trulli was made the Ferrari offer while he was racing for Toyota between 2005 and 2009.
Trulli reportedly told Italy's Autosprint magazine that Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali's predecessor, the now FIA president Jean Todt, made him the offer.
"Nobody knows this, but at this point I think I can publicly thank Jean Todt for having been one of the few top team managers to consider me during my career," he said.
"I won't tell you when exactly -- I was racing for Toyota and I was doing very well. But I had signed a rather long contract with the Japanese, and in my career I've always honoured my commitments.
In my career I've always honoured my commitments Jarno Trulli
"In 15 years of F1 I've never needed lawyers," added Trulli.
Trulli left Renault for Toyota at the end of the 2004 season, driving for the carmaker until it pulled out of Formula One at the end of 2009.
Rubens Barrichello left Ferrari at the end of 2005, replaced by Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher retired a year later, replaced by Kimi Raikkonen.
At Ferrari, Frenchman Todt handed over to Domenicali at the end of 2007.Get the latest from TODAY Sign up for our newsletter
July 18, 2014, 9:04 PM GMT By Chris Serico
A 24-year-old Mixed Martial Arts fighter with Down syndrome, Garrett Holeve says he’s ready for a fight, but to him, his fiercest opponents aren’t in the ring: They’re the people stopping him from climbing into it.
“I can (do it). Don’t mess with me,” Holeve told TODAY.com. “I’m a blue belt.”
Holeve is backing up his fighting words with actions. Armed with a lawyer and the support of family members and fans, he's taking on the Florida State Boxing Commission and other organizations he views as standing in his way. Last August, minutes before the opening bell, the boxing commission ordered the cancellation of a bout between Holeve and David Steffan, a Special Olympian with cerebral palsy.
Holeve’s father, Mitch, said “ignorance” led to a cease-and-desist letter that’s preventing his son from competing in sanctioned events.
“This is a fair match-up,” he said of the bout between his son and Steffan, emphasizing that amateur fights have built-in rules to protect fighters. “We think that their limitations kind of offset themselves.”
Garrett Holeve, 24, loves Mixed Martial Arts fighting. “It makes me feel pumped,” Holeve said. Today
With multiple soft-exhibition events under his belt, Holeve — whose nickname is G-Money — has spent four years training at the American Top Team martial-arts academy in Weston, Florida. Although his father acknowledged that Garrett has a slower reaction time than most fighters, he said he believes it's all about the matchup.
"He’s not trying to take on [three-time UFC welterweight champion] Georges St-Pierre,” Mitch Holeve told TODAY.com.
At least not yet. “I want to,” Garrett said.
In February 2013, Holeve took on “Monster” Mike Wilson in a three-round bout. The match opened with Wilson’s haymaker to Holeve’s head, but Holeve remained on his feet and fought on, going the distance. At the end, the ref declared both combatants winners.
“It makes me feel pumped,” Holeve said.
The August fight with Steffan was meant to be a follow-up to Holeve’s bout in February.
In response to critics who call Mitch Holeve irresponsible for allowing his son to fight, the dad replied, “They’ve never met my son. If they were in my shoes, and they did anything different, then I think they’d have to do deal with the consequences of not doing what he loves to do.”
His son added, “My dad’s not crazy. They’re the ones who are crazy.”
The National Down Syndrome Society also has Holeve’s back, issuing a statement that says the organization “stands behind Garrett Holeve... in his right to compete in Mixed Martial Arts.”
In the statement, NDSS vice president Sarah Hart Weir says the organization is “concerned that Garrett is being discriminated against based on his disability, in this case Down syndrome,” adding he is asking for “full-inclusion and full-participation in the sport of his choosing, and we stand behind Garrett and his family as they fight to ensure Garrett can achieve his own hopes, dreams, and aspirations.”
In addition, more than 111,000 people have signed a Change.org petition against the boxing commission. Even Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar, who has more than 93,000 Twitter followers, tweeted his support for G-Money last month. “Please sign petition to let @GarrettsFight aka G$ fight!!” he wrote, using the hashtag #letgarrettfight.
According to the petition, last August’s fight with Steffan was called off “due to lack of sanctioning by one of Florida’s Amateur Sanctioning Organizations, the World Fighting Organization.”
TODAY.com reached out to the World Fighting Organization for comment, but did not receive a reply as of Friday afternoon.
Tajiana Ancora-Brown — a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which includes the Florida State Boxing Commission — told TODAY.com that her agency disputes allegations that Holeve was singled out because of his Down syndrome.
As he awaits resolution of his lawsuit, Garrett Holeve is trying to stay involved in his sport. Today
“The Florida State Boxing Commission was informed that an Amateur Sanctioning Organization (ASO) was hosting an event and elected not to sanction all of the bouts scheduled for the event,” Ancora-Brown said in a statement via email. “ASOs are independent organizations that require licensure from the commission to sanction amateur combat sports events in Florida.
“The commission does not get involved in the sanctioning decisions of ASOs. As a regulatory agency, we take any occurrences of unsanctioned bouts very seriously. Upon becoming aware of the unsanctioned bout, we quickly took action. In fact, the issuance of the Cease and Desist Notice as a result of an unsanctioned bout was not related to individual participants.”
On behalf of Holeve, disability-rights lawyer Amanda E. Heystek is suing the boxing commission and claiming discrimination. She told TODAY.com that local ASOs have been placing the blame on the boxing commission, compounding the problem.
“One of the individuals who represented the WFO basically said they basically serve at the pleasure of the state, [that] they can’t do anything without the state’s blessing,” she said.
Because the trial won’t begin until Dec. 8, Garrett Holeve has been trying to focus on the sport in other ways. At his training center, he’s been teaching martial-arts techniques to kids aged 3 to 9.
“I feel good that I’ve been helping them,” he said. “I’d like to do it more, if I can.”
Follow TODAY.com writer Chris Serico on Twitter.As was reported by the BBC this week, President Donald Trump retweeted a series of unverified videos posted by a far-right British nationalist group. Trump’s tweets are unfitting of any American, let alone an American president, on all counts.
This latest tweeting incident follows reports in recent months, as news sources from around the world reported white supremacists carrying burning torches and chanting Nazi-era slogans like “blood and soil” in streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump’s feeble condemnation of these supremacists rings hollow against the spirit of those Americans who stormed French shores against Hitler’s legions.
Trump’s de facto support for those who disparage American values is only further emphasized by those Pontius Pilates within his cabinet who wash their hands, giving him continued free reign of the Twitterstopia of which he holds court.
White House chief of staff John Kelly’s defense of Robert E. Lee, leader of rebel Confederate forces, is one glaring example. Regarding Lee’s fight to preserve Confederate ideals, Mr. Kelly called Lee an honorable man, apparently forgetting Lee’s efforts perpetuating the enslavement of other human beings.
Perhaps Mr. Kelly and President Trump might have a similar sentiment towards German field marshal Erwin Rommel as well. Celebrated as “chivalrous” for his reputation of fighting a “clean war”, Field Marshal Rommel is also been said to have played a key role in Hitler’s attempt to export the Nazi Holocaust to the Middle East.
Indeed, the Trump White House appears to have no such opposition to Nazis in our streets nor to far right nationalist groups of any origin having also just opposed a U.N. resolution condemning Nazism in recent weeks.
How do we face the world as Americans in this Trump America? How do we explain to generations to come that Confederate and Nazi flags were flying in the streets of Virginia as if their two defeated forces were deserving of commemoration in the year 2017?
In recent months, news sources from around the world reported that white supremacists carrying burning torches and chanting Nazi-era slogans like “blood and soil” were marching on the streets of Charlottesville. But they who marched through our streets with their symbols of hatred did so only because the freedom secured by dead Americans of all ethnicities allowed them to do so. Indeed, both Lee and Rommel would have both very much opposed such diversity within the ranks of the forces they led into battle.
“Blood and soil,” they were chanting. The blood of fallen Americans buried in American soil. The blood of the white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American and a multitude of other ethnicities of men and women that fought for that soil and are buried under it in every war this country has ever engaged in. To denigrate these American patriots is unfitting and unseemly. Even more so, it is unfitting of an American president to fail to mount an aggressive and sounding opposition to any who would ever disrespect their sacrifice.
Whose is this land? Whose is this America? Go to Arlington National Cemetery. Go to Normandy American Cemetery, Mr. President. Walk through these microcosms of America.
Walk past the 400,000 Americans buried in Arlington. Walk past the 9,387 Americans buried in Normandy. Walk past those Americans from every race, religion and walk of life. Explain to them the Confederate and Nazi flags that were flying in our American streets. Explain to them what occurred in the America they fought and died for.
Shame on those within this cabinet like Kelly who know the cost of war most of all. And shame on us. Shame on all of us here today because of the sacrifice of those fallen Americans who served and died before us. We owe them more than this — particularly us who carry their legacy. Confederate and Nazi flags have no place in this United States. Far-right nationalist groups from any country or origin have no place in the free world. Our American president should know this, and stand against it.
Patrick Mondaca is an adjunct instructor at John Jay College in New York City. He served in Baghdad, Iraq with the 143rd Military Police Company in 2003.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.Imagine that someone offers to give you a guard dog. When the wretched creature arrives, you find out that she is calf-high, arthritic, blind, nearly deaf, and toothless. Oh, and she |
The Roxy Richter fight happens in a club called "4," the Katayanagi twins (numbers 5 and 6) turn their music up to 11 and have five syllables in their last name (six with the first name) and the final, seventh boss is Gideon (whose name starts with G, the seventh letter of the alphabet). All right, you know what? This all seems like reaching. Even we're not buying it anymore. Nobody's that crazy about numbers, save for Rain Men and certain species of felted vampire.
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This is probably all just weird coincidence.
Except director Edgar Wright verified every one of those claims; it was all his insane pet project during filming. It turned the corner from subtle to overt during the final showdown, starting from the moment Scott walks into the club:
Seven.On May 12, 1907, toward the end of the annual meeting of the German Bunsen Society, which was held that year in Hamburg, a distinguished chemist named Walther Nernst insulted a not so distinguished junior colleague named Fritz Haber. The topic of the put-down—the synthesis of ammonia at very high temperatures—was, even by Bunsen Society standards, abstruse, but the gibe was strongly worded, so everyone at the meeting understood Nernst’s intent. Haber, who suffered from a variety of nervous ailments, was mortified. When he returned home to Karlsruhe, his skin broke out in hives. Before Nernst’s attack, he hadn’t been all that interested in synthesizing ammonia. The insult had the unintended consequence of stiffening his resolve. Haber threw himself full time into proving that ammonia could indeed be cooked up in the laboratory, using hydrogen and ordinary nitrogen gas. The result of this effort, which eventually became known as the Haber-Bosch process, had unintended consequences of its own, some of which proved to be world-altering. Nitrogen is a tease. It’s crucial to life but exists mostly as N 2, a form that living things can’t make use of. Early in the history of agriculture, people realized—without, obviously, understanding the chemistry behind this insight—that when usable nitrogen ran low fields turned barren. Eight thousand years ago, farmers in the Middle East were already planting legumes, whose roots harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria, in rotation with cereal crops, such as wheat. Later, Cato the Elder recommended that Romans “save carefully goat, sheep, cattle, and all other dung.” Bird shit is an excellent source of nitrogen, and in the early nineteenth century, when Europeans learned that there were mountains of the stuff on remote islands off Peru, the discovery inspired a guano rush; by the eighteen-fifties, Britain was importing four hundred million pounds of bird poop a year, and the United States a hundred and seventy million pounds. In 1856, the U.S. Congress passed the Guano Islands Act, which authorized Americans to lay claim to any deserted guano islands they could find. (Through the act, the U.S. did not come into much nitrogen; it did, however, acquire a host of minor territories, including Midway Island.) By Haber’s day, the appetite for crop-friendly nitrogen was so huge that scientists had turned their attention skyward. Nitrogen is the most common element in the earth’s atmosphere—nearly four times more plentiful than oxygen and more than eighty times more plentiful than argon—but almost all of it is floating around in the intractable form of N 2. When the humiliated Haber showed how to bust up N 2 to produce ammonia—NH 3 —he basically solved the problem. No more guano would be needed. Haber had, it was said, figured out how to turn air into bread. The first industrial-scale factory to employ the new Haber-Bosch process opened almost exactly a century ago, near Ludwigshafen. It pumped out more than ten tons of ammonia a day; this was further processed into fertilizer and sold as quickly as it could be manufactured. When the First World War broke out, the plant was converted into a munitions factory; nitrogen, as it happens, is also critical for making explosives. Thanks to the Haber-Bosch process, the Germans were able to keep the bombs dropping even after their supplies of saltpeter had run low. (According to some historians, without the process the Second Reich would have collapsed as much as two years sooner.) Since the end of the Second World War, nitrogen-based fertilizer production has increased at least twentyfold. Such are the quantities being churned out in factories from the U.S. to Uzbekistan that humans are now likely responsible for fixing more nitrogen than all terrestrial ecosystems combined. It’s been estimated that almost half of the world’s current population subsists on crops grown with the output of the Haber-Bosch process. These people—who may well include you and me—are eating bread made of air, and so, in a sense, are made of air as well.
In a 2007 best-seller, “The World Without Us,” Alan Weisman imagined a planet suddenly devoid of humans. His new book, “Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?” (Little, Brown), represents a less radical thought experiment. Instead of eliminating people from the planet altogether, Weisman wants only to get rid of several billion of them. He argues that when Haber figured out how to make bread out of air, things took a turn for the worse. The circumventing of the nitrogen cycle allowed Homo sapiens to reproduce at an unprecedented pace. (E. O. Wilson has described the rate as “more bacterial than primate.”) Among the results of this explosive growth has been a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which now puts not only humans but also pretty much every other creature on earth at risk. Since it was the Haber-Bosch process that made the surge possible, the process also suggests a target for the abatement. “Before artificial nitrogen fertilizer became widely available, the world’s population was around 2 billion,” Weisman observes. “When we no longer have it—or if we ever decide to stop using it—that may be a number to which our own naturally gravitates.” The alternative to an orderly global “countdown” is, he warns, pretty dire. “Whether we accept it or not, this will likely be the century that determines what the optimal human population is for our planet,” he writes. “Either we decide to manage our own numbers, to avoid a collision of every line on civilization’s graph—or nature will do it for us.” There is, of course, a long tradition in English of grim, though never quite realized, predictions of this sort. Thomas Malthus published “An Essay on the Principle of Population” in 1798, around the time humanity was reaching the one-billion mark (not that Malthus would have had any way of knowing this). It stated that people would inevitably produce more mouths to feed than food to feed them, since population “increases in a geometrical ratio” while “subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio.” Even a “slight acquaintance with numbers,” Malthus wrote, was enough to appreciate the “immensity” of the mismatch. War was one way the population and the food supply might be kept in line; another was “epidemics, pestilence, and plague.” If none of these proved sufficient, then “gigantic inevitable famine” would come to the rescue and “with one mighty blow” solve the problem. A century later, in 1898, the number of people on the planet had nearly doubled when William Crookes, a chemist who’d recently become president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, warned of an imminent crisis. According to Crookes, wheat production was levelling off, even as the number of wheat eaters continued to increase exponentially. “England and all civilized nations stand in deadly peril of not having enough to eat,” he declared. He gave the “civilized” world three decades. By 1968, there were three billion people on the planet. That year, Paul Ehrlich published “The Population Bomb,” which announced that “the battle to feed all of humanity is over.” According to Ehrlich, a professor of biology at Stanford University, nothing could be done to avert disaster: “in the 1970’s the world will undergo famines—hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.” In the most optimistic scenario Ehrlich could envision, after the “major die-back” had ended, those countries left with functioning governments—the United States, Russia, and Canada among them—would embark on a program of agricultural development that would allow what remained of humanity to survive. Ehrlich challenged his readers to come up with a plausible but more upbeat possibility. “I won’t accept one that starts, ‘In early 1972, the first monster space ships from a planet of the star Alpha Centauri arrive bearing CARE packages,’ ” he wrote. Since Ehrlich issued this challenge, the global population has once again more than doubled, to 7.2 billion. According to one school of thought, what’s instructive about the Malthusian tradition is how consistently wrong its predictions have turned out to be. At any particular moment, it may look as if we’re at the end of our proverbial rope, but just at that moment we find new rope: synthetic fertilizers, the Green Revolution, genetically modified crops. If human numbers increase geometrically, so, too, it seems, does human ingenuity. According to a second school of thought, Malthus et al. weren’t wrong, exactly; it’s just that their timing was off. Technologies like Haber-Bosch and genetic engineering mask but do not solve the underlying problem, which is that the earth’s resources are finite. By delaying the final reckoning, they guarantee that when the crash eventually comes it will be that much uglier. The latest population projections from the United Nations were released in June. If they’re correct, by 2025 there will be eight billion people on the planet. By 2050, there will be nine and a half billion, and by 2100 there will be nearly eleven billion. This is an awful lot of mouths to feed. It’s also a lot of people for Weisman to turn, as it were, back into air.
When demographers peer into the future, the key figure that they look at is the total fertility rate, or T.F.R. The T.F.R. is designed to offer a snapshot of a process—childbearing—that occurs over many years. Roughly speaking, it represents the average number of children that the average woman will produce in her lifetime. Weisman’s goal of bringing down the world’s population to two billion within two or three generations requires a global T.F.R. of about one, which is to say a more or less universal one-child policy. How could this be accomplished? Much of “Countdown” is spent trying to answer this question. Weisman’s method is to travel around the world asking people what they think about topics like family size, birth control, and impending environmental disaster. He spends a lot of time in China, which forcibly imposes a one-child limit. Weisman doesn’t exactly endorse this idea, nor does he exactly condemn it. He quotes a Chinese environmentalist named Ouyang Zhiyun, who says that most Chinese recognize the need for the policy. Without it, Ouyang observes, China’s population, now 1.3 billion, would be heading toward two billion and beyond. “Good-bye food and water,” Ouyang says. Weisman seems to be happiest in Japan, because there they do it—or, really, don’t do it—voluntarily. (As a mother of one in a fancy Tokyo neighborhood puts it to him, “Frankly, Japanese people don’t have sex much anymore.”) Japan’s T.F.R. is 1.4. This is actually lower than China’s, which, despite official policy, is 1.5. Japan’s population peaked in 2006 and last year declined by nearly three hundred thousand. Life expectancy in the country is among the longest on earth, but, even if it continues to grow, the number of Japanese is expected to keep dropping at least through the middle of this century. In the mountainous Nara Prefecture, Weisman visits a town whose population has already shrunk by three-quarters. As the people have disappeared, those left behind—nearly half of them over the age of sixty-five—have found that animals are returning. Once heavily logged, the prefecture’s forests are growing back and being recolonized by bears, herons, macaques, and eagles. Weisman meets with a newcomer to the town, a thirty-three-year-old who is planning to take over an abandoned wasabi farm. The man has a girlfriend, and they are hoping to get married and to perhaps have one child. There are lots of countries where the T.F.R. is approaching one, and even some where it’s dropped below that. Singapore’s T.F.R. is just.79. Taiwan’s is 1.1, and South Korea’s is 1.2. Most European countries have T.F.R.s under 1.5; these include Italy, Spain, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Even in some countries where the population is still increasing at a rapid clip, owing to what’s known as “demographic momentum,” fertility rates are way down: Iran’s T.F.R., for example, is 1.9 and Brazil’s 1.8. But there are plenty of other countries—mostly in Africa—where the T.F.R. remains above five. Niger’s, the highest in the world, is seven. Mali’s, the second highest, is 6.25, and Somalia’s, the third, is 6.17. Such are the mathematics of fertility that, barring some sort of Malthusian crisis, these high-fertility countries will add a lot more people during the coming decades than the low-fertility nations will lose. They will also be home to an ever-increasing proportion of the world’s population. Nigeria, for example, currently has a hundred and seventy-four million people and a T.F.R. of 5.3. Within a few decades, it’s expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s third most populous country. By the end of the century, it will have as many people as China. (By that point, India is expected to be the most populous nation on earth.) Weisman travels to several countries with moderately to very high fertility rates. When he asks people in these countries what should be done to bring down the numbers, mostly the answer is “Nothing.” In Niger, in the village of Mailafia, he encounters a mother of eight who laments the lack of milk in her town. “All we want is food so we can produce children,” she exclaims. Also in Niger, in the city of Maradi, he meets an imam who tells him, “We know the future is alarming. But man cannot hold back doomsday.” In the Israeli city of Brei Brak, Weisman meets another mother of eight. She tells him she’s not the least bit concerned about the world’s burgeoning population, because “God made the problem, and He will solve it.” At a clinic in Karachi, Pakistan, he meets a technician who refuses to administer the contraceptive injection that one of the clinic’s patients has just been prescribed. “I don’t believe we should practice family planning,” the technician says. “Our community should increase in number.” “Countdown” seems set up to take on the challenge posed by the Nigérien imam and the Israeli mom, yet it never quite gets around to doing so. Weisman ends more or less where he began, wondering whether it might be possible to persuade people to “embrace the idea of, so to speak, refraining from embracing as much,” so that, two or three generations from now, the population can reach an “optimum number.”First Lady Chirlane McCray doubled down on Friday — replacing her pricey, sidelined chief of staff with two employees to split the duties in a move that drew instant criticism.
Roxanne John, a longtime family friend who in September was named as the $175,000-a-year executive director of Gracie Mansion, will get a salary bump to take on additional duties as McCray’s chief of staff.
John, 47, who lives near Mayor de Blasio’s former home in Park Slope, Brooklyn, will handle both roles out of Gracie Mansion for a combined salary of $200,000.
McCray, who has a separate supporting staff for her work as chair of the nonprofit Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, also appointed former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official Jackie Bray as deputy chief of staff.
Bray, 32, will earn $125,000 and work at City Hall, officials said.
Some government vets criticized McCray’s outsized role in Mayor de Blasio’s City Hall.
“Chirlane McCray’s chief of staff earns more than some city commissioners? It doesn’t make sense,” former Brooklyn councilman and mayoral candidate Sal Albanese said of John’s $200,000.
Said Republican consultant O’Brien Murray: “It’s obviously overkill for a ceremonial job. At a time when the city needs teachers and police officers, this administration doesn’t have its priorities straight.”
In announcing the appointments, McCray said: “In 2015, we will deepen our focus on issues like mental health, domestic violence and expanding educational opportunities for all our children.”
The duo replaces McCray’s embattled chief of staff, Rachel Noerdlinger, who has been on leave from her former $170,000 gig since Nov. 17. City Hall officials refused repeated requests to specify when Noerdlinger’s leave went from paid to unpaid, though they said she’s currently not receiving a salary.
She announced her departure after her son was arrested for trespassing at a Harlem apartment building. Noerdlinger, a former spokeswoman for the Rev. Al Sharpton, was also facing a string of other embarrassing revelations — including that she omitted sensitive information from government security documents and lived with a convicted killer who ranted against cops online.
The city Department of Investigation found that she didn’t disclose that her boyfriend lived with her — but said that was an inadvertent error. She has not resigned, officials said.
On Friday, the same day McCray posted a video review of her first year as first lady, de Blasio praised his wife’s work — which he has repeatedly noted is unpaid. “She has devoted herself all this year, for not a penny, to helping people in this city,” the mayor said. “I’m incredibly proud of her and incredibly appreciative.”
City Hall officials said McCray’s video was produced in-house at no cost.NEO Nep5 Tokens are gaining support from dozens of exchanges. More exchanges will lead to increased liquidity, volume and price action for NEO and RPX
Neo is finally starting to pump and the answer is to why is quite simple. More exchanges are beginning to support Nep-5 tokens and the next Neon wallet update will support Nep5 tokens like Red Pulse. This update has been slated to be released before Christmas. The exchanges Huobi and Lbank have already announced their support for Nep5 token standard and will list new Nep5 tokens on December 23rd.
Currently the only exchange offering Nep5 token support is Kucoin: https://goo.gl/Ddkzi4 They are also having a million dollar promotion to promote their new Nep5 tokens which includes Red Pulse, Qlink, The Key and DeepBrain Chain, all of which are Neo based Nep5 tokens.
What makes Nep5 tokens like Red Pulse and Qlink so interesting is the fact that they all fall under your neo public address. You can send NEO or any Nep5 token via your single Neo Public address. Once the NEP5 token is sent it to your Neo public address it will automatically show up in your neo-gui wallet or neotracker.io as shown below. These tokens can also be transferred to other wallets or exchanges directly from neotracker.io and will be supported on the neon wallet shortly.
Binance has also been rumored to have Nep5 support via the Red Pulse telegram however, that will not occur until after 2018 most likely. Neo and these Nep5 tokens should continue to see immense growth.
Red Pulse has grown over 200% in the last week stemming from their $50000 marketing campaign they launched a few days ago and rumors of 2-9 new high volume exchanges listing RPX before the end of the year, falling in line with the nep5 token support announcements.
Neo also has grown over 90% the past week due to more Nep5 token sales and more Nep5 token support. (Red Pulse, Qlink, The Key, DeepBrain Chain etc.) Both coins are still far below their value in regards to Satoshi if you do a technical analysis of their graphs and I believe based on the news, rumors and hype Neo and RPX will continue to grow and are both still undervalued.
For more information on the future of Neo and the new projects being released via their platform check out their Daap list here: https://neo.org/dapps. My advice is to watch the charts, sign up for Kucoin: https://goo.gl/Ddkzi4 and look for a good buy opportunity for both NEO and RPX. Both coins had significant pumps today and I am sure you will be able to find better buy opportunities for both these coins before NEP5 tokens get launched mainstream on more exchanges later this year.
Red Pulse Technical Chart:
Neo Technical Chart:
You can pick up NEO on any major exchange but currently, the only exchange offering RPX currently is Kucoin: https://goo.gl/Ddkzi4 Enjoy the moon mission to come fellow Neo/RPX holders as there are far more gains to be made in the coming days!
As always follow me here: @cryptomarketking for future news, analysis, and articles.
Feel free to use my referral link for Kucoin should you decide to try out the exchange, I am very bullish also on Kucoin Shares and the exchange Kucoin. They are doing a lot of things right and will continue to grow as a platform. I see it having a very bright future, but will save that for another article.
Kucoin Exchange Referal Link: https://www.kucoin.com/#/?r=E55aqR
Feel free to donate to my public NEO address if this information has helped you in any way and NEO To The MOON!
Neo public address: AdL5Ed4wdyY8fJ96y2DSZFj9tMgT4PaGsPA man caught in the engineer's seat of a locomotive nearly pushed enough buttons and pulled enough levers to steal the train.
The Union Pacific Railroad Police report that on November 8, employees heard a train horn blowing excessively and went to investigate. There they found 20-year-old Julio Rodriguez in the engineer’s seat.
Rodriguez, who was released from jail that morning, allegedly admitted that he entered the railyard with the intention of stealing a locomotive.
He reportedly told police that he climbed in and began moving levers and pushing buttons while reading the operation instructions found inside.
After Rodriguez was removed from the train, employees inspected it and saw that Rodriguez had released the brake levers and put the engine in reverse.
They say all he needed to do was engage the gear and apply the throttle and the engine would move.
The $500,000 locomotive was attached to another engine at the time.
Rodriguez has been charged with burglary and two counts of theft of a means of transportation.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is sticking by its prediction that Canada’s economy will grow by 1.2 per cent this year, followed by a 2.1 per cent rise next year.
The projections by the OECD are slightly more optimistic than the latest outlook from the Bank of Canada, which last month estimated the country’s gross domestic product would grow by 1.1 per cent this year and two per cent in 2017.
In its latest forecast, the Paris-based think tank says the world economy is trapped in a period of low growth, with expectations that the global economy will rise by 2.9 per cent this year and 3.3 per cent in 2017.
The 2016 estimate for the United States has risen to 1.5 per cent, up from the OECD’s September estimate of 1.4 per cent.Share
Read our full Motorola Moto X (2014) review.
Motorola may be owned by Lenovo, but it still has some products up its sleeve. Today at a round table in Barcelona, three executives from Motorola confirmed that a Moto Smartwatch and a new Moto X are both coming later this year.
Beginning with the smartwatch, Motorola confirmed it is currently in development, though no planned release window was given. Motorola aims to “solve user problems, especially in style and design.” Motorola wants the smartwatch to resemble “more a piece of jewelry rather than ugly tech.”
When asked about whether its smartwatch will run on Android, company executives simply smiled. Well played, Motorola. They did confirm that it won’t run Tizen, with a laugh. (Tizen is the operating system Samsung chose for its Gear 2 watch.)
As for the Moto X, which we very much liked, we can expect to see a successor “sometime in the summer.” As it was with its smartwatch announcement, Motorola did not reveal much in the way of details, though if it ends up being the original Moto X with a more powerful chipset, we will be very happy campers.
This is all coupled with the announcement that Motorola’s Moto Maker, which allows consumers to customize their Moto X or Moto G handsets, will make its way to Europe in March. We can only assume that users will have as much control over how their Motorola smartwatches will look like as they do with the company’s Moto handsets.
It seems as if Motorola made these announcements with the intent of getting news out there. Lenovo will take over Motorola soon, but if everyone expects and is excited for these products, they may stay on the release schedule.In Richard Quine’s The World of Suzie Wong (1960), Robert Lomax (William Holden) falls in love with Suzie Wong (Nancy Kwan), a woman half his age. By examining their relationship, we can discover some of the reasons why older men and younger women fall in love. Older men are attracted to younger women because of their beauty, energy, and fertility, while younger women can be attracted to older men who are more mature than men their own age and have an established career.
Robert’s initial attraction to Suzie is because of her beauty and energy. He tells her that she is “the prettiest girl in Hong Kong”, and he “thought so from the first moment” he saw her. Her life energy is seen when they take a boat ride, and she whispers in his ear, making him laugh. Suzie is a fountain of youth to Robert.
Not only is Suzie young and beautiful, a woman “not even twenty,” but she has sexual power over men. When she dances, and swerves her hips, Robert is spellbound. Kay O’Neill (Sylvia Syms), who Robert is attracted to, she does not have Suzie’s vibrant sexuality.
As a model, Suzie becomes a muse for Robert’s art. Art is an outward expression of a person’s inner being, and Suzie, who inspires Robert’s paintings, touches the inmost part of his being. Her beauty impacts him on two levels: awakening love in his heart and releasing his abilities as an artist. After Kay sells a portrait of Suzie in London, Robert tells Suzie: “You’re going to make me famous.” Robert is drawn to her because she can help fulfill his dream of becoming an artist.
Robert wants to rescue Suzie from her life of prostitution, and, in rescuing her, this strengthens his masculine identity. A man “pushing forty”, he is approaching a period of life when many men have a mid-life crisis. His job as an architect “never satisfied” him, and he “fell into a pattern.” To create a new life for himself, he moves to Hong Kong to pursue his dream. However, when he runs out of money, his dream—and a renewed identity along with it—collapses. Robert finds a new identity as a knight errant, rescuing a damsel in distress.
Suzie is attracted to Robert because of his goodness and maturity. She wants a “good man with [a] big heart.” As a prostitute, she sells her body to sailors who are physically and verbally abusive. He tells her: “an artist always tries to look deeper.” He sees something “deeper” in Suzie and treats her with dignity and respect.
Suzie’s relationship with Robert strengthens her self-worth. As a prostitute, she suffers from low self-esteem, creating a false history that she is the daughter of a rich man, often telling Robert: “I am not [a] dirty street girl.” These are all attempts to protect her fragile self-image. With Robert, she feels loved and accepted despite being a prostitute.
Suzie is also drawn to Robert because he can financially provide for her. As an architect, he has greater earning potential than most young men in Hong Kong. Robert cannot provide an income for Suzie as an artist, but he has a career as a draftsman that he can return to. Suzie is unable to read or write, has no work experience, and when her beauty fades, her ability to earn money as a prostitute will be gone. If she wants to have another child, Robert can give her long-term financial security.
Love is a mystery that can never be fully understood or explained, yet there are reasons why older men and younger women are attracted to each other. The beauty and energy of a younger woman can make an older man feel young again, and if he wants to become a father, then marrying a woman his own age may be no longer be an option. Women today may not want a man to provide for them, but they are often reluctant to marry a man they will have to financially provide for. If a young woman has had negative experiences with men her own age, she can be swept off her feet by an older man who is successful, mature, and above all, treats her like gold.A dried section of the Whitechapel fatberg, on display at the Museum of London
A fatberg is a congealed mass in a sewer system formed by the combination of non-biodegradable solid matter, such as wet wipes, and congealed grease or cooking fat.[1][2] Fatbergs became a problem in the 2010s in England, because of ageing Victorian sewers and the rise in usage of disposable (so-called flushable) cloths.
Description [ edit ]
Fatbergs form at the rough surfaces of sewers where the fluid flow becomes turbulent. In pipes and tubes with smooth inner linings fluid near the containing wall flows only slightly slower than fluid in the central (lumen) of the pipe and so the whole volume of fluid flows smoothly and freely. When fluid encounters an obstruction, a resulting swirl of water starts trapping debris.
An obstruction can be any type of rough surface capable of snagging debris. In brick or concrete sewers there may be surplus cement drips, damaged brickwork, or loose mortar joints damaged by frost heave. In any sub-surface pipe, even of the most advanced design, penetration by foreign intrusions such as tree roots is a commonplace cause of a fatberg blockage.
In sewers carrying alkaline fluids, lipids can become calcified and solidify.[3] Not only wet wipes and fat, fatbergs may contain other items that do not break apart or dissolve when flushed down the toilet, such as sanitary napkins, cotton buds, needles,[4] condoms and food waste washed down kitchen sinks.[1][5][6] The resulting lumps of congealed material can be as strong as concrete, and require specialist equipment to remove.[1]
In some areas, such as London, fat blocked in a sewer can react with the lining of the pipe and undergo saponification, converting the oil into a solid, soaplike substance.[4]
Grease and fat blockages can cause sanitary sewer overflows, in which sewage is discharged into the environment without treatment. In the United States, almost half of all sewer blockages are caused by grease.[7]
Fatbergs have been considered as a source of fuel,[8] specifically biogas.[9] Most of the fatberg discovered in Whitechapel in London in 2017, weighing 130 tonnes (130,000 kg) and stretching more than 250 metres (820 ft), was converted into biodiesel.[4][10]
Fatbergs can be mitigated through public awareness campaigns about flushable waste and grease traps for filtration at the source.[3] Campaigns have been launched against wet wipes because of their effect on sewer systems.[11]
Occurrence [ edit ]
Fatbergs occur in sewer systems around the globe, in cities and smaller towns. Giant fatbergs have blocked sewers in London, New York, Denver, Valencia and Melbourne.[12]
Etymology [ edit ]
Fatberg is a portmanteau of fat and berg, modelled on iceberg. The neologism was in use among sewer managers by 2013.[13] The word was added to Oxford Dictionaries Online in 2015.[14] The term is used by authorities at Thames Water[1] and South West Water,[15] both in southern England.
Notable fatbergs [ edit ]Meriden officers berate unconscious man (WTNH-TV)
Newly-released video footage revealed the incident that led to the suspension of two Meriden, Connecticut police officers.
Both WTNH-TV and the Meriden Record-Journal obtained the footage of John Slepski and John Slezak’s actions last September while detaining an unidentified man they found unconscious and intoxicated on a local road.
Slezak was subsequently suspended for five days, while Slepski was suspended for 60 days. Both men began serving their suspensions this month, though Slezak has reportedly filed a grievance against his suspension.
The footage shows Slepski immediately calling the man a “f*cking a*shole” upon arriving at the scene, adding, “I think we oughta just f*cking pop him. I think we should just pop him.”
Slezak, who can be seen approaching the man from another patrol car, says in response that the man was “fine” and “just wants a ride to the hospital.”
“Yeah, I know,” Slepski responds. “F*cking douchebag.”
The two then discuss using pepper spray on the man, but investigators determined that the footage revealed no use of it during the incident.
Police Chief Jeffry Cossette lit into Slepski in a disciplinary letter, calling his conduct “disgraceful.”
“Your dehumanizing and demoralizing treatment of this citizen in need of medical attention sickens me,” Cossette wrote. “Your actions did not perpetuate the mission of the Meriden Police Department.”
Cossette also criticized Slezak, telling him, “If a fellow officer is behaving in a demeaning and demoralizing way toward a citizen, you have a Duty to Act.”
However, Detective and police union president John Williams said that Slezak did nothing to merit even a brief suspension.
“What behavior did he have?” Williams asked the Record-Journal. “He cannot control what comes out of Slepski’s mouth.”
Watch WTNH’s report on the incident, as aired on Friday, below.
[h/t The Free Thought Project]Gary McKinnon claims he was looking for UFO files Computer hacker Gary McKinnon has signed a confession which reflects his "culpability" to avoid extradition to the US, his lawyer has said. Mr McKinnon who was born in Glasgow but lives in London, faces up to 70 years in prison if found guilty in the US of breaking into military computers. The 42-year-old has signed a statement offering to plead guilty to a different charge under UK law. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it was considering the statement. His lawyer Karen Todner said he still denies causing damage, which the US authorities put at $800,000 dollars (£532,500), but signed a statement offering to plead guilty to a different charge under the Misuse of Computers Act in a bid to remain in the UK. Ms Todner said she was awaiting a response from the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC, but added she was hopeful prosecutors would accept the deal. "They are different offences to what he was being extradited for, but it reflects his culpability for what he did," she said. Legal battle Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's Syndrome, trespassed on networks owned by Nasa, the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defense in 2001 and 2002. The US military said that Mr McKinnon left 300 computers at a US Navy weapons station unusable immediately after the 11 September 2001 attacks. Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, claims he was looking for UFO files. He was easily traced by the authorities because he had used his own e-mail address. Despite taking his appeal to the House of Lords last year, he lost a six-year legal battle to avoid extradition. The European Court of Human Rights also declined to back Mr McKinnon's case against extradition. An application for permission for a judicial review of the proposed extradition is expected to be heard at the High Court, London, on 20 January.
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StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable versionSAN FRANCISCO — For the last few years, the spotlight in start-up investing has largely shone on those who poured money into a company when it was already well along on a growth path. It turns out that spotlight may have been misdirected.
While some investors are throwing giant sums into more mature start-ups like Uber and Airbnb at soaring valuations, it is the venture capitalists who identify a promising company at its infancy and bet on its growth who often come out on top.
Known as early-stage investors, they dominate a list of the top 20 venture capitalists worldwide that was recently created by the research firm CB Insights. About three-quarters of the top 20 are investors who put money into start-ups during their early rounds of financing. Only a handful on the list are focused on investing at a later stage in a company’s life.
CB Insights generated the list using criteria such as how big a return an investor was able to produce when his or her investments went public or were acquired. CB Insights focused on the performance of investors since 2008 for the list.ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey urged Syrian Kurds on Friday not to establish a break-away entity in northern Syria |
was an ADCC qualifier in 2011. Watch her win her opening round match at the UFC Fan Expo/Grapplers Quest sub only tournament with a flying arm bar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNVbHjZ-m6s
#5 Amanda Leve vs Liz Carmouche
Recently promoted purple belt Amanda Leve could be the female version of Garry Tonon in a few years. The current high school senior has become a Youtube sensation among grappling fans by choking out boys at Grapplers Quest competitions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isnnOJgz37w
Like Tonon, Leve trains under the Ricardo Almeida family and has a very fast paced and aggressive style. This past summer, she advanced to the finals of the UFC Fan Expo/Grapplers Quest sub only tournament where she hung with UFC #1 contender Cat Zingano for 20 plus minutes before getting caught in a submission. Keep in mind that she isn’t training full time and plays multiple high school sports. She isn’t even close to reaching her potential.
Liz Carmouche was very close to tapping Ronda Rousey when she took her back and caught Rousey with a neck crank at UFC 157. The UFC fan favorite, Carmouche, has been training with 10th Planet and recently won the Bronze Medal as a Purple Belt at the 2014 NoGi Worlds. Here is an example of when she was able to finish a rear naked choke against MMA veteran Kaitlin Young.
Which females would you like to see competing in Metamoris?Apple has been known to mark big numerical milestones, celebrating the 50 billionth download from its App Store last May and the 30th anniversary of the Mac earlier this year. But it appears to have quietly let a big one pass within the last few weeks as somewhere on earth, the 500 millionth iPhone was sold. Despite much consternation in the media that the high-end of the market is reaching saturation, this data point demonstrates that iPhone sales continue to accelerate for Apple even if the rate of that acceleration is less breathtaking than it had been in the past.
Once upon a time
When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, Steve Jobs did something rare for the company. He put out a sales goal of 10 million for 2008. There were doubters. “They’re going to have a difficult time” making it, Edward Snyder, an analyst at Charter Equity Research, told the New York Times in March of that year. Snyder pointed out Nokia sold more phones in a week than Apple had sold up to that point. And he looked like a genius when sales were dreadful in the next quarter -- the worst ever for the iPhone with just 717,000 sold. (Apple, incidentally, sells that many iPhones every 2 days currently. By 2012 Snyder was calling Nokia a "dinosaur" and, to complete the reversal of fortune, Apple sold more iPhones last quarter than Nokia has sold Lumias ever.) Oh, and back in 2008, Apple exceeded Jobs forecast with 13.7 million phones sold.
Still, it took a while to reach 100 million. In fact, the iPhone was on sale close to 4 years before it happened, sometime around February 2011. (All the estimates for the month the milestones occurred assume sales were approximately linear throughout the quarter, except where noted.) From there, though, iPhone sales really began to take off. It took just one year to reach 200 million, very likely in the middle of February 2012.
The 300 millionth iPhone was sold before the calendar closed on 2012, though Apple's fiscal year had moved into 2013 as the company's financial reporting is based on a year ending in September. The big sale was very likely in December that year because while Apple finished with 47.8 million iPhones sold and a cumulative total of 318.8 million, holiday shopping likely makes that quarter "lumpier" than others. It's safe to say Apple had a happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas as it took less than 10 months to sell 100 million iPhones.
Happily ever after?
But 2013 would mark further acceleration. Number 400 million was right around the end of July; very close to 8 months later. Making the estimate for the half-billionth iPhone is a bit fraught as we don't have sales figures from Apple for the current quarter. Analysts are mixed, with Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley looking for 42 million as Forbes' contributor Chuck Jones noted and the consensus forecast around 38 million. The consensus would have placed the milestone sale around March 8 given that entering the quarter Apple had sold 472 million iPhones. So even if it proves a bit high as it did last quarter, we've crossed the point where it's safe to assume that Apple has sold 500 million smartphones in less than 7 years. And the most recent 100 million took somewhere between 2-6 weeks less than the previous 100 million did.
We'll have better perspective on how much the trend is gaining steam when Apple reports its quarterly numbers a month from now, but there are reasons to believe it isn't done yet. Rumors about a larger-screen iPhone 6 later this year are likely to bring about a significant number of upgrades as well as allow Apple to reach the portion of the market that wanted an iPhone but didn't consider one because of the display. Further, recent moves in emerging markets to re-launch the iPhone 4 and offer a less expensive iPhone 5c suggest the company will compete somewhat more aggressively on price even though it will almost certainly ignore calls for a truly cheap product.
The launch of the next iPhone seems likely to again fall in September, despite numerous rumors placing it earlier in summer. But either way, the 600 millionth iPhone will arrive very near the end of Apple's fiscal year and around what would be the typical launch window. It wouldn't be entirely shocking to see it arrive with the opening weekend sales of the new iPhone, in fact. And if you want to place a long bet, the billionth iPhone seems likely to arrive before the calendar turns to 2017. Just don't quote me on that.
Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook. Find the rest of my Forbes posts here.If you're one of the many frustrated Instagram users who have requested a feature that could allow you to edit captions, then today is your lucky day. Instagram rolled out their latest update on Monday that allows users "to go back and edit captions on your posts." according to a recent blog post."
This has been one of the top requests that we've heard from the community, and we're excited to finally bring it to you today.
On top of giving users the ability to edit captions, the company also rolled out a discovery update that allows users to find people they want to follow.
In this update, we're continuing to improve the Explore page on Instagram by making it faster to find people you want to follow. With this in mind, you'll see that the Explore icon at the bottom of your screen has changed to a magnifying glass. When you open Explore, you'll now see two tabs: Photos and People. The Photos tab has not changed. It contains the same scrolling grid of photos and videos you already know. The new People tab highlights interesting accounts for you to discover.
For more information, here's Instagrams blog post.
This post was written by Kevin Raposo, a tech blogger for KnowTechie. Follow him on Twitter!
All photos courtesy of InstagramSCP-720
SCP-720 in an inert state, with several tanks removed for study.
Item #: SCP-720
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-720 is to be kept in a standard Safe chamber, located within Site 77's Safe SCP wing. SCP-720 is to have its three fuel tanks removed when not in testing, and is to be checked every three weeks for signs of wear; should SCP-720 require any maintenance work, all eight reservoirs are to be removed before maintenance is performed.
Description: SCP-720 is a mechanical device superficially resembling a mobile, claw-mounted crane, fit with a plow mounted on the front, as well as a nozzle in the center of the claw. The nozzle is hooked up to one five-liter tank of industrial-grade adhesive and four five-liter tanks of red, blue, green, and yellow paint. When inert, it weighs approximately one metric tonne. SCP-720 is capable of moving at a speed of up to three kilometers per hour, and appears to be powered by small diesel engine, fueled by three twenty-liter fuel tanks.
When introduced to fuel, and if enough workable material is nearby, SCP-720 will activate, and remain active until it exhausts its fuel, its workable material, or both. When active, SCP-720 will use all available tools to form spheres out of material in its environment, rolling and forming objects using both its plow and crane arm, and using its adhesive to bond material together. Once a varying amount of different sized spheres have been made, SCP-720 will arrange them in a straight line, eventually making what appears to be a model of a planetary system. Upon completion of the system, SCP-720 will proceed to paint each planetary object, beginning with a single-shade base overcoat and continuing through multiple layers, showing detailed surface and atmospheric features. In the event that other colors are needed, SCP-720 will combine paints in order to achieve the necessary color. Other objects, such as planetary satellites and asteroid belts, are typically left unpainted and unaligned with the rest of the model.
The majority of the planetary system models created by SCP-720 do not match other systems currently known to exist. However, at least four systems match up: Sol, Kepler-11, Gliese 876, and Mu Arae. Several of the models seem to attempt to model other known systems, but include disparities such as an incorrect number of planets, the presence of circumstellar disks, or asteroid belts. These models are to be photographed and kept on record, in the event that further information discovered on known systems reveal them to be similar.
Addendum 720-A: On 06/09/2009, SCP-720 created a model with several anomalies inconsistent with other models it has created. A ninety-centimeter ring was placed around the model's sun, with two eleven-centimeter thick blue lines painted along both edges of the ring. A planet estimated to be in the circumstellar habitable zone and possessing apparent oceans also had a long, unpainted pole running from an assumed landmass to one of the planet's satellites. Additionally, twenty-seven small, cubical objects were placed in orbit of three of the planets, similar to planetary satellites in other models. Further research into the content of this model is underway.Most discrimination in the U.S. is not caused by intention to harm people different from us, but by ordinary favoritism directed at helping people similar to us, according to a theoretical review published online in American Psychologist.
"We can produce discrimination without having any intent to discriminate or any dislike for those who end up being disadvantaged by our behavior," said University of Washington psychologist Tony Greenwald, who co-authored the review with Thomas Pettigrew of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Greenwald and Pettigrew reviewed experiments and survey methods from published scientific research on discrimination from the last five decades. They were surprised to find that the discrimination observed in those studies occurred much more often as helping rather than harming someone. But they also found that most researchers defined discrimination as based on negative attitudes and hostility, only rarely treating favoritism as a component of discrimination.
That makes sense, Greenwald said, because most people think of discrimination as the result of hostility: a white person spouting anti-black rhetoric, or a homophobe yelling slurs at a gay couple. But, he argues, it's more subtle acts, ones people don't even recognize as causing disadvantage to anyone, that are likely to be much more significant.
Take this hypothetical scenario: When conducting reviews of two employees, a manager finds they both fall between two performance categories. The manager gives a higher category to the employee whose child is friends with the manager's child, leading to a promotion and salary raise, while the other employee receives a smaller raise and no promotion.
Was the manager consciously discriminating against the second employee? Or did she simply give a boost to someone to whom she had an "ingroup" connection?
"Your 'ingroup' involves people that you feel comfortable with, people you identify with," Greenwald explained. "We usually think first of demographic characteristics like age, race, sex, religion and ethnicity as establishing an ingroup, but there are also ingroups based on occupation, neighborhood and schools attended, among other things. Outgroups are those with whom you don't identify."
Greenwald and Pettigrew propose that unequal treatment in the form of doing favors for those like you, rather than inflicting harm on those unlike you, causes the majority of discrimination in the U.S.
"This is not to say that prejudice and hostility are not related to outgroup discrimination," Pettigrew said. "But they are not as central to most discrimination as ingroup favoritism."
Yet, historically, social scientists have emphasized prejudicial hostility as the root of discrimination.
"We looked at how prejudice has been defined in the history of psychology. It has generally been understood as hostility toward outgroups. That's easy to do, because inter-group conflict is an obvious fact of life," Greenwald said. "There are international conflicts, wars, gang battles, labor-management conflicts. When such conflicts are going on it's natural to think of them as rooted in hostility."
Greenwald hopes researchers will change how they study discrimination, because research results have substantial implications both for how discrimination is identified and how it can be ameliorated in employment, health care, education and daily life.
He said overt acts of discrimination began to decline starting in the 1960s following civil rights laws. But prejudicial attitudes didn't necessarily change. What changed is that people were no longer legally allowed to act on their prejudices by, for example, denying housing to blacks or jobs to women.
The co-authors say that racial ingroup favoritism can be very subtle. For instance, if you work in an office that is mostly white and you're asked to recommend someone for a job opening, you're more likely to recommend someone who is like you and the rest of your ingroup.
This sort of ingroup favoritism happens at all ages and in different situations. Greenwald said it can happen on the playground, where children may exhibit ingroup favoritism based on race, economic class, or the same school or sports team.
"Hostility isn't integral to the definition of discrimination; you can treat people differently without being hostile to anyone," Greenwald said. "But it is societally important to understand how discrimination can occur both without hostility and without any intent to discriminate."TOKYO — Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant who were installing wire nets Friday to keep rats away from a vital cooling system instead tripped that system, causing it to fail for the second time in weeks.
The spent-fuel pool at the site’s No. 3 reactor went without fresh cooling water for almost three hours on Friday afternoon, said the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco.
Cooling was restored by late evening on Friday, and there was no imminent danger to the 566 nuclear fuel rods stored in the pool, according to the company. It would have taken at least two weeks for the pool to have risen above the safe level of 149 degrees Fahrenheit, Tepco said.
Still, the recent power failures have raised concerns over continued vulnerabilities at the plant two years after a large earthquake and tsunami knocked out its vital cooling systems, resulting in multiple fuel meltdowns and forcing 160,000 people to evacuate.Two protesters have been killed and 10 others injured during a raucous protest over a planned goldmine, co-owned by an Australian company, in eastern Indonesia.
The victims were among nearly 1000 people in Lambu village in West Nusatenggara province trying to stop the goldmining project by Australia’s Arc Exploration and its Indonesian partner, PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara.
The villagers fear the project will destroy their land and threaten forests and water resources.
National police spokesman Major-General Saud Usman Nasution says police were forced to fire on Saturday’s protest after demonstrators burnt down dozens of government buildings, banks and homes.
Nasution said that police arrested 47 people involved in the protest, which disrupted port and ferry services in the coastal town of Sape.
Police defended their use of force on Sunday after the deaths of two men they shot while trying to disband a mob occupying the Sape port on Sumbawa island who were protesting a local mine.
“The protest by occupying and prohibiting activities at the Sape ferry harbor since December 20 disturbed the activities of society,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen Saud Usman said.
Police said the absence of ferry services had caused unrest among the people, prompting law enforcement to act. Saud also accused the protestors of “using women and children as shields” and refusing to negotiate.
Three “provocateurs” were arrested along with 44 others, including six children, for questioning. Saud said police had confiscated 10 machetes, four sickles, one spear and several fuel bombs from the protestors.
He identified those killed as Arief Rachman, 18, and Syaiful,17. Eleven others were wounded.
Lahmuddin from the National Student League for Democracy said people angered by reports of the shooting attacked and burned several buildings including village halls, subdistrict offices and the houses of several people known to work for the mining firm they were protesting against, Sumber Mineral Nusantara.
National Police assistant for operations Insp. Gen. Badrodin Haiti justified the shooting, saying the protesters were armed with machetes, spears and knives.
“If a protest clearly runs against the law by trying to enforce a wish, should it be allowed to happen?” Badrodin said, adding that the port was crucial to the local economy. “We tried to persuade them [to disband] but failed. I am not blaming the personnel in the field.”
He insisted the shots had not been aimed to kill. “The personnel, of course, never had the intention to kill anyone,” he said.
Hundreds of students held rallies in Mataram and Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, burning furniture they had removed from the district council building. The district council accused police of “arrogance” and vowed to form a fact-finding team.
Several religion-based student organizations issued a joint statement on Sunday accusing the police of failing in their reforms and of being “repressive.”
AdvertisementsScreenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET
Snapchat has just added a new, potentially important member to its team.
Imran Khan, the former head of Internet Banking at financial firm Credit Suisse, has been appointed Snapchat's first chief strategy officer, the social network confirmed Monday to The Wall Street Journal. In his new role, Khan will report to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel.
For Snapchat, known for messages users send to one another that disappear after they're viewed, the addition of Khan is a major victory as the it works to grow and become a major player in the social space.
Snapchat was founded in 2011 by Spiegel, Reggie Brown and Bobby Murphy. The mobile app started simply as a way for users to send photos that would self-destruct within ten seconds of being viewed. Before long, the app took off, and by May 2014, Snapchat reported that 700 million photos and videos were being sent every day.
That growth, combined with the more than 100 million monthly active users, has helped Snapchat's value soar over the last three years. In August, after receiving an undisclosed investment from venture capitalist Kleiner Perkins, Snapchat's valuation was pegged at $10 billion.
But with growth comes increasing challenges for Snapchat. The company is now in need of longtime business veterans that can help 24-year-old Spiegel run an increasingly complex operation. In addition, those experienced executives can help the company start generating significant revenue off its growth.
Khan has a long history of working with Internet companies and advised several prominent firms, including China's Twitter-like Weibo and Amazon-like Alibaba, on their initial public offerings. It's possible that Khan could play a crucial role at Snapchat if the company decides to go public.
According to the Journal, the addition of Khan, who now joins former Facebook executive Emily White, who serves as Snapchat's chief operating officer, is just the beginning. The news outlet's sources said Snapchat is currently seeking a chief financial officer.
Snapchat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.President Barack Obama is welcoming Mitt Romney to the White House on Thursday for a private lunch, their first meeting since the election. But welcome him onto his Cabinet?
"No," White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday.
Still, "it will be a substantial lunch, if not on the plate, then in the discussion," Carney said.
But voters who chose between the two men in the presidential contest just over three weeks ago won't see any of it, because the press secretary has rejected reporters' requests to open at least some of the meal to the media.
With Obama under some pressure to name a Republican to his second-term Cabinet, will the president maybe, you know, consider finding a spot for the former Massachusetts governor?
"No, no," Carney said. What about inviting Romney to help with a possible reorganization of the Commerce Department? "The president does not have a specific assignment in mind for the governor," the press secretary said.
Will the two politicians exchange gifts? Carney ducked the opportunity to joke about Romney's postelection claim that Obama won by plying key constituencies with "gifts."
"I don't have any more details about tomorrow's lunch to provide," he said.
Obama soundly defeated Romney after a hard-fought, often bitter campaign that offered contrasting visions of taxes, spending and the role of government in boosting the economy. While polls throughout the campaign suggested a close race, Obama ultimately carried 332 electoral votes, far more than the 270 needed for re-election. Romney won 206 electoral votes.
Obama had said in his election night victory speech that he aimed to sit down with Romney "in the weeks ahead" for a conversation "about where we can work together to move this country forward."
Obama reiterated that plan at a Nov. 14 press conference, saying "there are certain aspects of Gov. Romney's record and his ideas that I think could be very helpful." The president praised Romney's stewardship of the 2002 Winter Olympics and said that during the campaign he had agreed with some of Romney's ideas on jobs and growth.
"So I'm not either prejudging what he's interested in doing, nor am I suggesting I've got some specific assignment. But what I want to do is to get ideas from him and see if there are some ways that we can potentially work together," Obama said.
Carney on Wednesday agreed with a reporter who suggested that the lunch had symbolic value as well.
"We consistently have elections and either pass power on to a new leader of a new party or, because the voters chose, continue to invest power and authority and the office in the same party or the same individual, without violence and without the kind of anguish and disruptions that you see in so many other countries around the world and you've seen throughout history," he said.Whether you’re going to an non-English speaking country, participating in a formal study abroad program, or thinking about doing a master’s program abroad, here are 101 ways to make your semester memorable.
Choose your study abroad program carefully. Consider location, size, cost, opportunities for studying in the local university, tutoring offered by the program, and activities and excursions when deciding which program to choose.
Try to finish most of your core and major requirements before you go, or plan to do them when you’re not abroad. This way, you can take any course you like while overseas.
If you’re a highly motivated, type-A student from the U.S. and want to save some money, look into how you can do a year abroad directly enrolled in a foreign university or whether you can do your master’s abroad in a public institution. The tuition will be far cheaper than in the U.S., so your main expense will be the cost of living (which you would have anywhere).
Check whether or not you can use funds in a 529 plan or a federal student loan or take a tuition tax credit for direct enrollment in an overseas university by checking to see if the school is eligible on the FAFSA website.
Think hard about whether you’d like to live with a host family, in a local dorm, or in an apartment by yourself or with a roommate, and stick to your guns. Being in an unhappy living situation can make you miserable.
Book your plane ticket through a student travel agency that allows you to have an open-ended return date or charges minimal fees for changing your return flight. If you prefer, to book online simply use HipMunk.com.
Don’t bother getting the International Student ID Card. It won’t do anything for you outside of North America.
Skip the traveler’s checks and don’t bring cash. These are the most expensive ways to exchange currency. Instead, check to see which foreign banks have an agreement with your bank to allow you to withdraw money at the ATMs without paying fees, and your parents can transfer money easily into your U.S. bank account.
Raise your daily and weekly withdrawal limits as much as possible so you can withdraw the rent money before your foreign bank account is set up, and get money from your parents easily in an emergency.
Notify your credit and debit card companies you’re going abroad, and notify them again every 90 days. You don’t want your card to stop working suddenly while you’re overseas.
Pack lightly. No matter how good your intentions are, you’ll accumulate lots of stuff during the course of a semester abroad.
When you arrive, register with your home country’s embassy to let them know where you live. In case of natural disaster or civil unrest, they may be able to help you get out. Also, remember to register trips that you take outside of your host country.
Read the travel warnings for your host country on the State Department’s website, and if you’re going to ignore them, at least know you’re not 100% safe.
If you have an ongoing physical or mental health condition, notify your study abroad program before you leave, and ask them to help you set up a consultation with an English-speaking professional. Better to know you have a doctor available if you ever need him than to have to find one urgently.
Make sure your medical insurance covers you while your abroad, and figure out whether or not you’ll have to front the money and get reimbursed, or whether the insurance company can pay a foreign provider directly if needed. If there’s any chance you’ll need to pay for medical costs out of pocket, look into travel insurance policies that would pay the provider directly pending reimbursement from your health insurance.
Bring a complete supply of any prescription medications with you, along with a copy of the prescription. Similar medications can have different compositions around the world or be hard to get, so it’s better to have them on hand. Worst case scenario, have someone visit you and bring a refill. (Prescription drugs cannot be sent through the mail).
Bring a supply of Ibuprofen, Aspirin, and other over-the-counter medications you use regularly, as they might be prescription-only in your host country.
Don’t bring electric devices like appliances, hair dryers, or electric razors, as these items need a converter to work properly on different electric currents. Computers, cameras, and other electronic devices should be fine with just a plug adapter.
Don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend while you study abroad. Especially if you’re going for the whole year.
Decide before you leave what your priorities are: traveling in Europe? Seeing as much of your host city/country as possible? Having a great academic experience? Making lots of friends? Having a job or an internship? Honing your language skills? Pick what you want to focus on the most, but don’t expect to be able to do it all in such a short time.
Carry around a little notebook, and write down words you don’t know or questions you have about the local culture, so you can look them up when you get back to your apartment.
Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions about language and culture. Ask everyone, from your host family to your program administrator.
Join a student group in the local university to make friends and practice your language skills.
Exchange email addresses with at least 2 students in your local university class, and ask them if they’d like to study for the exam together.
Scrap the English language tourist guidebooks (or get one) and go for the guidebooks geared towards locals in the native language at your neighborhood bookstore. (Free Things to Do in Your City). They’ll be a more geared towards a student budget than a tourist budget.
Before you make major purchases, ask a local or someone from your study abroad program where the best place to buy is. Study abroad students often end up paying more for basic goods and services (hair cuts, clothes, plumbers, makeup…) because they don’t know where to go for the best price.
Use the AngloInfo directories to look up English speaking service providers and businesses if you’re anxious about using a provider in a foreign language.
If you have a class shopping period within your program, use it, and attend a few classes that interest you. When you go to class, try to talk to students who specialize in that field and ask them which professors they recommend.
Take course recommendations from your program advisor seriously; she’ll know which professors generally appreciate your program’s students and who is especially hard on non-native speakers.
If academics aren’t your priority during your semester abroad, let your program advisor know before you choose classes. She’ll appreciate your honesty, and be able to steer you towards courses that are less academically demanding.
Corollary: don’t complain to your program advisor about not having enough time to do the work and then talk in the halls about your awesome trip to Rome last weekend and how excited you are to leave for Berlin on Thursday right after class. Program administrators aren’t stupid, and she’ll be less likely to cut you slack later.
Don’t hesitate to talk to your professors if you don’t understand something.
When you talk to your professors, or any adult you don’t know well, make sure you understand and respect your host country’s rules of politeness so you don’t accidentally offend them.
Similarly, email your professors if you like, but understand that email etiquette might be different in your host country and try to follow the rules.
In general, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Even if you don’t understand some custom or etiquette rule (such as email, or formal speech), follow the rules anyway so you don’t make an ass out of yourself.
If you can’t keep up with taking notes in the language of your host country, record the classes on a small digital recorder. That way, if there are parts you don’t understand, you can play them for your academic advisor or tutor and ask questions later.
Try to learn at least one new word in the foreign language every day by picking a useful word from your class notes and trying to use it at least 3 times during the day.
Take a class on one of your hobbies: music, art, photography, knitting, basket weaving… You’ll pick up the vocabulary quickly if you’re interested in what you’re doing and find having conversations easier when you’re talking to people with whom you share a hobby.
Watch foreign language movies with subtitles in the foreign language. Seeing the words while you’re hearing them will help you learn the language faster and understand better.
Even if you’re not subject to a language pledge, try to cut English out of your life as much as you can, watching TV, listening to music, and speaking with friends only in the foreign language. Again, it will help you to learn the language faster and solidify the neural connections between your native language and foreign language in your brain.
Try to speak in the foreign language without translating from English. Your expressions will sound more natural that way, and people will ultimately think you’re a native speaker, even if you have a bit of an accent.
Get a list of all the museums, public parks, and monuments in your host city, and visit each of them at least once.
Cross reference your list of museums with a list of museums that are free to students and youth. In Europe, most national museums are free to those under 26 with a valid student ID (that shows your birthday). European nationality not required.
If you like to bike, get a bike pass or buy a used bike while you’re there. You can sell a used bike at the end of the semester for close to what you paid for it, in many cases it’s almost as fast as public transportation, and it’ll give you lots more time to see the city.
If you buy a bike, spend a few minutes learning the rules of the road for your host country; it could save your life. (And buy a helmet).
If you plan on driving while abroad, get an international driver’s license from the DMV before you leave.
Also, learn to drive a stick shift if you can. Automatic card can still be hard to come by outside of North America.
Write a journal or a blog about your experiences, even if it’s just a few sentences logging what you did each day.
If you write a blog, print out all of the entries so your children and grandchildren will be able to read them.
If you write a blog, sign up to blog on a student traveler network like TravelerVoice or TravMonkey. They’ll share your stories with other students abroad and you’ll find blogs with other students’ experiences.
Whether or not you write a blog, look up the top blogs for your country by going to Alltop.com and searching for your host country’s name. Add a few of the top blogs to your Google Reader so you can see when the blogs are updated with new events in your city.
Do a google search for “free things to do” plus “your city” to come up with a few websites where you can search a calendar of current events.
Check to see if your university has an alumni association in your host city or country, and try to attend one or two of their events to network.
Bring a good camera and take lots of pictures.
Get your best pictures printed out and make a photo album or scrapbook, again so your grandchildren will be able to see them some day.
Send postcards to your parents and grandparents regularly, even if you call them on Skype all the time. They’ll love it.
Buy a few postcards yourself every time you visit a tourist site. They don’t cost that much, and they’re almost always pictures you’d never be able to take yourself. Put them in a scrapbook with your own pictures.
Take time to fill out honest course and program evaluations at the end of the year, to help other students decide whether to attend your program and which classes to take.
If someone sends you a gift while you’re abroad, make sure the declared customs value is below the taxable threshold in your host country (check with FedEx or DHL). If it’s listed in U.S. dollars, a tax could be assessed due to fluctuating exchange rates.
Similarly, if someone sends you a gift abroad, have them send it either by private carrier (DHL, Fedex) or regular postal mail (no tracking number or insurance). For whatever reason, national postal services can’t track packages outside of their borders, and if it’s ever lost, each country will blame the other. Regular postal mail also seems to get lost less often than registered international mail (this may not be true if you’re in a country with dubious postal service).
Get a job for a few hours a week tutoring or babysitting. It will give you some pocket money for exploring and traveling.
Don’t get a job with a sleazy English teaching company that wants you to pay for your own “training.”
Before you get a job, clarify whether you’re allowed to work with the visa you have and whether or not you’ll make enough to have to file a tax return.
International treaties state that students are residents of their home countries, so if you do make money abroad, declare it as income in your home country.
If you get an official job abroad, keep all of your payslips to show the retirement contributions that were paid on your behalf. International Social Security Totalization Treaties between most western countries allow you to count quarters worked abroad towards retirement benefits in your home country.
Divide your city up into sections and visit one section thoroughly every weekend you’re in town. That way, you’ll make sure you see everything.
Make it a goal to visit a minimum of 3 other cities in your host country per semester. Visit as much of your host country as you possibly can.
Don’t plan to spend every weekend traveling outside of your host country. You’ll never get the opportunity to be anything more than a tourist in your city if you’re never actually there.
Accept all invitations to eat at friends’ houses or visit friends’ houses in the country. You’ll get to see more by visiting with people you know.
Don’t accept any invitations from suspicious people. Meet all dates and tutoring/babysitting clients in a public place first.
Avoid doing anything illegal, especially drugs. Different countries have varying levels of restrictions on different illegal drugs, and the last thing you want is to end up in a foreign jail because you didn’t know the rules or understand what you were buying. Brokedown Palace, anyone?
If you do end up doing something illegal, your embassy will NOT bail you out or help you in any way. So follow the laws of your host country. A French expression says “Nul n’est censé ignorer la loi” – Nobody should be unfamiliar with the law. When in doubt, ask.
If you’re going to a country that could become unstable or hit with a natural disaster, get travel insurance. They’ll help you get out if you need to. The embassy may or may not.
Do a little bit of research and ask around to find out what neighborhoods you should avoid for safety reasons. Don’t go there unless you’re in a group or better yet, with locals.
Learn the emergency numbers and program them into your phone. 9-1-1 isn’t universal, and not knowing who to call in an emergency can be the difference between life and death.
Don’t take out your cell phone, ipod, ipad, camera, or wallet in or around public transportation. It’s too easy for thieves to grab it and jump off the train or the bus as the doors are closing.
Learn how to make a few easy recipes from the local cuisine. You’ll eat better and impress your friends once you go back home.
Unless you attend a language immersion program once you get back home, your semester abroad is the best opportunity you’ll ever have to hone your foreign language skills. Don’t waste it.
You don’t have to like everything you do or everything you eat, but you should try as many new things as you can tolerate.
A loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese from the grocery store is the least expensive, most delicious lunch you can buy. Do that most days so you can save your budgeted money for more traveling.
Get an |
Mobile For Android Re-Released For Those Who Appreciate The Classics
If you're set in your ways and hate all things WebKit, the new version of Opera Mobile probably isn't buttering your biscuit. Here's the old version, good as it ever was, for your enjoyment. Since it's gained more than half a million users in just over a week, you'll be in good company when you use it - just don't expect any updates.
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Fast, smooth and easy to use, when you're browsing on a tablet or smartphone, Opera Mobile helps you get more out of your time online, whether you're finding information or relaxing with entertainment. It's the ideal web browser to use on fast network connections such as Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G. It’s designed to make the most of your Android device. Opera Mobile adapts automatically to the way you read, watch or interact on a smaller screen. You’ll enjoy all your favorite websites even more in Opera Mobile.
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
ArtFlow - Sketch, Paint, Draw
Android Police coverage: [New App] ArtFlow Studio For Android Transforms Your Tablet Into A Drawing Pad
Despite the best efforts of Samsung's Note series, you can count the number of truly capable Android art programs on the fingers of one hand. ArtFlow in a promising new entry, with some impressively high-end features, including layers, more than 50 brushes, export to Photoshop, pressure sensitive stylus support, and more. The app is a free download, but requires an in-app purchase to unlock all of its tools.
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Convert your tablet into digital sketchbook with more than 50 brushes, smudge, file and eraser tool. This fast and intuitive paint application will unlock full power of your imagination. With support for pressure sensitive pens (like Samsung's SPen) you device will be changed into real canvas.
Tapatalk 4 - Community Reader
Android Police coverage: [New App] Version 4 Of Popular Forum Browser Tapatalk Drops Into The Play Store As A Free Public Beta
The love-it-or-hate-it forum browser is getting a long-overdue update, and boy, is it a looker. Tapatalk 4 finally gives the app a Holo interface, complete with some impressive Google Now-style cards to boot. It includes nearly all the features of the standard paid app, and since it's exited private beta, everyone can get a look at what they've been missing. This app (or something very much like it) will eventually supersede both the smartphone and tablet versions of Tapatalk.
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Discover great internet communities or stay connected with your favorites community on-the-go with this award-winning mobile app. Tapatalk is the only mobile app combing over 50,000+ internet communities with a streamlined mobile experience, allowing you to share and follow thoughts, photos, opinions to all your communities within a single mobile app. Tapatalk aggregates content from network of communities of common interests, from automotive to parenting, from gardening to horse-riding - You will meet passionate people who share the same interest and participate in great discussions on topic only you and the like-minded members truly appreciated.
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
Camera 2
Android Police review: [New App] Camera 2 From The Makers Of Paper Camera Has Tons Of Effects, Live Multi-Preview, And A Killer UI
Android's AOSP photo editor? Baby stuff. Instagram? Weak sauce. If you want some more flexible filters to turn your photos into the stuff of Pinterest legend, Camera 2 (from the makes of Paper Camera) offers some pretty unique options. The most powerful is the depth of field filter, which will mimic a low F-Stop value that's all but impossible on most smartphone cameras. There's even a selection of animated effects.
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Camera 2 is the ultimate real-time effects app. Take better pictures, amazing videos and have fun creating them. Featuring many unique high quality effects, grouped into families sharing a common theme:
● Old Time: make your camera look like something from the 20's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or 80's
● Lomos and Retro: everyone's favorite, from normal to sublime.
● Comic: to express yourself, half tone, B&W, printed comics, new style, mix and match
● Art: sometimes you just want to create a piece of art with a tap
● Sci-Fi: see it to believe it
● Computer: and finally, for every geek or nerd out there, this is unmissable. Old computer monitors
App Stats (beta pre-release)
Android Police coverage: [New App] Cloud.tv Launches App Stats Beta, Lets Developers Obsessively Watch Rankings And Statistics
If you're a developer, you want this app. App Stats keeps tabs on your apps (or your competition) with live push notifications for updates, price changes, new reviews, and more. A crazy amount of statistics and triggers are available without ever visiting your developer's toolbox. And the whole thing is free! There's much more to this app than we can put here, so click the widget below for a full list of capabilities.
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How's your app doing? How is it really doing...right now? No more digging through webpages to know what's going on for you (and your competition). App Stats is a powerful mobile tool for developers providing instant access to user ratings, app updates, price changes, and rankings in the Play Store with polled updates every 5-15 minutes. You don't even have to check in to keep up. App Stats will notify you of major app events including version updates, price changes, ratings spikes / drops, major rank changes, and achieving Play Store badges like Top Developer and Editor's Choice.
Fleksy Beta
Android Police coverage: [Hands-On] Fleksy Keyboard Has Some Interesting Tricks, But Definitely Still Beta
Fleksy is an interesting take on the virtual keyboard idea. Users hunt and peck for letters in pretty much the standard fashion, but Fleksy relies on a predictive natural engine for auto-correction, which was created by using blind test users. The interface also uses gestures after words are typed. It takes some getting used to, but if you're desperate for a new way to type, it's worth a try.
NOTE: You must join the Fleksy Beta community on Google+ to have access to the app in the Play Store.
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Fleksy is a state-of-the-art text input system so powerful that you can type without even looking at the screen. Thank you for signing up to test Fleksy Beta! To submit feedback press the "Visit Developer's Website" button or visit http://feedback.fleksy.com. Fleksy Beta requires Android 4.0 or newer. For technical support, use the "Email Developer" button.
How to use Fleksy:
- Tap once lightly approximately where you think each letter is, space with the spacebar or swipe right.
- Swipe down and up to change the word suggested to the next. Also works with quick punctuation.
- You can add punctuation by spacing again after a space.
- Enter a word accurately, swipe up twice to store it to the dictionary.
- Swipe down with two fingers to change to the "mini" keyboard. Repeat to change to the "invisible" keyboard. Swipe up with two fingers to go back.
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
Duolingo: Learn Languages Free
Android Police coverage: Duolingo Releases Android App, Brings Free Language Learning On The Go
Gadget bloggers are never more than a year away from a trip to Barcelona, so brushing up on your Spanish is a must. Duolingo is a new, rapid learning technique for Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and yes, English. The app is free, and those who've used the unique image-based immersion system seem to love it. The app is set up as a game rather than a series of lessons, so expanding your linguistic prowess isn't quite the drag you remember from high school.
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Learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English. Totally fun. Totally free. Duolingo is changing the way people learn languages.
It's free, for real. No fees, no ads, no gimmicks. A college-quality education without the price tag.
It's fun. Lose hearts for answering incorrectly, advance by completing bite-sized lessons, and track your progress with shiny achievements.
It's constantly improving. We bust out the lab coats regularly and measure how well you learn on Duolingo. Your learning experience only gets better over time.
Google Admin
Android Police coverage: [New App] Google Admin App Lands On The Play Store, Feeds Your God Complex A Little Bit At A Time
If you use Google's enterprise apps, you've been wanting Google Admin for a long time. It's a simple mobile tool that lets you manage your users and contacts, changing their permissions, logins, groups, et cetera. Since the app has access to your entire Google Apps network, you'll want to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
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Google Enterprise Mobile Admin lets you take care of the most common tasks from anywhere you are. Add users, reset passwords, manage groups, contact support, and view domain setting changes. **This app is designed for super admins of Google’s Enterprise products including Google Apps for Business, Education, Government, Google Coordinate and Chromebooks.**Prior to installing this app we recommend that you set a strong lockscreen password on your device**
Glide - Video Walkie Talkie
Android Police coverage: [New App] Glide Instant Video Messaging Now Available On Android, Currently In Beta
Imagine a world where text messages were videos instead of text. Now imagine that world is actually a place you want to live in. It certainly isn't for everyone, but Glide's "video walkie talkie" service has been gaining steam, especially among those who are predisposed towards video chat anyway. You'll need a Facebook account to use the beta Android app, but it works seamlessly between Android and iOS. Take note, sexters: both the sender and receiver can play back videos at any time.
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The app everyone’s talking about is now on Android. Send + receive private video messages 1-on-1 or in huge groups... insanely fast, unlimited + 100% free. FASTER THAN MESSAGING - Send instant video messages with just a tap. No uploading or downloading. EASIER THAN VIDEO CHAT - No need to make sure friends are available or wait until they answer to start talking. COOLER THAN TEXTING - Would you rather text about going to the beach or show yourself at the beach? Exactly.
Cloudee: Backup & Share Videos
Android Police coverage: [New App] Cloudee (From The Makers Of Boxee) Makes It Easy To Share Videos With Limited Groups
Cloudee comes from the fine folks that brought you the somewhat outdated (or at least outgunned) Boxee set-top box software. Cloudee is (naturally) their foray into cloud storage, specifically for video files. The service is designed for easy, discrete sharing between Facebook and Twitter contacts, though it's more than capable of a wider YouTube-style distribution as well. An hour of standard-definition video storage is free, but you'll need to pay a small monthly fee for any more.
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Cloudee makes it easy to upload and store your videos in the cloud and share them with family and close friends all directly from your Android phone. Our phones makes it easier than ever to capture videos, but they usually never get watched. They just sit on your phone...until you need to make room for new ones. Cloudee's free service lets you store and share videos online so you never have to delete them. Cloudee simplifies video sharing with friends and family members in a way that's private.
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
Giganticon - Big Icons
Android Police coverage: [New App] Giganticon Makes Homescreen Enormous, For Some Reason
Because sometimes you just need a big freakin' icon. Giganticon isn't actually a set of icons, it's a widget that pulls down app images from the Play Store, up to 512x512, for enormous and high-resolution homescreen shortcuts. It's perfect for kids or those with poor eyesight, or maybe even a car dash project.
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Do you crave bigger icons on your home screen? Are your icons too small to see or touch? Giganticon allows you to personalize your home screen with big huge gigantic giant icons for any app you like. Just add the Giganticon widget to your home screen and choose your app. You can resize the icon to be tiny, gigantic, or anything in between. Icons for apps available on Google Play will even be in HD. Giganticon is optimized for phones and tablets running any version of Android.
Reddit Illustrated
Yup, another Reddit reader (because we know you're out there, atheist dog-loving libertarian DIY fanatics). This one isn't all that "Illustrated" - it's your standard list interface - but it's got some interesting features to highlight. First and most useful for browsing in public is the ability to hide all NSFW subreddits, or hide only their preview photos. There's also an integrated web browser (a lot like Plume) to keep that memory load low.
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Reddit Illustrated brings you wallpapers, funny pictures, videos, memes, news and more from the world's most popular user content submission platform - Reddit.com. Every story has an accompanying photo that looks absolutely gorgeous on your device display. And with an option to download the image and set it as wallpaper from the app itself, you get unparalleled convenience. While a reddit.com account is not required to access the tons of features the app offers, you will need an account to vote and comment on individual stories.
Todo Pro Beta
You're not just one of those slacker to-do people. You're a To-Do PRO, dammit, and you need professional tools for your time management. For those who are underserved by Astrid, Google Keep and the like, Todo Pro offers syncing tasks integrated with a browser-accessible website, sub-tasks, repeating tasks, starred tasks - there are a whole lot of tasks going on here. Todo Pro even features location-based alerts, a handy addition that's all too rare in these types of apps.
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Todo Pro is your personal assistant and ready to help you get stuff done. Todo comes with powerful tools to tackle everything from "honey-dos" to important work projects. Pull out all the stops and create shared task lists with your colleagues; make assignments, add comments, and become a powerful team. Todo Pro is also available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and all modern web browsers at www.todopro.com. No matter where you are or what device you're using, Todo Pro is ready to help you do something incredible.
Fences for Android
Fences is basically an easier version of Tasker, or at least certain aspects of it. Set up profiles, like, say, silent for church or the local movie theater, then set a specific area on the map to activate it. Bingo: you've made a geo-fence. The app has a huge amount of settings and toggles, and it's possible to adjust the GPS polling rate to spare your battery as well.
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Fences for Android is a profiles application with flair. Easily create new profiles and toggle between them quickly. No more jumping through hoops for simple toggles. Use fences to automatically change your profile based on location. Full control of how often and the level of accuracy of location requests to fit your needs.
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
Movietrap
There are movie fans, and there are movie fans. And then there are people who obsessively catalog every film (I would also accept "motion picture") they've ever watched. This app is for them. Everything from Citizen Kane To Drive to White Chicks can be added to your list and shared on the standard networks. Because the great thing about watching movies isn't finishing them - it's showing everyone online that you did.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: the classic login is still in BETA and it might not work on some devices. We are working on it, meanwhile we recommend using Facebook login. Thank you for understanding. Movietrap is a simple and easy to use app to manage your movie watchlist. Search for movies, add them to your list, mark them as read or share them with your friends with one tap.
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
Raining.fm - Rain Sounds
Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm... and also a calm during the storm, because nothing puts you to sleep quite like the sound of rain on your roof. Raining.fm features nothing but rain sounds, customizable to an insane degree, and integrated with a sleep time and alarm function. There's even a slideshow for some visual flair. If you're the kind of person who installs a tin roof just for that sound, consider this app two bucks well spent.
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Relaxing rain sounds for work, play and sleep, Raining.fm is the official app of the popular Raining.fm website. If you love listening to rain (and thunder), you're going to love Raining.fm. Sometimes you just need some time for you. The Raining.fm App can be a great way to relax and unwind after a hectic day. Or set the Break Timer to remind yourself to relax during a busy work day. The sounds of rain, rolling thunder or cracking thunder, or maybe your own custom mix of all three, can be a wonderful way to shut off from the outside world and focus on what needs to be done.
Warmly — An alarm clock
Here's an interesting take on the alarm clock. Functionally, it's not much more than a set of "morning sounds," but they're presented with such simplicity and cohesiveness that it's hard not to like the app. (It doesn't hurt that it's gorgeous.) Wake up to the sound of brewing coffee, or indistinct news, or a train (yes, really) and get the weather while you're at it.
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Warmly is a simple, friendly way to start your day. Wake up gently with the calm sounds of weather and something you enjoy (like cooking breakfast, brewing coffee, or catching a plane). Just set the time you want to get up and Warmly will plan ahead to make stepping out of bed enjoyable. A few minutes before your alarm is set to go off, Warmly will get the weather for your location and begin quietly playing ambient sounds. Warmly starts out silent and very gradually turns up the volume so you'll wake up naturally to the sounds of the day and the activity you selected.
Buycott
There are too many young people in the world, gosh-durn it, and something's gotta be done about it! But how can you and your AARP buddies make sure you never buy products from a company that employs people under 35? With Buycott, the barcode scanner that integrates with a social boycotting system. Join or start a boycott group, add companies to support or ban, and make sure you never buy anything from any of their subsidiaries. Note: not compatible with Jitterbug-brand telephones.
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Buycott helps you organize your everyday consumer spending to support causes you care about.
● HOW IT WORKS ●
✓Join a campaign to help a cause you care about and commit to actively supporting the companies on your side of the issue, while avoiding those that oppose your position.
✓Scan product barcodes and Buycott will find out what company owns that product (and who owns that company, ad infinitum).
✓Using this information, Buycott will determine whether you have joined a campaign that includes the product's owners.
Zeel
Zeel is a network of licensed massage therapists, ready to be dispatched (and paid for) right from your phone. As with all of these kinds of apps, its usefulness will depend on you being in an urban area. But if you are, and you just really need a back walk, there are worse ways to get it.
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Zeel Massage On Demand brings massage therapy to your doorstep when you want it – today. Never wait or travel for massage again. Use the Zeel app to get massage at home, your hotel room, or wherever you are, at any time today between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., any day of the week. Once we get your request, we’ll confirm in minutes and send one of our awesome vetted, licensed, certified and insured massage therapists to your location with a portable massage table.
Teambox
TeamBox is another workplace enhancement service that manages tasks and projects between a workgroup. There's nothing special about it, but without a mobile client, these things tend to be useless. Go forth, Teambox users, and be fruitful... or at least manage your time and assets to maximum efficiency while remaining committed to long-term goals. Whatever office people do these days.
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Help your team get stuff done. Create and complete tasks, see and respond to notifications, and instantly understand what your team is accomplishing. Teambox for Android helps you use our most popular web features on the go. Much more functionality coming soon. Teambox.com helps you collaborate effectively:
- Easily share tasks, ideas, notes and files
- Have complete visibility into your team's work
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
DIRECTV GenieGO
Not much to see here, just a manager app for DirecTV's newest line of DVRs. You can download shows from the Genie's hard drive straight to your phone... but apparently a TON of users in the Play Store are pissed. It's another app that refuses to work on rooted devices and/or custom ROMs, or as the app calls them, "security-tampered devices." Ouch, DirecTV - don't look now, but the mob is at your door.
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DIRECTV goes anywhere you go. With GenieGO™, DIRECTV lets you take your home HD DVR recordings with you on your Android device and watch them anywhere without an Internet connection. Watch them on the plane, at the beach, on the subway, anywhere. Watch downloaded shows on up to 5 mobile devices simultaneously, so everyone in your family can enjoy their own recorded shows anytime, anywhere — all at the same time. When you’re in your home Wi-Fi network, you can also stream your recorded shows instantly in any room without having to download them first.
The app was not found in the store. :-( Go to store Google websearch
Live Wallpapers
Space Colony
Android Police coverage: [New App] Maxelus Releases Space Colony, A Staggeringly Gorgeous Live Wallpaper
The latest wallpaper from Maxelus, creator of the wildly popular Galaxy live wallpapers, is easily his coolest yet. If you love science fiction cityscapes and gorgeous live wallpapers, you've got to check this one out.
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Discover Space Colony somewhere in the galaxy. The first human colonies in space are available on your phone and tablet :) You can choose one of five places and see how the city looks. The Space Colony is surrounded by Toxic Aura. You can change the color and power of Aura. The colonists use it to gaining energy. Over the city flying big spaceships, transports new colonists and cargo.
Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!
If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.
Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.
the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop
Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: [email protected].
1 sponsored placement per week is available (your app would be featured at the top and marked as sponsored) - please contact us for details.The entrance to the Puteri Umno event Daulatkan Islam Agama Negara (Upholding the Sovereignty of Islam as the National Religion) at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, December 8, 2015. Non-Muslims are barred from attending the event. — Picture by Kamles Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — Non-Muslim reporters were barred today from covering the launch of an Umno event at the Putra World Trade Centre here that aimed to uphold Islam as the religion of the federation.
Security officials were posted at the entrance of the event organised by the Puteri Umno wing titled DIAN or Daulatkan Islam Agama Negara, an acronym in Bahasa Malaysia that literally translates to Upholding the Sovereignty of Islam as the National Religion to screen reporters seeking to enter the hall where Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was to officiate.
“Sir, are you Muslim or not?” one of the officials asked this Malay Mail Online reporter, who replied in the negative.
“I’m sorry this event is only open to Muslims,” he said.
He was unable to explain the reason for the sudden exclusion, saying he had received instructions from higher up.
“That I don’t know, we just are following orders. We got orders that non-Muslims cannot enter.”
Another non-Muslim reporter from a mainstream newspaper was also barred entry to the event earlier.
Contacted later, a representative of the event organiser told Malay Mail Online that the organiser has a right to impose restrictions on its coverage.
“It is the organisers right, please respect that,” said the spokesman who declined to furnish his name.
Asked for a reason for excluding non-Muslims from covering the event that was publicised as seeking to promote Islam among the younger generation, including dealing with facing threats towards Islam, the representative only said: “No specific reason, we wanted Muslims only in the hall because they understand better.
“Non-Muslims cannot because the understanding is different,” he added.After having spent Father’s Day on a whirlwind tour of both Universal parks, we were headed to the main attraction of this year’s vacation; the Disney Dream. This was the first cruise – Disney or otherwise – for everyone in the family. We had previously approached the idea of a cruise with some trepidation. Mindy is prone to claustrophobia which makes even a two-hour flight to Orlando difficult for her. We were concerned she would feel trapped in a small cabin or stuck on a big boat in the middle of the ocean. There were also worries about things like motion sickness and whether or not the kids would be bored.
During the planning stages of the trip, I did my best to minimize any potential problems. By booking a Disney cruise, I figured the kids – and me – would be entertained. The cabins on a Disney cruise ship tend to be a little larger than industry standard. So that helped out a bit with the claustrophobia issue. To further allay concerns, I sprung for a cabin with a verandah. That way, regardless of room size there was always the option of stepping outside and getting some fresh air. This kind of thinking lead me to the conclusion that we might as well shell out for a room on the concierge deck of the ship.
We ended up having a wonderful vacation. Everyone is looking forward to taking another cruise someday. The extra money spent definitely contributed to our enjoyment. The girls quickly adapted to a life of luxury and Mindy says she’s not sure if she could ever downgrade from the concierge treatment. It was truly a once in a lifetime type of vacation (unless of course we do it again). Hopefully I can adequately convey some sense of what the experience was like.
Due to the length of this report, I’m including a Table of Context up front so readers can jump to the sections that interest them.
Boarding the ship
Kids clubs
Setting Sail
Dinner at Enchanted Garden
The Golden Mickeys
Castaway Cay
The Midship Detective Agency
Dinner at Royal Palace
Through a mix-up of some sort. we were riding to Port Canaveral from Orlando in a limousine. According to our car service, Happy Limo, they had overbooked their sedans for the day and given us a free upgrade. Regardless of the reason why, we were going to arrive at the port in style. It was an amazing way to begin a very luxurious vacation.
Despite numerous trips to Florida, the kids had never seen the ocean before. Our vacations had been limited to the part of the state in which theme parks were most abundant and beaches are purely man-made. So when our limo passed the ocean, I pointed it out to them. They got their first look at the vastness of the ocean. It had been quite a while since the last time I saw the ocean myself so even I was pretty impressed with the view. Mindy, who had been wanting a beach vacation for too long, was very satisfied.
For months leading up to the trip, I had been trying to prepare both the girls and myself for what we were about to undertake. The girls had been on a little riverboat cruise and their expectations were based on that experience. I told them repeatedly that this would be different. Our cruise ship was much, much larger. It would be more like a floating city than the kind of boat they were used to. Not surprisingly, this abstract concept never really sunk in with them.
My preparation included reading a lot of trip reports just like this one. There’s really no better way to get a sense of what a vacation is like than reading the first-hand accounts. Just about every trip report I read included a moment when the ship first came into view. Based on these reports, I was prepared to be awed by the size and grandeur of the ship. But even with that information, I had to admit that first view was pretty spectacular. The Disney Dream was both larger and grander than I was expecting.
I pointed the ship out to the girls and I daresay they were dumbstruck. Nothing in their young lives had prepared them for a sight like this. Sure, I had been telling them for nine months or so that the ship was big. I had told them it was 14-stories high and longer than the Eiffel tower is tall. I had compared it to a city. And yet, this was more than they were expecting. It was like seeing an alien space ship. Even Mindy was impressed.
Based on what I had read, there are a few different approaches you can take to embarkation (that would be boarding the ship for cruise novices). One strategy is to arrive early to beat the rush. The primary advantage is that this gives you more time on the boat which is basically what you are paying for. The drawback is that the port is likely to be crowded and you may spend a lot of time waiting around.
The other basic approach is to arrive a little later in the day after the port has been open for a while. Sure, you’re giving up a little time on the boat, but as long as you don’t arrive at the same time as a load of Disney buses, your wait times will be minimal. From what I read, guests who arrive after 1:00 can usually walk right on to the ship with little to no wait.
We were taking the early arrival approach. I had been on the fence about this because both methods had their appeal. Part of what sealed the deal for us was that we wanted to get tickets to some of the character meet-and-greets on board. There were two popular encounters which required advance tickets; a Disney princess gathering and a visit with Anna and Elsa from Frozen. Our girls had seen all of these characters previously at the parks at Walt Disney World. But part of the appeal of taking a Disney cruise was the opportunity to see them again.
In the months leading up to the cruise, I had called the onshore concierge desk a couple of times to see if the tickets could be secured before boarding. My travel agent made similar inquiries. Each time, the answer was the same. We would need to go to deck five upon boarding in order to obtain the tickets. But since we were concierge guests, we would have the advantage of being among the first guests to board which would practically guarantee us a spot at the meet and greets as long as we weren’t late.
The timing worked out very well. We arrived at the port just before the doors opened. There was already a pretty large crowd waiting to be admitted. A Disney cast-member came around collecting luggage. We had fastened the provided tags to our bags so that they could be delivered directly to our room. That would leave us with nothing but our carry-ons (which included a stuffed minion and unicorn which I was usually tasked with carrying). The cast-member saw that we were staying on deck 11 and promised us we were in for a stress-free vacation. He assured us the concierge team would take care of everything from this point on.
But before that could happen, we had to get on the boat. We were still standing outside the port. The kids whined a little. I told you, impatience is a thing. Mindy and I checked and double checked to make sure we had all of the required documents in hand. A few minutes later, the crowd started moving towards the front gate. We were on our way. The excitement in the crowd was palpable.
As we started moving, I got a message from our travel agent, Stacy. She told me that Disney was taking concierge guests to the third floor and that we should be sure to mention that so we would be directed to the right place. I should mention that one of the reasons we settled on this particular cruise was that it was being organized by our travel agency, Kingdom Konsultants. So there would be a lot of travel agents on hand should anything go wrong. I figured that would be an ideal situation for a first cruise experience. I mentioned the “third floor” to the Disney cast-member who checked our photo IDs. It was very clear to me that she had no idea what I was getting at, so we just let the question go.
Upon entering the port, we had to undergo a security check. This was very similar to the TSA procedure at the airport. It wasn’t fun, but we got through it quickly and painlessly. While we were waiting, we started talking to a couple of other guests that we presumed were mother and daughter. Mindy admired their polka-dotted toenails which were reminiscent of Minnie Mouse. The mother explained that the designs were actually stickers. We didn’t know it at the time, but we would run into these guests and their toenail stickers again before long.
Once we got through security, we entered the large open waiting area. There are various desks to process different things. I’m afraid I can’t be very descriptive here because we by-passed all of them. Towards the center of the floor there is a large replica of the ship. One side of the model shows the exterior of the boat and the other side features a detailed cut-away of the interior.
Captain Mickey Mouse was out meeting guests near the model of the ship. The wait to see him was shorter than it usually is in the parks, but the girls weren’t interested in waiting in lines. The day before, they had shown a reluctance to meet characters at Universal and that carried over into the initial phase of our cruise. So we walked past Mickey to the concierge processing area.
There was a bit of confusion here. A group of guests had gathered in front of the entrance. We couldn’t tell if they were waiting in line to have their paperwork processed or if they were just inconveniently blocking the entrance. I decided to ask and it turned out to be the latter. Once that was cleared up, we made our way to the concierge services and everything got much simpler.
Next: Boarding the Ship
AdvertisementsWe haven’t featured many hot rods here on Barn Finds, but occasionally we find one that is claimed to have been built back in the day so we can’t resist. There is just something cool about a car that is period correct because it was actually built in that period. The seller claims that they purchased this 1929 Ford from a guy who had it stashed in their basement and that it hadn’t been on the road since 1959. It is located in Paso Robles, California and is listed here on eBay with bidding starting at $200.
All the work needed to get this little terror back on the road has already been completed. The little bit of metal work needed is done and most of the wiring has been replaced. We are not sure how much of the paint is original and how much of it is rattle-can black primer though. The listing makes us think that the seller attempted to keep things as original as possible while still making the car safe to drive.
In place of the traditional V8, this four cylinder fills up the gap between the frame rails. It has obviously been gone through recently with new gaskets and paint. The next owner will just have to make the decision if they want to stick with the four or upgrade to a flathead V8. We would want to see how this one goes before making up our minds.
Some videos were just uploaded so you can hear this Model A run and get a better idea of the car’s overall condition. The mechanical simplicity is appealing and the claimed history makes it even more interesting. Looks like a fun ride too, if not slightly frightening. But isn’t that what makes hot rods so great anyway?How a patch for your neck could keep Alzheimer's at bay
A skin patch that sticks on to the neck and boosts blood flow to the brain could be a radical new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
The electronic device, about the size of a matchbox, uses infrared light to relax and widen the carotid arteries, which run from the heart to the brain.
This boosts blood flow — previous studies have shown that increased blood flow can slow progression of the disease.
Radical new treatment: A skin patch that sticks to the neck could boost bloodflow to the brain and slow the progression of Alzheimer's
The gadget is thought to work by boosting the production of the natural body chemical nitric oxide, which helps to relax the muscles that line the arteries.
Laboratory tests show that infrared light — the kind used in night vision goggles — penetrates the skin and stimulates an enzyme in blood vessels called mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase, which triggers the release of nitric oxide.
This makes the artery widen, increasing the space available for blood to flow through to the brain.
The stick-on patch, which would be left on for several hours at a time, contains a light-emitting device placed directly over one or both carotid arteries, which run a few millimetres beneath the skin on both sides of the neck.
Alzheimer’s affects an estimated 750,000 Britons and the number is expected to more than double in the next 40 years as the elderly population increases.
Over the past |
trees, altering the balance of hormones and enzymes involved in promoting and inhibiting growth. Of course, the exact chilling temperatures and duration of exposure needed to break dormancy vary by species, individual, and geographic location. Some species need weeks of chilling, some need months. Though their actual dates of bud-break vary, you can count on trembling aspen every year, for example, to be among the first in New England to break bud and white ash to be among the last. Sugar maple tends to be in the middle, needing as many as 2,000 hours of exposure to low temperatures before it will flush. And whereas a red maple growing in the Upper Valley may require a few months of cold, the same species growing natively in Florida may require no cold at all.
Presumably, native trees growing on their natural sites have evolved a synchrony with the annual temperature cycles of their site. Everything’s just fine so long as trees are not planted out of their natural range and nobody messes with the temperature cycles. We’ve got the first part reasonably well in hand. Most nurseries, for example, pay close attention to frost hardiness and avoid stocking and selling southern source trees for planting in the north. The second part – messing with temperatures – is a bit more dicey.
Over generations, trees have proved adaptable to gradually changing environmental conditions. It’s when environments change rapidly that trees, like most of us, get into trouble. One alarming possibility about global climate change is its potential effect on the timing of dormancy in trees. If the pace of global warming exceeds a native tree’s ability to adapt, it may well lead to some very strange things happening in the woods. Some tree physiologists have suggested that certain trees might not receive enough chilling to break dormancy (much like sugar maples from Vermont that don’t break dormancy when grown in Georgia). Research continues, and although absolute predictions are few, there are suggestions that different tree species will respond differently to climatic warming and this could seriously alter their competitive abilities, their survival, and, eventually, their regional distribution. Happy spring.From WorldTruth.tv (source): Those long, white streams of persistent, cloudy haze commonly blasted into blue skies by unmarked airplanes are not your typical contrails, says Swedish Green Party leader Pernilla Hagberg. As reported by the Swedish paper Katrineholms Kuriren, Hagberg, the first major political leader to come forward on the issue, has openly admitted that these unusual cloud trails, which fail to dissipate like normal contrails do, are actually a toxic mix of chemicals, viruses, and metals that she has collectively referred to as “Chemtrails.”
According to Hagberg, the sprayings are a joint endeavor by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), as well as the Swedish government in her own country, to modify atmospheric conditions via deliberate aerosol spraying efforts. And included in this “dangerous” mix of aerosols are various chemical components, viruses and viral fragments, and metals such as aluminum and barium, which have already been shown to be accumulating in water supplies and soils around the world. (http://chemtrails.cc/)
Normal contrails, which are composed of mere water vapor that quickly dissipates after emission from jet engines, are far different from chemtrails, which gradually blanket the entire sky in a sea of white. The following video, put together by the FreeTruth Show, a YouTube-based radio broadcast, contains some imagery of what these chemtrails typically look like in the sky:
“It is great to see a politician bringing public attention to this issue and helping add to the credibility of this cause in the mainstream,” writes JG Vibes for The Intel Hub about Hagberg’s unprecedented public admission. “Unfortunately, this is a political problem that requires many non-political solutions.”
Spraying the skies to save the planet?
Interestingly, the United Nations (UN) and various Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-backed groups have recently been forced to admit that such sprayings are taking place, and that the emitted particles are not normal contrails. But their excuse for why chemtrail sprayings are being done is that they will somehow save the planet from the devastating effects of so-called “global warming,” that ever-present, pseudoscientific environmental theory that is often used as justification for all sorts of outlandish policy proposals. (http://www.globalresearch.ca)
In the case of chemtrails, everything from blocking the sun in order to lower the earth’s average temperatures, to deliberately shifting weather patterns for the purpose of offsetting the allegedly melting polar ice caps, have been used as excuses for trying to legitimize the seeding of our skies with a cornucopia of poisons. And if re-elected to another term, Hagberg says she will continue to fight such chemtrailing efforts in her own country, which she says have been co-opted by the Swedish government.Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who has demanded that President Trump hold to his hardline immigration positions, said Tuesday that he cannot blame Congress if he fails to build a border wall with Mexico.
Coulter's tweet came after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave a briefing in which she repeatedly blamed Congress for inaction on the president's agenda.
Weird how Huckabee Sanders obsessively attacks congress. Trump's not going to get out of betraying voters on the wall by blaming congress. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 5, 2017
The same day that the Trump administration announced it was halting the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Coulter scolded the White House spokeswoman for calling for Congress to pass a legislative version of the program.
That's great. Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump wants COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM! Exactly what he used to denounce. — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 5, 2017
Trump's landmark, election-winning immigration speech, 8/31/16: ENFORCEMENT 1ST! We can't even discuss amnesty until we have a wall! pic.twitter.com/mSnz95qnhe — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 5, 2017
Huckabee Sanders is calling for Congress to pass amnesty. NICE! That's just what you won on, Mr. President! — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 5, 2017
Coulter, who fervently backed Trump in the election, has since become a vocal critic when she suspects him of backing away from his promises.View on the long run. Right now I am short, target 400.I see a resemblence in the last peaks with steep RSI declines, bouncing at around 50-ish at the weekly.The decline we are now in looks like last two.Going back to 400 by jan/feb 2014, with an intermediate bounce to ~800.Next bullrun april 2014 $2250? India pushing :)Than with the ETF in sight and all the participators all around the world (especially upcoming economics) trying for another uber strong bullrun to 4k - 5k by October 2014.Only IF demand stays. Break out of the wedge expected Q1 2015.I expect a new digital currency will be created by institutions (regulated) at around 2014/2015. Thehas been its succesfull predescessor making the road clear for another era and it will fall bigtime.First published idea.Apple unveiled its second generation smartwatch today at its annual mobile hardware event, and it is unsurprisingly called the Apple Watch Series 2. The device is very similar to its predecessor: it's got a square, customizable watchface mostly for telling the time and displaying notifications; a single-day battery life; and a funky watch dial Apple calls the digital crown for scrolling and zooming. The biggest changes, however, are a new water-resistant shell, which makes the watch swimproof, and the addition of a GPS chip.
The built-in GPS allows the device to perform mapping on its own, no phone required. According to reports last month, Apple decided not to include cellular connectivity, likely out of concern for the device's already strained battery. So while the new Apple Watch can tell you where to go when you're out for a run, it cannot receive app notifications, make calls, or send texts.
The company also upgraded the processor in the device, now called the S2, and the display. The Series 2 has a dual-core processor Apple says is 50 percent faster than its predecessor, with double the graphics performance thanks to a new GPU. The display is now 50 percent brighter as well. So now, using apps and general maneuvering through the watch's interface is much snappier, especially with the software-side upgrades we're getting with watchOS 3.
Apple Watch Series 2 is swimproof with a new processor, brighter display, and GPS chip
The Apple Watch Series 2 retains the same casing for the lower- and middle-tier versions. So the cheapest version comes with an aluminum case, while the next tier up has a stainless steel one. This time around, however, Apple is adding a white-colored ceramic model for luxury customers who want to drop thousands on the smartwatch. There's no word yet on the future of the gold Apple Watch Edition.
The company has also renewed its longstanding partnership with Nike with a special Nike+ version of the Apple Watch. It resembles a fusion of an Apple product with Nike's discontinued FuelBand fitness tracker, and it's designed for runners and workout junkies.
The aluminum sport version of the Apple Watch Series 2 will start at $369, as will the Nike+ edition. The original Apple Watch is being rebranded as Series 1 and will start at $269, though it will come with the upgraded S2 dual-core processor. Preorders start on September 9th, while the watchOS 3 update will go live on September 13th. The sport and stainless steel versions start shipping the week after watchOS 3. Apple Watch Nike+ will be available in late October, the company says.
Since launch, Apple's smartwatch has become the best-selling device in its category, though smartwatches still trail far behind the more basic fitness trackers that companies like Fitbit excel at. Yet when speaking about the Apple Watch in comparison with other big-name brands, Apple CEO Tim Cook said today the product line became the No. 2 watch line by revenue just 18 months after launch, behind only Rolex products.
Apple Watch updatesHe’s thinking about people like Gloria Busse. Since her husband passed away nearly 15 years ago, she has lived alone in her spotless one-story house on the edge of Circle, the 600-person town that is the seat of McCone County. Her children relocated hundred of miles away across this vast state years ago. But Busse, now 90, stayed. “This is my home,” she said.
Stretched in a plush recliner in her living room, Busse says that McCone will be okay because people here have long known how to make do. “We've always lived in isolation,” said Busse, waving a red-nailed hand. "From the beginning of time, the pioneers helped each other. This is just a natural thing.”
Some 80 percent of older people want to “age in place,” according to surveys by the AARP. Whether in their longtime house or assisted living in the same area, most want to live out their last days in the community where they spent their best.
Figuring out how to help them do that is not a problem exclusive to Montana. As the U.S. population ages, the demand for care, and the cost of providing it, are expected rise nationwide. But the country’s 812 “frontier” counties of fewer than 20 people per square mile face particular challenges.
The first is distance. Circle is 30 miles from the next incorporated town. Its one-bed emergency room is 50 miles from the next hospital, and 240 miles from the nearest fully equipped hospital with specialists, in Billings. Patients can be rushed by ambulance or plane when time is crucial. But that’s expensive, and doesn’t offer a solution to helping older people with the more quotidian things that keep people well.
"From the beginning of time, the pioneers helped each other. This is just a natural thing.”
"How do they get to the doctor?” Rehbein asked. “Are there people within that community that can be trained up to work with older people, or are they even willing to do this work?”
Like many rural counties throughout the country, McCone is growing older by attrition. Fewer are born there. Those who are often leave and don’t return. Those who remain grow older.
That includes the people who provide the care. Nearly 25 percent of Montana’s physicians are age 60 or over. About 40 percent of its registered nurses have hit 50. So Montana’s seniors need more help — up to 3.5 times more health care services than younger people--but the pool of younger workers to care for them is shrinking.
While this demographic shift was seen a long way down the road, there has been little concentrated effort to grapple with these issues at a national level, said Professor Andrew Coburn of the Maine Rural Health Research Center at the University of Southern Maine.
“Aging is the kind of thing most of us don’t like to think about, so there hasn’t been a lot of policy innovation that has been widely embraced,” said Coburn. Yet failing to create smart policy around aging could have major implications across the country, he said.
It’s most acute in the parts of the Northeast and Mountain West that are simultaneously aging and shrinking.
Experts in rural health believe the answers start in the communities themselves.
For decades now, Montana has been searching for ways to keep care accessible. It was one of the first states to create a Medicaid waiver program in the 1980s. Waivers allow people who need long-term care to use Medicaid funds to be cared for in their community, often by family or friends, rather than in an institution.
It was also one of the first to roll out the model of small, limited-service rural hospitals, now known as Critical Access Hospitals. These have also begun to provide long-term care in areas that have a shortage of nursing home beds.
But Montana needs more.(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) has released the following statement regarding his co-sponsorship of the Statue of Liberty Values Act (“SOLVE Act”), which would defund and rescind President Donald Trump’s executive order barring travel from Muslim countries and suspending the refugee program:
“As Thomas Paine said, America was conceived as a “haven of refuge” for people fleeing religious and political persecution. Last week, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Trump slammed the door on the world’s most desperate and needy people by instituting a sloppy and mean-spirited ban on refugees and persons coming from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Let’s be clear: Trump’s so-called “extreme vetting” policy is nothing more than xenophobia, modified by his own business interests, which saved the people of Saudi Arabia and Egypt from these exclusivity policies.
“President Trump’s anti-Muslim ban is not only arbitrary, punitive, and haphazard. It is also unconstitutional. The First Amendment of the Constitution prohibits the government from selectively disadvantaging people based on religion.
“I’m proud to cosponsor the SOLVE Act to reaffirm a core democratic value: no refugee or immigrant should be denied entry to the United States because of religion or nationality. This legislation defunds President Trump’s outrageous and unconstitutional effort to ban Muslims, refugees, and immigrants from entering the United States.
“America must reject President Trump’s anti-Muslim ban and his callous refusal of refugees. This is not what America stands for. Thomas Jefferson said that, “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” It is our duty to resist President Trump’s efforts to replace the Statue of Liberty with a wall of bigotry and exclusion.”
***
Congressman Jamie Raskin represents Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Montgomery, Frederick, and Carroll counties. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Raskin is the Freshman Representative on the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Vice Chair and Liaison to New Members, and a Senior Whip for the House Democratic Caucus.Anti-Monopoly is a board game made by San Francisco State University Professor Ralph Anspach, in response to Monopoly.
Background and history [ edit ]
Anspach created Anti-Monopoly in part as a response to the lessons taught by the mainstream game, which he believed created the impression that monopolies were something desirable. His intent was to demonstrate how harmful monopolies could be to a free-enterprise system, and how antitrust laws work to curtail them in the real world.
The game was originally to be produced in 1973 as Bust the Trust, but the title was changed to Anti-Monopoly. It has seen multiple printings and revisions since 1973. In 1984, a new version appeared as Anti-Monopoly II; this version was updated and re-released in 2005 without the numerical designation. The game is currently still in print, and is produced and distributed worldwide by University Games.
Gameplay [ edit ]
The original Anti-Monopoly game begins with the board in a monopolised state, effectively the result of a completed Monopoly game. Instead of real estate and public utilities, properties in Anti-Monopoly are individual businesses that have been brought under single ownership. Players take the role of federal case workers bringing indictments against each monopolised business in an attempt to return the state of the board to a free market system.
In Anti-Monopoly II individual players choose to play either by monopolist or competitor rules at the beginning of the game. This version plays more like the actual Monopoly game in that it is based on the buying and selling of real estate. Among other differences, competitors charge lower rents and can improve any property they own at any time, while monopolists must own at least two properties in a group before building houses on them and charge much higher rents.
Trademark lawsuit [ edit ]
In 1974, Parker Brothers sued Anspach over the use of the "Monopoly" name, claiming trademark infringement. While preparing his legal defense, Anspach became aware of Monopoly's history prior to Charles Darrow's sale of the game to Parker in 1935, and how it had evolved from Elizabeth Magie's original Landlord's Game into the version Darrow appropriated. Anspach based his defense on the grounds that the game itself existed in effectively the public domain before Parker purchased it, and therefore Parker's trademark claim on it should be nullified. The case dragged on for ten years,[1] with numerous appeals and overturned judicial verdicts, until Anspach and Parker ultimately reached a settlement, permitting him to continue using the name Anti-Monopoly and distributing the game.[2]
For a time during the dispute, the game was marketed as simply "Anti."
Related games [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]The amateur videos emerging from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that devastated Mexico City on Tuesday are grim. Some show taller buildings swaying. Others show short, squat structures suddenly collapsing. Remains of brick walls have fallen onto sidewalks in heaps of rubble.
Over decades, seismologists and structural engineers have gained extensive knowledge about why some buildings collapse while others remain standing during an earthquake. Part of the answer lies with construction: Concrete buildings without enough steel reinforcement can become disastrously brittle during shaking, allowing concrete to burst out of the columns just before a catastrophic collapse.
But buildings can either survive or fail based on the vagaries of geology, geography and physics.
In Tuesday’s quake in Mexico, preliminary reports suggest that shorter buildings were especially susceptible to collapse, including older structures that had survived the nation’s 1985 magnitude 8 earthquake that killed an estimated 10,000 people. Meanwhile, unlike the ’85 quake, Mexico City’s taller buildings appeared to ride out the latest temblor in better shape.
Seismology and engineering experts say because Tuesday’s calamity hit far closer to Mexico’s capital — 80 miles away compared with 250 miles in the 1985 quake — shorter buildings were far more vulnerable than they were during the earthquake that struck a generation ago.
(Raoul Rañoa / Los Angeles Times)
The reports illustrate a fact of seismology: Short buildings are especially at risk when big earthquakes strike nearby. They actually can avoid major damage if the structures are farther away from the origin of megaquakes.
Taller buildings, meanwhile, are especially threatened by megaquakes, even if the temblors originate from a significant distance.
Experts say the lessons are clear for California and underscore an ominous warning: Just because your home or workplace survived a previous earthquake doesn’t mean it will endure the next one.
Surviving one quake doesn’t mean a building is safe
“I hear quite often, ‘Hey, we went through the 1994 Northridge earthquake. We’re OK.’ Well, that’s a false sense of security,” said Kit Miyamoto, a member of the California Seismic Safety Commission and chief executive officer of Miyamoto International, a global structural engineering firm. “This earthquake proved it: Doing well in one earthquake doesn’t mean you’ll do well in the next earthquake — because every earthquake is different, and every building responds differently.”
In certain respects, Los Angeles has yet to face what Mexico City has endured.
Despite several devastating quakes — in 1933 in Long Beach, 1971 in Sylmar and 1994 in Northridge — many vulnerable buildings constructed during Southern California’s rapid expansion in the 20th century simply have not had to face the intense shaking that scientists know can happen during an earthquake.
The last magnitude 7.8 quake that struck Southern California hit in 1857, long before the modern era of Los Angeles.
“We’re a lot closer to the San Andreas than Mexico City is to their subduction zone [the closest region to the capital capable of producing magnitude 8 earthquakes],” seismologist Lucy Jones said.
Get ready for a major quake. What to do before — and during — a big one »
At its closest point, the San Andreas Fault is just 30 miles away from downtown L.A. That closeness means the tallest skyscrapers in the nation’s second-largest city could be quite vulnerable during a megaquake.
Here's what a hypothetical magnitude 8.2 earthquake would look like in Southern California -- a quake that begins near the Mexican border and moves north and west through Los Angeles County into Central California. (Angelica Quintero and Lorena Iniguez Elebee / Los Angeles Times)
A U.S. Geological Survey simulation coauthored by Jones and published in 2008 said it was plausible that five steel high-rise buildings throughout Southern California — whether in downtown L.A., Orange County or San Bernardino — could come tumbling down should a magnitude 7.8 earthquake strike the San Andreas.
California could be hit by an 8.2 mega-earthquake, and it would be catastrophic »
After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, a flaw was discovered in a common type of steel building that showed how the frame can fracture in an earthquake; Los Angeles and most other cities in California have not passed laws requiring retrofits to repair this design flaw. (Santa Monica and West Hollywood recently adopted new retrofit laws for this type of building.)
“We don’t really know what’s going to happen to those really tall buildings. We’ve never put them through a really big earthquake,” Jones said.
By contrast, Mexico City is so far away from a fault zone capable of magnitude 8 earthquakes that its tallest buildings are relatively safe, Jones said. In that country’s 1985 earthquake, buildings that were five to 20 stories tall suffered major damage, Jones said, while shorter buildings generally performed better.
Downtown L.A.’s shortest buildings also haven’t been tested with extreme shaking, Jones said. At no point in modern history has downtown Los Angeles endured the kind of intense shaking that the San Fernando Valley did during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
“Your Northridge-type earthquake is about as bad as it gets for small buildings like a single-family house or a small apartment complex,” Jones said. But while places like Northridge and Chatsworth have endured what is close to the worst-case shaking, places a bit farther away — like Pasadena, Hollywood and downtown L.A. — have not.
“Even Santa Monica” has not, she said, despite the intensity of damage in that coastal city during the ’94 quake, Jones said. “The reason there was so much damage there was because of how old the buildings are.”
Why small and tall buildings can react differently in the same earthquake
Why shorter and taller buildings can react differently during the same earthquake is a matter of geology and physics — similar to how a wineglass can survive some musical notes, but the right one can cause it to shatter.
Megaquakes, like 1985’s magnitude 8 in Mexico, are caused by extremely long faults and produce low, booming shaking frequencies that can travel for vast distances — think of the bass beat you might hear from a distant rave. They also produce the sensation of rolling motion, like the kind you might feel on a boat. Long objects, such as tall buildings, are particularly vulnerable to this kind of rolling, shaking motion.
Intensity of shaking from the Sept. 19, 2017 earthquake. (Los Angeles Times)
Even worse, Mexico City sits on an ancient lake bed with soft soils that amplify the shaking from an earthquake by 100 times, Jones said. The lake bed is believed to have a natural resonant frequency that makes buildings that are five to 20 stories tall particularly vulnerable — and that’s why those buildings suffered the most destruction in the 1985 earthquake, Jones said.
A Cal State Northridge parking structure collapsed during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. (Scott Rathburn / For The Times)
Something similar happened in the 2015 magnitude 7.8 Nepal earthquake, in which Kathmandu, which also sits on an ancient lake bed, saw its tall buildings damaged while its shorter structures held up far better, Miyamoto said.
By contrast, short buildings are most vulnerable when they are close to the shaking source — where the experience can be described as herky-jerky or having sudden, intense up-and-down or side-to-side movement. But such high-frequency shaking is felt only close to an earthquake’s source.
Because the 1985 earthquake struck 250 miles away from Mexico City, such high-frequency motion faded by the time the shaking arrived in the capital city. As a result, short buildings escaped major damage and were able to survive until a closer earthquake struck, as it did on Tuesday.
A magnitude 7 in Hollywood would damage different buildings than an 8 on the San Andreas
In the Los Angeles area, a sharp magnitude 7 earthquake on an urban fault that runs through the metropolitan region — such as the Newport-Inglewood, Whittier or Sierra Madre faults — will test short buildings like no other earthquake in the modern era, Jones said. Meanwhile, a magnitude 8 on the San Andreas Fault likely will spare the worst from striking single-family homes in places farther away from the fault, including the L.A. Basin. But the same megaquake could result in “collapses of high-rises at relatively large distances from the fault,” Jones said.
Los Angeles does have one advantage over Mexico City in terms of earthquake risk: While the L.A. Basin also is made of soft soils that amplify an earthquake’s shaking, it does so only by a factor of 5, compared with Mexico City’s factor of 100, Jones said.
Why brittle concrete buildings collapse
Miyamoto said the types of buildings that have collapsed in Mexico City are what structural engineers would expect: brick structures as well as brittle concrete buildings, especially those with weak first floors. Photos of many of the collapsed structures are made of brittle concrete, Miyamoto said.
A dramatic amateur video, which circulated widely on social media and was shown on Telemundo and NBC, depicts a five-story concrete building that initially wobbles from the earthquake. However, the ground-floor columns keeping the building upright appear stressed, and chunks of concrete begin to fall off the edges of the columns, weakening the building’s critical supports.
https://twitter.com/Reforma/status/910228366795640833
Moments later, the concrete columns appear to bend like a knee. The building suddenly collapses, and the upper floors can be seen sinking into a cloud of dust as onlookers start running.
“¡Dios mío! ¡Dios mío!” a woman can be heard saying. “My God! My God!”
Miyamoto said the collapse is a textbook example of what engineers would expect of a brittle concrete building, in which a failure to use enough steel rebar in the columns allows concrete to burst outward during an earthquake, prompting a disintegration of the column and the collapse of the building.
This design flaw is common in older buildings worldwide, including in the United States.
The defect gained considerable attention after the 1971 Sylmar earthquake caused the collapse of the newly constructed Olive View Medical Center.
Concrete columns supporting the stairwells of Olive View Medical Center failed because there was too little steel reinforcement. After the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, county officials toured the destruction. (John Malmin)
Several other concrete structures came tumbling down in that earthquake, in which 52 people were killed.
Two concrete buildings at the San Fernando Veterans Administration Hospital crumbled in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. (Bruce Cox / Los Angeles Times)
Brittle concrete buildings also collapsed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, including a Bullock’s department store and Kaiser Permanente medical office.
Cyclists roll past the remains of a collapsed Kaiser Permanente clinic and office building in Granada Hills following the Northridge earthquake. (Jonathan Alcorn / For The Times)
The destruction of two of these brittle concrete buildings in an earthquake in New Zealand in 2011 caused the death of 133 people.
The Pyne Gould Corp. building collapsed when the magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built in the 1960s, before the adoption of modern seismic standards for concrete buildings. (Hannah Johnston / Getty Images)
There are an estimated 1,500 brittle concrete buildings in Los Angeles. Following a Los Angeles Times report on the problem of such structures in 2013, L.A.’s elected leaders in 2015 decided to require owners to retrofit those buildings, setting a 25-year deadline to strengthen such buildings once they are given an order to seismically evaluate them.
Most other cities in California do not require retrofit of those types of structures; Santa Monica and West Hollywood, however, recently adopted new laws to require strengthening of this building type.
Miyamoto said Los Angeles should accelerate the deadline to retrofit its concrete buildings.
“We should go faster,” he said. “The earthquake will not wait for us.”
In Mexico City, there was a common feeling that if a building survived the 1985 earthquake, they were not vulnerable to the next earthquake, said Guillermo Lozano, humanitarian and emergency affairs director for World Vision Mexico, a Christian humanitarian organization.
“The new buildings—most of the new buildings, they were not affected. They’re OK. They had good protocols,” Lozano said. “We learned a lot from 1985, that’s true. We made very important changes in the construction rules.
“But what about the old buildings?”
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ron.lin@latimes.com
Twitter: @ronlin
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UPDATES:
12 a.m., Sept. 21, 2017: This article was updated with a quote from Guillermo Lozano, the humanitarian and emergency affairs director for World Vision Mexico, and reflects the recent action by West Hollywood to pass ordinances requiring retrofits of steel and concrete buildings.
This article was originally published at 12:45 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2017.AP — A rising chorus of Israeli voices is again raising the possibility of carrying out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities in what appears to be an attempt to draw renewed attention to Tehran’s atomic program — and Israel’s unhappiness with international negotiations with the Iranians.
In recent days, a series of newspaper reports and comments by top defense officials have signaled that the military option remains very much on the table. While Israeli officials say Israel never shelved the possibility of attacking, the heightened rhetoric marks a departure from Israel’s subdued approach since six world powers opened negotiations with Iran last November.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been an outspoken critic of the international efforts to negotiate a deal with Iran. He has spent years warning the world against the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran and fears a final deal will leave much of Iran’s nuclear capabilities intact.
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But since the global powers reached an interim agreement with Iran last November, Netanyahu’s warnings about Iran have been largely ignored. A frustrated Israeli leadership now appears to be ratcheting up the pressure on the international community to take a tough position in its negotiations with Iran.
A front-page headline in the daily Haaretz on Thursday proclaimed that Netanyahu has ordered “to prep for strike on Iran in 2014” and has allocated 10 billion shekels (2.87 billion dollars) for the groundwork. Earlier this week, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon hinted that Israel would have to pursue a military strike on its own, with the US having chosen the path of negotiations. And the military chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said this week that Iran “is not in an area that is out of the military’s range.”
An Israeli military strike would be extremely difficult to pull off, both for logistical and political reasons. Any mission would likely require sending Israeli warplanes into hostile airspace, and it remains unclear how much damage Israel could inflict on a program that is scattered and hidden deep underground. In addition, it would likely set off an international uproar, derail the international negotiations and trigger retaliation on Israeli and US targets.
Yoel Gozansky, an Iran expert at the Institute of National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank, said the comments were meant as a wake-up call to the world.
“It was in a coma. It has awoken suddenly,” he said of the military-option talk. “Someone has an agenda to bring up this subject again, which has dropped off the agenda in recent months, especially after the deal with Iran.”
Netanyahu has long been at odds with his Western allies over how to dislodge Iran from its nuclear program. He has called the interim agreement a “historic mistake,” saying it grants Iran too much relief while getting little in return, and fears a final agreement would leave Iran with the capability to make a bomb.
Israel believes that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, a charge Iran denies. Israel says a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state, citing Iranian calls for Israel’s destruction, its development of long-range missiles and its support for hostile militant groups.
During a swing through Washington early this month, Netanyahu tried to draw attention to the Iranian issue in stops at the White House and in an address to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group. Israel then engaged in a six-day PR blitz when naval commandos seized a ship in international waters that was carrying dozens of sophisticated rockets Israel said were bound for militants in the Gaza Strip and sent by Iran. The effort was capped by a display of the seized weapons.
But beyond placid acknowledgments from world leaders, the ship’s seizure did little to change the course of negotiations with Iran.
Netanyahu said the world’s indifference to the naval raid was “hypocritical,” and he lashed out at Western leaders for condemning Israeli settlement construction while ignoring Iran’s transgressions.
Netanyahu’s past warnings have been credited with bringing the Iran issue to the fore and galvanizing world powers to take action on the nuclear program. He made headlines in 2012 when he drew a red line on a cartoon bomb during his speech at the UN General Assembly.
Yaakov Amidror, who recently stepped down as Netanyahu’s national security adviser, said the threat of a military strike is a real possibility.
“We aren’t playing a game of neighborhood bully. This is a stated policy of the state of Israel and has been made clear … to anyone who meets Israel’s representatives.”
But if Israel is trying to raise the alarm again, the move comes at an inopportune time. The urgency of the Iran issue has taken a backseat to more pressing international crises, namely Russia’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula. With world powers charging forward with negotiations with Iran, threats from Israel are likely to be ignored at best. At worst, they could alienate Israel’s closest allies.
Gozansky said the renewed threats were largely empty because if Israel carried out a strike with diplomacy underway, it would be seen as a warmonger out to destabilize the region. But he said the threats could nonetheless serve as leverage on Iran while it conducts talks. Netanyahu has suggested that may be the case.
“The greater the pressure on Iran,” he said in his speech to AIPAC, “the more credible the threat of force on Iran, the smaller the chance that force will ever have to be used.”
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.Sheriff: Texas 'affluenza' teen had 'going away' party before fleeing country, mother to be charged
This Dec. 28, 2015 photo released by Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office shows who authorities identify as Ethan Couch, after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. U.S. authorities said the Texas teenager serving probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense, was in custody in Mexico, weeks after he and his mother disappeared. (Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office via AP) less This Dec. 28, 2015 photo released by Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office shows who authorities identify as Ethan Couch, after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. U.S. authorities said... more Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Sheriff: Texas 'affluenza' teen had 'going away' party before fleeing country, mother to be charged 1 / 15 Back to Gallery
Texas "affluenza" teen Ethan Couch and his mother Tonya Couch staged a "going away" party before they fled to Mexico, authorities in North Texas said Tuesday.
Ethan Couch, on probation for killing four people in a drunken driving crash in 2013, and his mother were detained in the Pacific Coast resort city of Puerto Vallarta on Monday. Both are in the custody of Mexican authorities but are expected |
is well, a bit of a surprise really. Snitching on pirates has been going on for as long as someone has been interested in punishing them. So what motivates people to turn informant?
In Oron’s case the motivation appears to be straightforward self-preservation. With a potentially ruinous lawsuit hanging over their head, this file-locker has chosen to feed a small number of customers to the hungry copyright lions at Liberty Media. But if you think Oron are alone, think again.
In March we reported that the UFC had taken down Greenfeedz, a site offering illicit streams of UFC events. But as part of the arrangement it now transpires that Greenfeedz handed over the personal details over people who merely viewed UFC events via the site. Fifteen of those are now being hunted down in Zuffa, LLC v. DOES 1-15
Skin-saving is a common theme with file-sharing informants. Although he was only hired as a coder for streaming links site SurfTheChannel, in 2011 Boston resident Brendan DeBeasi soon found himself facing a charge of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and with it a five year prison sentence and $250,000 fine.
In the end he never served a day, instead preferring to work out a deal with the authorities to testify against the operators of SurfTheChannel.
But for every case like this we hear about, there a potentially dozens more. Remember EliteTorrents, the first BitTorrent site to be raided in the United States and its admins and uploaders jailed? FBI documents handed to TorrentFreak by a reader researching the case appear to show that someone very close to the site was working with the MPAA as early as February 15th, weeks before the FBI received the official complaint on March 1st and months before the actual raid.
Who the person was and why they did what they did remains a mystery, but it’s quite possible they were under pressure to save their own skin. But there are other motivations for turning informant too.
The UK’s Federation Against Software Theft runs a so-called “grass hotline” where people can inform on their companies for using under licensed software. FAST rely on two human traits to gather information on targets – greed (informants can get paid) and the lust for revenge. Reportedly, FAST snitches are often ex-employees with a grudge.
And grudges are dangerous things, particularly in the world of private BitTorrent trackers. On two occasions last month TorrentFreak was approached by clearly angry individuals who asked us to report on alleged wrong doing at a pair of trackers, one very small, one very large. The motivation obviously wasn’t money or to save the person’s skin, it was born out of conflict and desire to do damage.
But whether it’s to make money, save money, avoid lawsuits, avoid prison or execute revenge, people are prepared to inform on file-sharers. So don’t be too surprised when you hear about it again – and again.ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu put a new constitution at the heart of his AK Party’s manifesto for a June election on Wednesday and said moving towards the presidential system coveted by President Tayyip Erdogan would be a priority.
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C) prays during the funeral ceremony of prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz at the courtyard of Eyup Sultan mosque in Istanbul April 1, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer
The June 7 parliamentary poll could reshape the political landscape in the EU candidate nation, paving the way for Erdogan, who has dominated public life for more than a decade, to accumulate even greater powers.
An executive presidency akin to the U.S. or French systems has become his greatest ambition, enshrined in a new constitution to replace a text born of a 1980 coup which, though revised, still bears the stamp of its military authors.
“Parliament’s primary mission after the June 7 election is to write the country’s first civilian constitution in a spirit of compromise,” Davutoglu said at a party rally in Ankara.
“We see the restructuring of the administrative system towards a presidential system as necessary to clear up the mess over lines of responsibility and to genuinely restore accountability.”
Uncertainty over the outcome of the vote, as well as the accumulation of power by a leader who has already stamped his influence over the courts, the police and the media, has unnerved financial markets.
The lira plunged to the latest in a series of record lows against the dollar on Wednesday.
“Erdogan started as a reformer and has ended up power- rather than reform-focused,” said Lars Christensen, chief emerging markets analyst at Danske Bank in Copenhagen.
“Erdogan has not been a positive driving force for Turkish markets for the past few years. The reform phase effectively ended in 2006-7,” he said.
TURBULENCE AHEAD
Erdogan, who founded the AKP in 2001 but had to step down as its leader when he won the presidency last August, has said he wants the AKP to win 400 seats in June, comfortably enough for the government to change the constitution unopposed.
It would need at least 330 seats to change the constitution and 367 to do so without the need for a referendum.
But five polling firms have predicted the AKP’s share of the vote will drop by between 1 and 8 percentage points from the 49.8 percent it garnered in 2011, potentially to a level that could force it to seek coalition partners.
“Erdogan’s persistence on the presidential system has no reciprocity in the votes... It creates the impression of a different, more solitary regime, rather than a democracy,” Ozer Sancer, head of the Metropoll Research Center, told Reuters.
Past efforts to agree a new constitution have failed.
The fate of the Kurdish HDP opposition party will be critical, with all five pollsters putting it close to the 10 percent it would need to enter parliament. If it fails, its votes would be redistributed, favouring the AK Party.The 12th compiled volume of Shinjirō's Taboo Tattoo manga is announcing on Friday that the 13th volume will be the last.
Shinjirō launched the manga in Comic Alive magazine from Kadokawa's Media Factory imprint in November 2009. Yen Press will publish the fourth volume in North America in October, and it describes the story:
By all accounts, middle schooler Seigi is pretty unremarkable except for his martial arts prowess and a desire to protect the weak. But when his good intentions are put to the test by saving an old homeless man from some street thugs, the mysterious man shows his gratitude by...burning a tattoo onto Seigi's palm?! It turns out, the tattoo is a powerful secret weapon that everyone--including a formidable girl with a tattoo of her own--is after. With his life on the line and his martial arts skills alone no match against super-powered foes, will Seigi be able to unlock the latent potential of his tattoo and live to fight another day?!
The manga inspired a 12-episode anime adaptation that premiered in July and ended this week. Takashi Watanabe directed the series at J.C. Staff.
Shinjirō is also drawing manga adaptation of Gen Urobuchi and Type-Moon's Fate/Zero light novel series. Dark Horse Comics will publish the third volume in English in November.New Delhi: Highly discounted electricity, free water, free Wi-Fi connectivity, guaranteed minimum wages – you name it and the AAP has it in its manifesto. However, it does not set a deadline for itself to fulfill the promises. Too good to be true? Yes, say experts and political rivals.
Financial experts have already started questioning the source of funding for the lofty announcement made by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
“AAP’s manifesto is nothing but a bundle of lies. Those who don’t have to form a government can talk frivolous. There is no mention from where funds would come to implement those promises. This manifesto is an attempt to mislead voters, but now people won’t get into the trap. The public will answer these lies on February 7,” BJP’s national vice president Prabhat Jha told Firstpost.
The AAP’s Manifesto 2015 is almost a reprint of its previous one. “This manifesto can only be termed as a statement of untruth. The manifesto clearly shows that they don’t know anything about Delhi,” remarked senior Congress leader JP Aggarwal.
Like in the past, the AAP manifesto has promised a reduction of consumers’ electricity expenditure by 50 percent through audit of Discoms, rectifying electricity bills and other measures. It has also promised 700 litres of free water per day to every household.
“It’s always easy to say than do. Delhi is a power deficit state and is not capable of producing the electricity required. So it has to buy at a higher price from other states. Same is with water. Delhi buys water from UP and Haryana. Does AAP have any plan from where it’ll arrange funds to provide discounted electricity and free water?” questioned a former member of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, requesting anonymity.
In one of his blogs when the last time AAP had formed the government in Delhi in December 2013, best-selling Indian author Chetan Bhagat, also an IITian, had questioned: “AAP announced free water, and a bizarre subsidy-based cut in electricity tariffs in Delhi. Some estimates say this could cost thousands of crores a year... The cheeky accounting and subsidy-based reduction was irresponsible. If the AAP tariff decision is extended pan-India, the cost could be lakhs of crores a year. Such moves can not only wreck the country’s finances, they will send the wrong signal to private players who will shun investing in India’s electricity sector. It helped AAP win some instant applause, but did it help India?”
Veteran journalist Vinod Mehta has tweeted after the release of manifesto: “Kejriwal promises to put up 15lac CCTV cameras in Delhi. Estimated Cost- 40000Cr. Yearly maint & monitoring cost- 12000Cr. Source of funds (sic)?”
Chartered accountant and tax consultant Abhishek Aneja said, “The main source of revenue in Delhi government is value-added tax (VAT) and state excise duty it earns from selling liquors, etc. For a government to provide subsidised electricity, free water, free wi-fi connectivity, etc funding has to be done from state revenue. So, either the government would have to increase its tax base or cut its spending. But, when several freebies will be offered how could there be a cut on spending? So, to fund these promises, the government has to go for the taxpayers’ money.”
Meanwhile, the AAP has also promised to reduce the rate of VAT in Delhi, which would be the lowest in the country. “Now, if the government reduces the VAT rate, the revenue will come down. So, how it would fund so many free projects? Does AAP have any revenue model to fuel the freebies promised in its manifesto?” Aneja questioned.
“If AAP forms government in Delhi, is it going to get foreign funding to fund its ‘free projects’?” asked GV Shekhar, a retired bank manager.
Probably, AAP’s initial members, who were an integral part in the party’s planning process, have the answer.
“The manifesto talks about Swaraj and delegating power to Mahalla Sabhas. The concept is good. But, during its 49-day government, AAP didn’t set any institution to implement Swaraj concept. Instead, its volunteers wearing topis, reportedly barged into operation theatres to challenge doctors that created ruckus. Is this the model, AAP wants to implement? There is lack of Swaraj itself within the party that led to so many exits and dissension. The party didn’t have any revenue model to fund its promises even in 2014,” remarked Surajit Dasgupta, AAP’s former National Council member.
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.Welcome everyone! Today, we’ll be living it up in the aftermath of a deadly zombie virus infection — as a last man standing of sorts — with Last Survivor! Without further ado, meet Jason Lai, a Zenva Academy student whose stunning title we are featuring today, Last Survivor (MacOS).
Breeze through our interview with Jason, who completed the course Unity Game Development – Build a First Person Shooter (authored by Glauco Pires in collaboration with Pablo Farias Navarro), and see the experience he had developing a his zombie-style game for MacOS!
Hi Jason! We are ecstatic on having the chance to interview you over here on GameDev Academy! Additionally, congratulations on being both persistent and determined, with it having paid off in finally having Last Survivor published to the MacOS store! What is your game about, and what technologies was it built with?
Hi everyone! Just a quick introduction about myself — my name is Jason Lai, and I’m currently a high school senior at Culver Academies, IN.
Thank you for having me and featuring Last Survivor. The game is primarily a zombie FPS game, in which the player must use their weapon to destroy all deadly zombies within the town. The game itself is built with Unity3D, and the programming was done with the C# programming language.
Wow, that’s amazing Jason! You brought your game from start to finish all the while tending to your studies as a high school student. We’d like to know more about that! For now, why was MacOS chosen as the platform, as opposed to iOS or Windows?
Personally, I am a MacBook user. Because of that, I decided to develop the game for the MacOS platform since I’m already very familiar with the operating system.
In the future, I will definitely try to make my game compatible with the Windows operating system. However, I might not develop for the iOS platform because the game does require a mouse and keyboard to play!
Setting your starting point where you’re most comfortable is definitely a good way to get started, Jason. We’re curious to know — how did you manage your time to be able to complete and publish the game? Are there any tips or advice you’d suggest to other students on managing time and game publishing?
As a high school student that has school work, athletic practice, and college applications to complete, I consider efficient time management as a very important tool that helps me to complete and publish games.
Each time, before I start to work on my game, I write down a list of things on a piece of paper that is ordered from the most important item to the least important item. From there, I try my best to accomplish it all within a given amount of time.
Generally, during the weekdays, I’d give myself about an hour or two for game development. Sometimes I may stay up until 2 in the morning simply trying to fix an audio problem. However, on the weekends I can spend as much time as possible working on my games.
The tip I’d give to any students reading this, is to not overspend time trying to solve a particularly puzzling problem. At times, you just need to take a break and relax — think about something else aside from the game. By the time you start to fix that same puzzling problem the next day, you’ll probably be able to find out the solution.
P.S. One time, I had spent 5 hours solving an issue regarding the weapon’s bullet, but eventually I found out that I forgot to capitalize a letter in a method’s name.
That’s incredibly insightful advice, Jason, and I’m sure anyone could benefit from it! Having published your game while being a high school student, it really is a testament that anyone can achieve the same, with the right determination and time management.
Speaking of puzzling problems, what was the biggest technical challenge you faced? And how did you overcome it?
I think, for me, that the biggest technical challenge was adding more features to the game. By the time that I finished completing the course in Zenva, there was no map, no pause, no menu, background music, etc. For a student like myself that did not have a lot of previous coding experience. I searched online for help a lot. For example, I had visited Unity’s community page, the Apple Developer Forums, some game designer’s YouTube channel, and other coding websites for help.
Sometimes, a one place doesn’t hold all of the answers, but that’s great that you took the initiative to find the answers to your questions and implemented those additional features. One last question for you, how did our Zenva Academy courses help you in your game?
The course that I completed was Unity Game Development – Build a First Person Shooter. This course was extremely beneficial to me as it not only taught me a lot of new knowledge regarding Unity and the C# programming language, but it also explained many basic game design concepts such as Object Pooling, Nav Mesh, Collision Detection, etc.
I strongly encourage students that like FPS games to take this course, as you might be able to make your own version of Counter-Strike in the future!!
And cut! That completes our interview with Jason, creator of the Last Survivor game for MacOS. Little known secret that we’ll let you in on — it initially took a couple of tries for the game to be successfully approved by Apple due to a minor glitch in the initial submission.
However, Jason’s perseverance and determination paid off and he now has a published work in the Apple App Store.
Jason, we truly appreciate having you here to tell us about your journey in conquering Apple’s App Store, and bringing your game to fruition. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and college!
Interested in creating your own games? Check out the Game Development Mini-DegreeMark Peters : October 16th 2017 - 08:40 CET
Apple Pay Cash coming to Europe
Apple filed trademark application for Pay Cash in Europe : Good news for Apple fans in Europe! Apple Pay already exists for several years in the United States and starts to find its way in Europe. With the introduction of iOS 11 Apple has enhanced its mobile payment solution with Apple Pay Cash (only in the US). A person-to-person payment service in iMessage, to send or receive money from friends or family. Yesterday, Apple has filed a trademark application at the European Intellectual Property Office for Apple Pay Cash. The application is still under examination, but reveals Apple is planning to bring its advanced mobile payment service to Europe. The English company Locke Lord LLP, who also filed applications for Apple in the past, has applied for the name Apple Pay Cash.
Apple Pay Cash
The application is classified as: "Computer software used to process mobile payments; computer software for use in contactless transactions with retailers, merchants, and vendors via mobile devices used to process mobile payments"
We have found this trademark application in close collaboration with MobielKopen, you can find the document of the EUipo here.
The Apple Pay application is already available in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain Italy, and Switzerland. The new trademark application suggests Apple Pay Cash will soon be available in Europe as well and will most likely begin its roll out in the above mentioned countries.
What can you do with Apple's mobile payment system?
iOS 11 brings the convenience of Apple Pay to Messages. Users can use Apple Pay with their credit or debit card to send money instantly and securely, right in Messages. You can request and receive money just as easily.
When you get paid, your money is securely kept in Apple Pay Cash and instantly available for you to send to someone or spend with Apple Pay in stores, in apps, and on the web, or transfer to your bank account.
Release date of the Apple iPhone
Apple will most likely schedule a press event on September 12th, the American tech company will properly introduce the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus.
In addition a third iPhone model is expected, the iPhone 8 will be Apple's first OLED iPhone. Hopefully Apple will release its Pay Cash service for Europe at the same time.
LetsGoDigital Netherlands Next Nintendo 3DS XL SNES Classic edition Previous Dutch startup will change Li-Ion battery industry News by brand: Apple News by category: Apps News by brand and category: Apple AppsWelcome to the backlash.
With every action comes an equal and opposite reaction, so we always had to know that progress in the fight to end campus gender-based violence would provoke a negative response. And our opponents primary tactic is clever: I see anti-feminists claiming fair process for themselves. As schools reconsider their disciplinary procedures, these critics position their camp as the sole defenders of procedural protections (like the opportunity to be informed of the details of the complaint and present counter-evidence to a neutral investigator) for students accused of gender-based violence. The way they write, you’d think anyone who cares about justice for student-survivors obviously wants rigged disciplinary hearings that don’t give respondents a chance to stand up for themselves.
It’s an easy, seductive political narrative, but it’s not true. Most feminists — motivated by principles of equality and justice and invested in the legitimacy of our responses to violence misogyny — deeply care about fair decision-making when it comes to punishing gender-based violence. Many of us resist violence in all its forms, from rape to incarceration, and building respected campus responses to gendered harms creates space to imagine other alternatives to the criminal justice system.
The false dichotomy between care for survivors and care for the accused’s rights does a disservice to the policy debate and all those involved. We can’t identify methods to protect both parties if we pretend the interests of ending gender-based violence and ensuring fair deliberations are mutually exclusive rather than mutually dependent.
Developing a perfect, comprehensive response to this anti-feminist fair process narrative will take more time. Sure, some of these arguments are easy to take down: for example, many critics claim campus disciplinary procedures should have all the protections of a criminal trial, including evidence to support confidence “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In doing so, they ignore the meaningful differences between the stakes of a disciplinary hearing (expulsion at worst) and of a criminal trial (incarceration); due process works along a sliding scale, proportionate to the potential harms to the accused. And the insistence that we provide more protections for students accused of sexual assault than to their classmates facing plagiarism charges is rooted in age-old misogynistic myths of hoards of women “crying rape.”
But some of the policy questions are harder, and, as schools continue to struggle and reinvent, we as feminists need an affirmative, robust vision of what fair process for students accused of gender-based harms will look like. Creating that vision will require our collective investigation of tons of important, nitty-gritty policy choices within the long-ignored territory of campus disciplinary decision-making. How can accused students direct questions to complainants without perpetuating a hostile environment? How can schools seek the information they need without forcing students who face simultaneous criminal charges to self-incriminate? How can the parties best direct investigators to witnesses while preserving confidentiality? The list (which does not make a fascinating blog post, I will admit) goes on and on.
I keep trying to rush the progress: I started working in support of incarcerated people and criminal defendants before I got involved in Title IX policy work and feel personally invested in working this all out immediately. So I started writing my law school thesis on procedural protections for students accused of gender-based harms this September with the delusional idea that I’d be done by now (lol sorry advisor). I am currently on draft 37 of an op-ed on the same topic. And I keep freezing up, taking one more stab, deleting everything and starting over, getting mired in details. I don’t have final answers yet, and probably won’t for a while.
So, here’s my first shot at addressing the issue, rather than waiting until I have complete answers to every question about campus disciplinary procedures. One of the things I like most about blogging, even though it’s scary, is the opportunity to think out loud, to air incomplete thoughts, and to get feedback from others: there are lots of other people thoughtfully working on this issue, some for years.
I’m still working out a lot of the details, but here’s what I’m sure of so far:
I know that caring about procedural protections for the accused doesn’t mean you don’t believe survivors or recognize schools’ long-standing tolerance for violence. I also know that survivors have hurt for so long that concern for those who have harmed us can feel like a betrayal.
I know that, to end assault and abuse, we need well-respected decision-making mechanisms whose findings are accepted as legitimate by the involved parties and the public. I know that schools are handling these investigations poorly in many different ways, and some of these failures may hurt accused students as well as survivors. I know, from reading complaints from accused and accusing students alike, that both sides demand many of the same reforms: notice of rights, speedy investigations, impartial boards, consistent enforcement.
I know that demands that campus adjudication include all the protections of the criminal justice system ignore the fact that getting kicked out of school pales in comparison to being incarcerated. I also know that our fight to preserve educational opportunities for survivors is motivated by a recognition of the vital right to learn, so we cannot dismiss the impact of expulsion, even as we call for schools to remove from campus students who seriously harm their classmates.
And I know that, despite false narratives of a feminist monolith in love with prisons and punishment, the best of the movement has always worked to ensure protections even for those who may have done despicable things.Tom Tancredo seems to be on a one-man crusade to make Colorado the Wingnutopia of this year's political campaigns:
Tancredo will run for governor as American Constitution Party candidate
Former Congressman Tom Tancredo is in the race for Colorado governor, he said this morning.
“I will officially announce at noon that I will seek the nomination of the constitution party,” Tancredo told The Denver Post.
The Littleton Republican must file some papers with the Colorado Secretary of State and register as a member of the American Constitution Party, but then “he’s ready to go,” raising money, disclosing his platform and launching a website that is already put together.
Tancredo gave Republican candidates Scott McInnis and Dan Maes an ultimatum last week: Promise to get out of the race after the primary if polls showed the winner lagging behind Democrat John Hickenlooper or else he would get in as a third-party candidate.
Both Maes and McInnis refused.
Tancredo’s entry into the race is likely to split the GOP vote in the general election, giving Hickenlooper a win, said Dick Wadhams, head of the state’s Republican Party.
He blasted Tancredo after hearing the former congressman was going to get in.
“Tom Tancredo has nobody’s interest in mind other than his own,” Wadhams said. “But what do you expect from a guy who reneged on his term-limit pledge and has been running for office for five decades.”
Tancredo and Wadhams had an all-out-brawl on Peter Boyles’ KHOW radio station show this morning, screaming at each other and calling each other “liars.”The Pure Programming Language
Pure is a functional programming language based on term rewriting. Its core is actually purely algebraic and purely functional, but the name can also be taken as a recursive acronym for the "Pure Universal Rewriting Engine." Pure has a modern syntax featuring curried function applications, lexical closures and equational definitions with pattern matching, and thus is somewhat similar to languages of the Haskell and ML variety. But Pure is also a very dynamic language, and is more like Lisp in this respect. The interpreter has an LLVM backend to do JIT compilation, hence programs run blazingly fast and interfacing to C modules is easy.
Pure has moved to Google Code!
The new project page is available here: http://pure-lang.googlecode.com. Please update your bookmarks.
You can view the old sf.net website here. Old releases, svn repository and mailing list archives are still available from the sf.net project page.
Author
Albert Gräf <Dr.Graef at t-online.de>
Dept. of Computer Music
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
Germany
© 2008 by Albert GräfNHL.com's Q&A feature called "Five Questions With …" runs every Tuesday. We talk to key figures in the game and ask them questions to gain insight into their lives, careers and the latest news.
Tom Rowe is the Florida Panthers general manager, so like all of his counterparts at this time, he should be busy making and fielding calls and scouring the market with the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline approaching on March 1.
He's doing no such thing.
Rowe's most important task now is serving as the Panthers' coach, a title he's held since Nov. 27, when he replaced Gerard Gallant. His hands are full trying to get the Panthers to continue climbing up the Eastern Conference standings toward a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so everything he normally would be doing as GM is now being done by his boss, president of hockey operations Dale Tallon, who was Florida's GM for six years before Rowe took over in May.
"That's totally in Dale's hands 100 percent now," Rowe said in a phone interview from San Jose on Monday. "He's on the road with us so we talk all the time anyway. He's got a lot of relationships obviously with the GMs and he's been through this more than once so he'll field all the calls. If he thinks he has something that makes sense then he'll talk to all of us about it. But he's the guy steering the ship as far as the trading deadline goes and things like that going forward."
Rowe, who is a first-year GM, is content with the role reversal because he knows how well respected Tallon is in the League and because the Panthers are playing better now, to the point where Tallon may look to add a piece or two instead of subtracting.
Florida has won four of its past five games to get within three points of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference and fourth place in the Atlantic Division.
The Panthers are in California for three games this week, starting against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV). They're also at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. They close their five-game road trip at the St. Louis Blues on Monday.
"If we're looking at anything maybe it's trying to find a little bit of depth, that'd be about it," Rowe said. "We like the team we've got now and the fact that we can roll three lines and create offense from all three lines. Even our fourth line has been giving us real good minutes. If something comes along and we think it's a good fit for us depth-wise than we're going to definitely look at it, but we like the mix, the chemistry and the way the guys are coming together now. We don't really want to mess with that too much."
Tallon said he's not concerned with his role following the season.
"Honestly I'm not even thinking about it," Rowe said. "The agreement I had with [owner] Vinnie [Viola] and Dale and [vice president] Doug Cifu was just to come in for the rest of the year and focus on getting into the playoffs. When everything is finished we'll sit down and talk about it at the end of the year."
Rowe talked more about the Panthers' recent revival, how they got back into the playoff race and what they need to do to stay in it.
Here are Five Questions with…Tom Rowe:
Obviously the team is playing better and has found its way back in the race. Health was a major concern and it's now a plus, but beyond the health issue, what's the difference now? Why is this team playing better minus the blip against Los Angeles?
"I think we're playing a lot more desperate. The guys understand what we want them to do defensively. The defensive side of the game is where we tweaked some things. We went to more of an area zone coverage, which I felt was important that we change as a group. Now all the habits within the area of coverage are starting to improve. Guys know what their assignments are and they're reading off of each other real well and are just worrying about doing their job."
You had gone to the area zone coverage right when you took over for Gerard Gallant. Did you expect it to be just a matter of time before the players starting to get it and have it become second nature to them?
"Yeah. It takes time for the guys to get comfortable with certain reads down low, who the first forward is coming back regardless if it's a center or a winger. Whoever that first forward is you are now the low man and you got to stay low until we get possession of the puck. That took a little bit of time to have the guys get used to. The other thing too is when you're losing or you're not into full mode as far as winning games on a consistent basis the confidence level slips. That was the other big piece. We tried to keep it as positive as we possibly could as a coaching staff until the guys regained their confidence. Then we got on a little bit of a roll and things started to come together, but I think it was in combination with playing better defense. We're telling the guys we have to be defense first because we have enough offensive ability with a lot of skill that when we do get possession of the puck, we are going to be able to create. I want the guys to be able to create and have fun on the offensive side of things, but you have to protect the puck and protect your end of the ice first. That's the message we've been getting to them ever since the [coaching] change happened."
In these past five games, of which you have won four, you still allowed five goals against the Ottawa Senators, the six against L.A. and four against the Nashville Predators. Is there any cause for concern with that?
"The L.A. game, we were just bad. Everybody. We just had a bad game. It was just one of those nights where you forget about it and move on. The Ottawa game, they were a high-charging team, threw a lot of different looks at us off the rush and we just didn't read it that well. That was the problem in that particular game. Then in Nashville we gave up four, but two of them were redirects off our own guy so we were in position but we deflected them ourselves and it went into our own net. A lot of that was self-inflicted. But I think now that we got [Aleksander] Barkov back, [Jonathan] Huberdeau back, [Alex] Petrovic and [Nick] Bjugstad, now our whole lineup is finally together and it slots everybody into positions where they belong and they're getting the minutes that they can handle. I think it's a trickle-down effect."
It's interesting that you mention that because at the start here I kind of glossed over the health factor mainly because teams deal with injuries all the time and you guys were no different, but what you just said is probably the most important thing about this. It's not just health, it's that you have guys playing where they should be playing. Can you detail more the impact of that on your team?
"That's why we signed the guys we signed in the offseason and built the team the way we did, was to have a three-lined balanced attack but also to have a fourth line that could get up and down the ice with a couple of those guys as penalty killers. Then if we found another energy guy or power play guy we could put him in there. As luck would have it, Shawn Thornton has gone in there and done an unbelievable job for us on the fourth line with [Derek] MacKenzie and [Colton] Sceviour. It's given us four good lines and now I can use the fourth line anywhere from 10-14 minutes a night depending on situations and depending on the game.
It doesn't get any easier, obviously. You're out in San Jose now and you've got to play the Sharks, Ducks, Kings and Blues before you return home. But once this road trip is over, you're home for four in a row, eight of 10, and 14 of your last 23 games. What is the approach as you go into these four games knowing what is coming on the schedule and what you potentially could do in March because of that?
"Yeah, it's a real cupcake schedule. Ha. No, the approach is we're going to worry about San Jose and we're not thinking one day beyond that. That's the approach. I told the guys the other piece to this puzzle is if you get 10 minutes a night, 18 minutes a night or five minutes a night we need everybody bought in to playing their role, giving us quality minutes, and if you're a healthy scratch you can't be hanging your head, you have to be thinking about the team first. That's been the whole approach, team first and then whatever you're asked to give us, we expect everybody to help us win. Guys have been unbelievable with that. The fact that we're still in the race with all the major injuries we've had in the early portion of the season is a credit to everybody in the organization and the kids who came up from Springfield to help us compete and win games when a lot of people didn't think we were going to be able to hang in there. That's the silver lining there, that we've been able to stay in the race with so many of our key guys out of the lineup."SAN DIEGO — The Navy is giving another chance to thousands of sailors who otherwise would be kicked out for repeatedly failing their physical fitness tests because they exceeded body fat limits.
The service branch loosened its body fat restrictions in January and is allowing those who failed their exams three or more times to get one more opportunity to be tested this spring under the more lenient guidelines. The Navy said it has been losing too many talented sailors. Some were resorting to liposuction, diet pills and other measures to save their careers.
The Navy allowed about 2,400 sailors who passed a preliminary test under the new rules to stay in, reducing the number of failures on their records from three to one, said Navy spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen. In the past, three failures were grounds for being kicked out. The sailors will be measured again this spring and allowed only two failures now instead of three.
The changes are the latest by the military looking to improve its abilities to recruit and retain talented people as it builds up its cyber-warfare strategy and faces competition from a rebounding economy.
A 2014 Pentagon study found that roughly two-thirds of Americans would not qualify to enlist in the armed services as a result of health problems, obesity and the failure to complete a high school education.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said the service is not lowering standards but rather adjusting to reality: People today, in general, are bigger but not necessarily fat. The Navy is |
they make their own decisions," Mr Morrison said. "I did everything I could to make his government a success," he said, adding that he was one of the "best performing" ministers in the Abbott government. Supporters of Mr Abbott have been furious at what they see as a betrayal from Mr Morrison on Monday. They argue that, even though he voted for the former prime minister, he did not ensure that his supporters did the same - thus sealing Mr Abbott's fate.
Mr Morrison said that he had warned Mr Abbott's office last Friday, telling them that "things were pretty febrile and they should be on high alert". He argued that any promotion he got under Mr Turnbull would be on "merit". The Social Services Minister, who had the high profile immigration portfolio until last year's reshuffle, also said that the only person who had offered him the job of Treasurer before Monday's ballot was Mr Abbott. In a stunning admission, Mr Morrison said that he refused, and could not understand why Mr Abbott was offering him the job when he had backed Mr Hockey so strongly. "I didn't understand why he wanted me to pick a fight with Joe Hockey," he said.
After the interview, Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra that he didn't think Mr Abbott's Treasury offer had been "well thought through". "Obviously it had been brought together in haste, given the events [on Monday]," he said. Loading "Mr Abbott had expressed absolute confidence and loyalty to Joe Hockey, so why would he have changed... to me?" Follow on TwitterPlay Facebook
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Thousands of people showed up to hear Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump speak at an Alabama rally Friday, in which the business tycoon vowed, "we’re going to make America better than it’s ever been."
The crowd filled about half of the 43,000-seat Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile. It was a hot night, and humid. Trump looked upwards and joked: "If it rains, I’ll take off my hat and I'll prove, I'll prove, I'll prove once and for all, that it's mine," while stroking his hair.
Trump repeated his tough stance on immigration, vowing "we're going to build a wall," and saying Congress could end the guarantee of being granted citizenship upon being born within the U.S.
"The 14th Amendment — I was right on it. You can do something with it, and you can do something fast," Trump said. "In the case of other countries, including Mexcio, they don’t do that. It doesn’t work that way.... We’re the only place just about that’s stupid enough to do it," he said.
Panorama of crowd and stadium here in Mobile. #trump. pic.twitter.com/rLDMDzIrKo — Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 22, 2015
Trump's campaign had pegged the expected attendance at the event at 42,000. They moved Friday's "pep rally" from the city’s Civic Center — which seats about 4,000 — to the stadium in anticipation of the huge crowd.
Police and fire officials estimated Friday's crowd at around 20,000.
Stadium is about half filled. Closer to 20,000 rather than the 40,000 campaign had hoped. Still largest Republican rally yet by far. #trump — Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 22, 2015
Trump got some of his biggest cheers from the crowd Friday when he pledged to strengthen the military and take care of veterans, and when he extolled his skills as a businessman — while taking a swipe at GOP rival Jeb Bush.
"Who would you rather have negotiate with China, Japan, Mexico, any other: Trump or Bush?" Trump asked. The crowd cheered, and some began to chant "Trump! Trump! Trump!"
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Trump has been drawing large crowds during stops in key primary states like New Hampshire, animating conservative voters who admire Trump’s brand of brash, often personal politics and his draconian proposals to upend the nation’s immigration policy.
"The more he speaks on issues — and he's an unfiltered candidate when he speaks — the more he does seem to resonate with folks," said Terry Lathan, the chairwoman of the Alabama Republican Party. "People like straight talkers and he seems to be doing that."
Last weekend, Trump unveiled an immigration blueprint that included the construction of a continuous border wall, the deportation of the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants and the ending of birthright citizenship for children born on U.S. soil to parents in the country illegally.
Alabama, which will hold its presidential primary along with a slate of other southern states on March 1, 2016, could be particularly fertile ground for Trump’s message.
In spring 2011, the state enacted the nation’s harshest law to crack down on illegal immigration, including a provision requiring police to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally if the person was unable to produce proper documentation. The law also included a provision requiring public schools to determine the immigration status of students.
But a series of lawsuits swiftly resulted in the halting of many of the law’s key provisions, which opponents decried as blatantly unconstitutional. By October, the state reached a settlement agreement that effectively gutted the measure.
The state’s Hispanic population was about 4.1 percent in 2013, according to Census figures. But that number has been growing. Between 2000-2012, Alabama was one of the five states nationwide with the fastest growth of its Hispanic population, which grew 157 percent over the 12 year period.
Alabama is also heavily conservative, backing Mitt Romney by 61 percent over Barack Obama’s 38 percent in the 2012 presidential election.
Trump’s appearance in the state is intended to build support as the Republican field courts the southern voters who will weigh in on the primary contest shortly after key states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
But Gov. Robert Bentley, who signed the controversial 2011 immigration measure into law, is backing a different Republican for the 2016 race.
Earlier this week, Bentley backed fellow Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, highlighting Kasich’s compassion and commitment to helping all Americans.
"We need someone who believes in the promise of our great country," Bentley said in his endorsement. "Someone who believes our country can be better and stronger and safer not only for those of us who maybe have a little bit more but those of us who in this country who need to be taken care of....It doesn't matter whether or not you're the same race, it doesn't matter if you're the same economic status. We need a leader who cares about the people.""These are deeply disturbing allegations. If proven correct they are an example of the worst type of behaviour in the operation of the VET FEE-HELP scheme," Senator Birmingham said. "This is the worst type of behaviour that is bringing down the reputation of training in Australia." The news came as shares in Australian Careers Network, the listed company that owns Phoenix Institute, lost 10 per cent of their value in morning trading following the report in Fairfax Media on Thursday. The report revealed that Phoenix Institute was one of a number of vocational colleges whose salespeople use the lure of free laptops to sign students to courses that they may never complete, in return for $18,000 payments from the federal government. The scheme is projected to treble in cost to the federal government this year, from $1.3 billion to $4 billion, as new colleges and salespeople jump into the industry.
The industry regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, said it had received 20 complaints regarding Phoenix Institute since mid-May. "As a result of complaints received, ASQA commenced regulatory scrutiny of the provider in July to assess its compliance with the required national standards," it said. The company issued a statement on Thursday insisting that it had "industry-leading course completion rates" of 80 per cent, and that its screening process for enrolment applications meant that up to half of the new student applications brought to it by salespeople were rejected. "The [Fairfax] article is in the board's view inaccurate and misleading," the statement said. According to the Department of Education, just one out of 122 students who started a course at Phoenix in 2010 had finished by 2013, a completion rate of 0.8 per cent. The institute had a completion rate of 51 per cent for 2011 commencing students and 22 per cent for 2012 commencing students, according to the department.
A company spokesman said the 80 per cent figure referred to the entire Australian Careers Network group, not just the Phoenix Institute, and the company aimed to "reverse any low completion rates". Senator Birmingham said his department and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also had the Phoenix Institute under investigation. The Consumer Action Law Centre has also received complaints about pushy salespeople doorknocking and cold-calling vulnerable people to sign them up to courses. The centre's senior policy officer, Katherine Temple, said she was very concerned about reports that Phoenix Institute was targeting vulnerable Victorians. "They are potentially signing people up to a lifetime of debt."
Students must pay back the debt held against them once they earn more than $54,000 per year. Ms Temple said the commission-based recruitment model adopted by training colleges was a big part of the problem. "These salespeople are driven by commission and as a result best practice falls by the wayside." She welcomed federal government reforms to crack down on rogue providers but said an industry-funded national ombudsman scheme was needed to resolve disputes. "We need to make sure that students who have been duped into signing up to inappropriate course are refunded. The financial burden should be shifted from students and taxpayers to offending training providers."
The Fairfax report included secret video of Nikhil Talwar, one of the "brokers" selling courses on behalf of Phoenix Institute, talking about the illegal practice of giving away free laptops to lure prospective students to sign up. His company, Education Circle, is one of the group's registered brokers. Senator Birmingham made it clear that "Phoenix will be held accountable for the actions of Education Circle, acting on their behalf". Opposition spokesman Kim Carr said unscrupulous providers were undermining public confidence in the vocational education system. "The cost of their activities is being borne by individual students, Australian taxpayers and industries that are being deprived of the skilled workforce they so desperately need," Senator Carr said. Victoria's Training and Skills Minister, Steve Herbert, said Phoenix Institute held a contract with the state government in 2013 and 2014, but did not apply for one in 2015.
He called on the Commonwealth to do more to clean up the VET-FEE HELP scheme, saying it had got "out of hand." "It is totally unconscionable that we have teams of shyster salespeople going around preying on those with disabilities or disadvantage," Mr Herbert said. "They are preying on their vulnerability, not delivering any skills or any real opportunity, and those people are not only saddled with debt that will probably never get repaid but they lose their entitlement to other government-funded training." He said costs to taxpayers had skyrocketed under the scheme and ASQA had been too slow passing on information to Victoria about dodgy colleges. Since July, the Victorian government has terminated the contracts of six training providers due to "serious cases of non-compliance". More than $10 million has been withheld from a further 17 providers who are under case management. Mr Herbert said the state government had also ramped up its audits of the sector, sending auditors into colleges to talk to students and providers.
"Something like that needs to be duplicated by the Commonwealth because this is out of hand. The taxpayer should not be paying these huge amounts of money for training that never gets completed, that's unsuitable and never gets a job outcome." Figures show Victorian students who drop out of expensive training courses are wasting more than $40 million in fees and government funding.Paul George jokes after Indiana hits a franchise-record 19 3-pointers
Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) shoots the ball over Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. (22) during the first half at Verizon Center. (Photo: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights Bulls at Pacers, 8 p.m. Friday, FSI
WASHINGTON -- Before facing the Washington Wizards, Paul George reflected on his memories of the matchup. Two years ago, the Indiana Pacers were focused on exacting revenge in the Eastern Conference finals while the Washington Wizards were the rising, young team threatening to end their run in the second round of the playoffs. The Pacers finally survived the series in six games with what George now describes as the team’s “special unit.”
George was referring to his old starting teammates, but after the Pacers’ 123-106 win over the Wizards on Tuesday night, he needs to make room in his heart for the pairing he has with C.J. Miles.
More than just “special,” the tandem was spectacular. George and Miles combined for 72 points. They missed only twice in 17 attempts from 3-point range. And together they blew out the wattage of Washington’s star power, John Wall and Brad Beal (38 points combined).
Miles finished with 32 points, the most scored during his two seasons as a Pacer, and thrived beyond the 3-point arc for 8-of-9 makes. Then there was George, who was even more “special” – 40 points on 14-of-19 shooting, 7-of-8 from 3. As a team, Indiana (9-5) hit a franchise-record 19 3-pointers in 26 attempts. The previous record was 17.
“First time really having someone else just as hot,” said George before sharing his favorite compliment. “I didn’t know we both missed one 3 a piece, so it’s special, special night.”
George and Miles. Miles and George. No matter which name goes first, for at least one night the pair moved ahead of all other great duos in the NBA.
• BOX SCORE: Pacers 123, Wizards 106
According to Elias Sports, George-Miles became the fifth pair of teammates in league history to both make seven 3-pointers in a game. Through all his years around the NBA, Pacers coach Frank Vogel has never experienced something like this.
“No. We might have had some Pierce-Walker moments when both of those guys were going off,” Vogel said, recalling his time with the Boston Celtics with Paul Piece and Antoine Walker. “But not 8-for-9, 7-for-8. I don’t think that’s ever happened.”
An announced crowd of 15,486 fans remained silent through the first quarter as the Pacers hit their first nine shots – with Miles and George uniting for eight makes.
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“I just felt good. I was getting good looks,” explained Miles, who hit all four of his 3s in the quarter. “It’s a confidence booster coming in games when you know you’ve got a four man (defending you).”
George, just as confident while playing in his natural wing position, shot masterfully through the first half (7-of-10, and the attempts mostly came on jump shots). But by the third quarter, he unlocked a new level of the zone.
Scoring more than half of the Pacers’ 31 points, George made the Wizards’ perimeter defense look vulnerable as he swished three 3-pointers to remain perfect from the arc in six attempts. George’s only blemish came as he tossed up a 27-footer at the end of the quarter.
By the end of the night, many of those once tongue-tied Washington fans shrieked for George’s attention as he walked back to the visitor’s locker room. George was in the giving mood and extended his hands for high fives, then shared one-liners for the crowd of microphones. When asked why he plays so well inside the Verizon Center – he scored 39 during a playoff game here – George smiled and said “I love being in D.C. Yeah, I got to get the president out for one game.” Also, when sharing thoughts about himself and Miles, George joked: “We’re the East Coast Splash Brothers.”
Though Golden State’s Steph Curry and Klay Thompson form the league’s most lethal scoring backcourt, George and Miles went beyond having a ‘Splash-esque’ performance.
Behind the duo’s heavy lifting, the Pacers made 73 percent of their 3-pointers, the best shooting percentage of any NBA with at least 25 attempts, according to Elias.
“We ran into a hot tandem there,” Washington coach Randy Wittman said. “They got started early and really never cooled off.”
So, such a night begs a question: Has Miles emerged as the trusty scoring sidekick over Monta Ellis?
Though Ellis signed with Indiana to bond with George in the spread lineup, he’s been more of a willing facilitator than second-leading scorer and shares a team-best 5.3 assists per game. But Miles does not view this as a change in the pecking order. In fact, Miles wants to make more room in this duo.
“Obviously, Paul’s Batman,” Miles said, “but maybe we just got three Robins.”
Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner
Bulls at Pacers, 8 p.m. Friday, FSIThe Fight Against the Superbug
When Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, it was one of the world’s first true antibiotics to ever be successful in eliminating infectious disease. Since then, antibiotics have been essential to preventing avoidable deaths.
But a troubling reality faces us all. Throughout all of Earth’s evolutionary history, multicellular organisms have continually changed and adapted. But unicellular bacteria evolve so quickly, that a majority are now resistant to a wide array of antibiotics. The problem of antibiotic resistance is so serious, that the United Nations placed it at crisis level along with HIV.
As a response, scientists have taken on the challenge to solving this global pandemic. One group of scientists from Oregon State University (OSU) recently discovered a weapon in fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
These scientists found their answer inside a peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PPMO) molecule. They believe that this molecule could combat an enzyme produced by bacteria called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM-1) which is responsible for coding resistance along with several other genes.MUMBAI, April 27 -- In India, flying footwear is the new hunger strike, overtaking even the trendy Facebook protest as an expression of civil disobedience.
In the latest in a string of four shoe-hurling incidents during the month-long elections underway across India, a 21-year-old computer science student took aim at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a sparsely attended rally Sunday in the western city of Ahmedabad.
The shoe, of a yet-to-be-disclosed brand, landed 20 feet from the Oxford-educated economist, who appeared not to notice the tumult. Known for his cerebral, if dry, oratory, Singh, 76, continued to hold forth on economic development, reading from a written speech.
Elsewhere in Ahmedabad on Sunday night, someone lobbed a traditional wooden sandal at prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, an 81-year-old leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. It was the second time a sandal of conscience has been launched in Advani's direction this election season.
"Joota: The ultimate nonviolent weapon," a front-page headline in the Mumbai Mirror tabloid read Monday, using the Hindi word for shoe. An editorial cartoon in the paper showed shoes being handed back to hurlers on silk pillows with a new wristwatch inside, "to get around the Election Commission's code against bribing voters," the caption read.
The shoe-as-missile-of-discontent appears to have been inspired by Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who lobbed both his shoes at President George W. Bush in December. Zaidi became an international hero. But he also drew a year in prison.
In India, New Delhi journalist Jarnail Singh kicked off the "shoe bite," as the gesture is known here, when he threw a shoe at the home minister during a news conference this month in the capital. He said he was frustrated by the minister's reply to a question about riots in 1984 in which hundreds of Sikhs were killed.
Singh instantly became a national celebrity and was flooded with marriage proposals, boxes of sweets and even money. But he politely refused everything, saying that his shoe-throwing was a "nonprofit exercise."
The gesture resonates with many of India's poor and often illiterate voters, who say they do not have opportunities to question leaders about issues such as corruption, a common problem in this hierarchical society. Politicians rarely deal with the public in unscripted moments, except during elections.
"Shoe-throwing is a real expression of the frustration of the people," said Anil Bairwal of National Election Watch, a watchdog group. "But you have to consider that citizens are at a loss for what to do. For too long, they have hoped that the parties would improve themselves, be progressive, put the right people in the seats and work for the betterment of the people. But none of that has happened."
Throwing one's shoe at someone is seen as a powerful insult across South Asia and much of the Middle East. Indians rarely wear shoes indoors after being out in the often unsanitary streets. Showing the sole of a shoe is also considered an act of disrespect.
So far, no one who has thrown a shoe in India has been jailed. Some pundits here say that is a sign of the health of the world's largest democracy. Others say politically astute leaders realize that arresting the offenders may only make them bigger heroes -- and politicians bigger villains -- in the public's eyes.A top federal judge who is presiding over an obscenity trial in Los Angeles has been caught posting explicit photos and videos to his web site. The judge told the* Los Angeles Times* that he didn't think the site was publicly accessible.
Alex Kozinski (at right), a conservative appointee of former president Ronald Reagan who is chief of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, posted a photo of naked women standing on all fours and painted to look like cows, as well as a video of a half-naked man with a farm animal. A step-by-step pictorial depicted a woman shaving her pubic hair and other images showed masturbation and what the Times called "contortionist sex."
The images were posted to a subdomain of the judge's web site that could only be accessed by directly typing in the correct URL. The domain, however, was not password-protected. In addition to the pornographic images, the subdomain contained legal writings, music files and the judge's personal photos.
The judge told the Times that he accidentally loaded the images to his server and would not have intentionally posted them. He said he thought some of the photos were "funny" but acknowledged that the photo of the women painted as cows was "degrading" and "gross." He said, however, that he didn't think the images were obscene.
Kozinski is presiding over a case involving filmmaker Ira Isaacs who allegedly distributed sexual-fetish videos depicting bestiality and other images that are deemed potentially "criminally obscene."
A New York University professor has called for Kozinski to recuse himself from the Isaacs case saying the images could call into question his objectivity.
"The phrase'sober as a judge' resonates with the American public," Gillers said. "We don't want them to reveal their private selves publicly. This is going to upset a lot of people."
UPDATE: A tipster sent in this search link showing some of the files Kozinki had on his "stuff" subdomain before he took down his site (the site is no longer accessible). Many of them are.wmv files that can be found elsewhere on the internet. A reader has posted another link to a page where you can actually view some of the images that were said to be on Kozinski's site.
Photo: Paul Sakuma/APLegal Papers Claim Initiative Procedure Cannot Be Used To Undermine the Constitution's Core Commitment To Equality For Everyone
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
SAN FRANCISCO – The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court today urging the court to invalidate Proposition 8 if it passes. The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians. Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. According to the California Constitution, such radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.
The California Constitution itself sets out two ways to alter the document that sets the most basic rules about how state government works. Proposition 8 was put on the ballot through the initiative process. But any measure that would change the underlying principles of the constitution must first be approved by the legislature before being submitted to the voters. That didn't happen with Proposition 8, and that's why it's invalid.
"If the voters approved an initiative that took the right to free speech away from women, but not from men, everyone would agree that such a measure conflicts with the basic ideals of equality enshrined in our constitution. Proposition 8 suffers from the same flaw – it removes a protected constitutional right – here, the right to marry – not from all Californians, but just from one group of us," said Jenny Pizer, a staff attorney with Lambda Legal. "That's too big a change in the principles of our constitution to be made just by a bare majority of voters."
"A major purpose of the constitution is to protect minorities from majorities. Because changing that principle is a fundamental change to the organizing principles of the constitution itself, only the legislature can initiate such revisions to the constitution," added Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.
The groups filed the lawsuit today in the California Supreme Court on behalf of Equality California and 6 same-sex couples who did not marry before Tuesday's election but would like to be able to marry now.
The groups filed a writ petition in the California Supreme Court before the elections presenting similar arguments because they believed the initiative should not have appeared on the ballot, but the court dismissed that petition without addressing its merits. That earlier order is not precedent here.
"Historically, courts are reluctant to get involved in disputes if they can avoid doing so," said Shannon Minter, Legal Director of NCLR. "It is not uncommon for the court to wait to see what happens at the polls before considering these legal arguments. However, now that Proposition 8 may pass, the courts will have to weigh in and we believe they will agree that Proposition 8 should never have been on the ballot in the first place."
This would not be the first time the court has struck down an improper voter initiative. In 1990, the court stuck down an initiative that would have added a provision to the California Constitution stating that the "Constitution shall not be construed by the courts to afford greater rights to criminal defendants than those afforded by the Constitution of the United States." That measure was invalid because it improperly attempted to strip California's courts of their role as independent interpreters of the state's constitution.
In a statement issued earlier today, the groups stated their conviction, which is shared by the California Attorney General, that the state must continue to honor the marriages of the 18,000 lesbian and gay couples who have already married in California.
A copy of the statement is available at: www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/37701prs20081105.html.
A copy of the writ petition filed today is available at: www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/37709lgl20081105.html.
In addition to the ACLU, Lambda Legal and NCLR, the legal team bringing the writ also includes the Law Office of David C. Codell; Munger Tolles & Olson, LLP; and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP.The house at 8 Needham Road, where a person was fatally shot Sunday during a party.
RANDOLPH — Sharon Heath was home alone Sunday at 5 a.m. when Randolph police came to her door. They gave her the name and telephone number of a doctor at a hospital in Lynn and told her to call.
“Your son’s been shot,” the doctor told her. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Two hours earlier, police in Lynnfield had been summoned to a rented mansion on Needham Road, where Heath’s 33-year-old son, Keivan Heath, had been fatally shot during a party, investigators have said.
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On Wednesday, Boston police said two of their off-duty officers attended the party. The officers, both women, are not suspects and are cooperating with the investigation, said Police Commissioner William B. Evans.
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He said he did not know whether the officers were at the home when gunfire erupted at 3:04 a.m. Sunday. The department’s Bureau of Professional Standards is examining whether they broke any rules, Evans said.
“They’ve been contacted, and they’re working with the authorities to find out what happened in Lynnfield,” Evans told reporters before a police promotion ceremony. “It had nothing to do with their official capacity. I’m sure these two young ladies didn’t go there thinking that there was going to be a shooting.”
Heath said that she did not know her son had been in Lynnfield until after she learned of his death. She said Keivan was the father of two boys, ages 13 and 1.
“He left out of here like he usually does, ‘Ma, I’ll be back,’ ” Heath said Wednesday at her home in Randolph. “If my son was there, he apparently felt safe.... But he apparently wasn’t and now my son is dead.”
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The Essex district attorney’s office is investigating the homicide, and no arrests had been reported by Wednesday.
In Lynnfield, town officials have ordered Alex Styller, who owns the property where the fatal shooting occurred, to stop making the home available for short-term rentals.
In a cease-and-desist notice dated Tuesday, Building Inspector John Roberto III wrote that zoning rules prohibit Styller from renting the property short-term.
The notice instructs Styller to stop listing his home with Airbnb and other companies that advertise short-term rentals. Styller declined Wednesday to comment.
He has 30 days to appeal the decision, said Phil Crawford, chairman of the Lynnfield Board of Selectmen.
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Styller said he rented out the property on the Memorial Day weekend for what he was told would be a college reunion. He declined to say who rented the home, but described one individual involved as a Boston man with a college degree and stable work history.
Styller said he expected five people to stay overnight and up to 20 to attend the reunion. He has said that investigators told him 60 to 100 people attended the party.
According to Styller, the renters arrived Friday at 2 p.m. and he met with them on Saturday afternoon to give instructions for the pool. At that time, Styller said five people were on the property.
“I screen my renters extremely carefully,” he said. “There is nothing that would have raised a red flag.”
The victim’s mother, Sharon Heath, is tired of hearing about the home where her son was shot. “Every time I turn on the news I’m hearing about the stupid mansion,” she said. “We’re hurting.”
Andy Rosen and John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.comHALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s Liberal government tabled legislation Tuesday that would impose a new four-year contract for the province’s 9,300 teachers and result in an end to their union’s legal strike position.
The contract was included as part of the Teachers Professional Agreement and Classroom Improvement Act, which once passed, would end the 16-month long contract dispute.
The bill was introduced as a large group of teachers protested the move in the chilly night air outside the legislature.
Premier Stephen McNeil told reporters it was simply time for the government to act after the union membership rejected three tentative agreements recommended by the union’s executive.
“I was hoping that the most recent one (contract) would have been accepted,” said McNeil. “Work-to-rule is having an impact on schools across this province and this is to try to put some normalcy back in the classrooms.”
The new contract contains a three per cent salary increase and incorporates much of the elements contained in the first two tentative agreements rejected by members of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union. A third tentative deal was rejected last week by a vote of 78.5 per cent, prompting the government to push ahead with a legislated settlement.
The salary package includes zero per cent for the first two years, followed by increases of one per cent in the third year and 1.5 per cent in the fourth, with a 0.5 per cent increase on the last day of the agreement.
McNeil said it was the same wage pattern teacher’s rejected in the first deal, although by a smaller margin than in subsequent votes, and that’s why it was adopted by the government. He said the government wasn’t attempting to punish teachers for voting no to the latest deal.
“Not at all. We had to have a contract and the one that the majority of them voted for was the first one, it’s as simple as it gets,” McNeil said.
The government said the province would save $18 million in contract costs over the most recently rejected deal.
Outside the legislature, teachers were quick to express their disappointment with an imposed settlement they say tramples their right to collective bargaining and doesn’t address conditions in the classroom.
“I leave here tonight with nothing that is going to help me in the classroom,” said Terry Williams, a Grade 6 teacher at a school in suburban Halifax.
Williams, who also coaches softball and soccer, said he would now have to consider whether it was worth his time to continue volunteering outside of classroom duties.
“As much as I love it, as much as I want to do it for the kids, do I want to go above and beyond after this process of just feeling neglected and not appreciated,” he said.
The bill establishes a council to improve classroom conditions and a commitment of $20 million over two years to address that issue.
There will also be a three-person commission on inclusive education that will be launched 30 days after the bill is passed. The commission is expected to submit an interim report by June 30, which will leave enough time for recommendations to be implemented for the upcoming school year.
Union president Liette Doucet said her membership would be angered by the imposition of a deal that actually loses the minor gains contained in the most recently rejected deal. Two paid leave days were also among provisions that didn’t make it into the new contract.
“They were already upset about the fact that they were not getting a cost of living increase and so now that has been made worse,” Doucet said.
Under the bill, teachers would be prevented from withdrawing some services while at school, a move related to such things as staff meetings and professional development. Participation in voluntary aspects such as coaching sports teams would be left to an individual teacher’s discretion.
There is also a commitment to examine class sizes at the junior and senior high levels and to look at the creation of a program to help teachers access their long-service awards prior to retirement, although the retirement bonuses would remain frozen.
Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie said his party would not support a government bill he described as “odious.”
“Adding more committees and more bureaucracy — the time is past for that. That’s why teachers don’t trust them and parents don’t trust them to actually make change.”
NDP Leader Gary Burrill panned the legislation calling it the “Slap in the Face Act.”
“What there ought to have been from the beginning was competent negotiations,” he said.
It’s expected it will take a week or more to pass the bill into law.
The union is demanding its members be allowed to speak when the opportunity comes to propose amendments.For the first time ever in a statewide Field Poll, a majority of state voters expressed support for legalizing and taxing marijuana. A poll released last week showed 56 percent of Californians support legalization.
Earlier this year, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education act (AB 390) would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.
“With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move toward regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense. This legislation would generate up to $1.3 billion in much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes, Ammiano said. “California has the opportunity to be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana.”
The poll bolstered the call for legalized marijuana that has stirred since Ammiano introduced his legislation and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the government would no longer raid and prosecute legal marijuana medical dispensaries.
“One of the most respected research firms in the country has confirmed other recent polls and our sense of the groundswell that followed the introduction of AB 390 by Assemblymember Ammiano,” said Stephen Gutwillig, California State Director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “Californians are ready to end decades of failed and wasteful marijuana prohibition. Just as we led the nation in the compassionate adoption of medical marijuana, this state will set the standard for common-sense regulation, generating substantial new revenue for California and enhancing public safety.”
Though Gov. Arnold Schwarzen |
despair?
While at many times the film may seem to despair for the future of Hong Kong, Chow said that its ultimate message is one of hope.
"Some audiences, they see despair, but when I look into their eyes and spoke to them, they were so eager to find solutions for Hong Kong after watching the move," he said.
Ng said that he spoke to Hong Kongers from all walks of society for the project, and when he asked them about the future, "I saw flames in their eyes, it's like they're filled with energy."
"We caught that passion and decided to put it on the screen."
In many ways, the directors said they hoped the film would jar people into taking action to prevent it becoming reality.
"A lot of people in Hong Kong don't talk about politics," Chow said.
"Many people are thinking about emigrating to other places, it's happening again," he added, referring to the mass exodus of Hong Kongers in the years leading up to the 1997 handover of sovereignty from the UK to China.
"How many people are willing to stay in Hong Kong and fight back? How many people are willing to defend Hong Kong? Will people just give up on our home?"We first wrote about Vampyr all the way back in January, when it was supposedly shown behind closed doors. Apparently a horror-themed role-playing game, it's being made by French developer Dontnod - the team behind the stylish Remember Me, which released on the PlayStation 3 in 2013.
Vampyr certainly sounds intriguing, as it places you in the shoes of a post-World War doctor who's been transformed into a vampire. Other than this strange story backdrop, though, we know next to nothing about the game - but that's set to change at E3 next month. According to publisher Focus Home Interactive's E3 press release, the macabre RPG will be getting a teaser trailer at the Los Angeles event.
Are you looking forward to seeing more of this one? Sharpen your fangs in the comments section below.Welcome to Curbed’s first-ever Transportation Week! From how to improve public transportation in cities, ranking the best car-free neighborhoods across the country, and a friendly competition between NYC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to determine which has the best public transit, this week is all about how we get around in our favorite cities. All aboard!
While a strategic position between the Great Lakes and the navigable system of waterways feeding into the Mississippi River might have been the “why” behind Chicago’s rise, the invention of the rail was certainly the “how.” At the height of passenger travel and rail-based commerce, Chicago is the single most important hub for the United States—linking East to West and North to South.
While the heyday of rail may be behind us, this mode of transportation is an inseparable part of Chicago’s DNA and will continue to play a prominent role in its future.
Commercial Transportation Powerhouse
In his 1916 ode to Chicago, Carl Sandburg referred to the city as the “hog butcher for the world, tool maker, stacker of wheat; player with railroads and the nation's freight handle.” With more lines of track radiating in more directions from Chicago than from any other North American city, the description was clearly right on target. The city served as a vital gateway and distribution center for transporting the bountiful grain and livestock from the Midwest to the rest of the continent and the world.
Chicago built its first rail connection in 1848 to connect the Windy City with the lead mines of Galena, Illinois. Later lines connected the city with Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, and St. Paul. The sudden rise of rail-based commercial transportation corresponded with Chicago’s post-Great Fire building boom. As a result, “Chicago 2.0” was tailor-made with rail as a top priority.
Freight from other cities was also funneled through the central yards of Chicago, where it was classified and then transferred to massive outlying sorting yards on the city’s periphery. Recognizing both its importance and centralized location, the majority of the railroad companies building west of Chicago chose the city for their corporate headquarters.
Connecting Cities
At the height of passenger rail’s popularity, Chicago was the undisputed railroad center of the United States and contained no less than six city-to-city train terminals. As the mode of transportation declined in the 20th century with the rise of the interstate highway system and growth in commercial aviation, buildings such as the Great Central Station, Grand Central Station, and Dearborn Station were eventually razed, repurposed, or replaced by more localized commuter routes rather than intercity service.
Only Amtrak’s Union Station remains largely unchanged from how it appeared at the height of Chicago’s Golden Age of rail. After decades of deterioration, the 92-year-old Beaux Arts structure at 225 Canal Street has received a number of recent renovations including repairs to the massive skylight of its Great Hall, the addition of the new Metropolitan Lounge, a makeover of the water-damaged former women's lounge into the gorgeous Burlington Room, and the thorough restoration of the marble staircase immortalized in the “baby carriage” scene of The Untouchables.
These upgrades are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to future plans for the nation's third busiest train station. This spring, Amtrak concluded its search for a master developer for Union Station and its 14 acres of adjacent downtown real estate. The ambitious multi-phase redevelopment plan from Riverside Investment & Development Co. and partner Convexity Properties calls for 3.1 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space and is estimated to cost more than $1 billion.
Beyond upgrades to Chicago’s busiest station, the future also looks bright for improving service across the greater Midwest rail network. While adding or improving train service is often a long, slow, and expensive undertaking subject to the shifting political whims of state, local, and federal entities, a high-speed rail link between Chicago and St. Louis is on track to enter service next year. Though slower than the super high-speed lines found in some overseas countries, the new trains will reach speeds of up to 110 miles per hour. Amtrak is also in the process of rehabbing its aging fleet of Amfleet coach cars.
Connecting Neighborhoods
Though rail transit played an invaluable role in bringing commercial goods and passengers to and from the rest of the United States, its continued importance in connecting Chicagoans on a more local level cannot be understated. Hundreds of thousands of riders rely on the Windy City’s network of municipal and regional commuter trains each day to move easily between Chicago’s neighborhoods, Central Business District, and various outlying suburbs.
This year marked the 125th anniversary of Chicago’s iconic ‘L’ system. Though predated only by New York’s first elevated train line, Chicago innovated urban mass transit when the city started replacing its gas-lit cars and coal-fired steam engines with fully electrified trains in the late 1890’s. Drawing on technology demonstrated a few years earlier by the “intramural railway” of the Chicago World’s Fair, the big breakthrough came with the adoption of a distributed mechanical system.
Eliminating the need for a dedicated engine car, this revolutionary solution placed motors and braking equipment in each train car. The result not only increased performance, but removed the need to rotate trains in roundhouses at the end of each line. This basic layout soon became the gold standard for urban metro rail and has been adopted across the globe.
The train system that gave the Loop its name has been expanded, rerouted, demolished and upgraded over the past 125 years. It features a wide variety of architectural styles. From the historic and soon to be landmarked 1897 Quincy stop to the midcentury modern stations of the Blue Line and IIT campus to the Loop’s state-of-the-art Washington-Wabash “superstation,” Chicago’s ‘L’ system is as architecturally diverse as the city itself.
With rising ridership, new trends in urban living, and forward-looking legislation, Chicago’s local rail network is playing an even larger role in real estate development. Thanks to an expanded 2015 Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) ordinance, new areas of the city are ditching auto-centric developments for more dense, walkable, and environmentally friendly designs made possible by their proximity to transit.
With rail transit paying such rich dividends, it’s little wonder why City Hall is pursuing plans to increase capacity and extend service to underserved neighborhoods.Image caption Foxconn workers will receive the pay hike after three months' probation
An electronics company hit by a string of suicides has raised wages in China - for the second time in less than a week.
Foxconn will increase salaries at its Shenzhen plant by nearly 70% from as early as 1 October, if workers meet certain conditions.
This is in addition to last week's announcement that wages would go up by 30%.
There have been 10 suicides at the Taiwan firm's Shenzhen factory in 2010.
Shares down
A statement from Foxconn, which makes Apple's iPad and iPhone, as well as other top brands, said the second pay rise would lessen the pressure on workers to do overtime.
"While overtime work was always voluntary, this wage increase will reduce overtime work as a personal necessity," the statement said.
It said wages for production line employees at the firm's Shenzhen plant would rise from 1,200 yuan ($176, £122) to 2,000 yuan.
Image caption The firm makes products for Apple and other technology brands
To get that pay rise, workers first have to pass a performance test lasting three months.
New employees will be put on probation for the same amount of time before getting the increase.
Pay increases for workers at Foxconn's other Chinese plants - it employs more than 800,000 people in China - will be announced from July 1.
"This wage increase has been instituted to safeguard the dignity of workers," said Foxconn's founder and chairman, Terry Gou.
This latest announcement is in addition to last Wednesday's pay rise of 30% at all its factories in China.
Foxconn, the trading name for Hon Hai Precision Industry Company, declined to say why there have been two large wage increases in less than a week.
"I can't comment on that," said a company spokeswoman.
The firm has been hit by a series of suicides this year.
Ten people have killed themselves at its plant in Shenzhen, in southern China, which employs about 400,000 people. Three more apparently tried to take their own lives.
Mr Gou said he was having trouble sleeping at night - and dreads an after-hours phone call, fearing it will be another suicide.
Increasing pay is just one method to make sure workers are more "stable and comfortable".
Foxconn has also employed psychiatrists and installed safety nets on buildings.
While the pay rise is good for workers, investors took a different view.
The company's shares fell sharply on the Taiwan stock market following the announcement of the second pay rise.
Trading in the company's shares on the Hong Kong Exchange was suspended on Monday.Since few days back, the web has been abuzz with rumor of development of a Humble Indie Store that sells cross platform games.
This rumor was fueled when people found direct links to purchase indie games. Try it yourself. Just add the name of game at the end of link. All small, no spaces. Like this:
Gish, World of Goo, Aquaria, Lugaru, Samorost 2, Cortex Command, Machinarium, Osmos, Revenge of Titans, Trine, Shadowgrounds, Shadowgrounds Survivor, Splot, Jack Claw, Cogs, Hammerfight, And yet it moves, Steelstorm, Atom Zombie Smasher, Trauma, SpaceChem, Voxatron, Chocolate Castle, Jasper's Journeys, Zen Puzzle Garden, Dungeons of Dredmor, VVVVVV
However, the rumor died as Humble Indie has always been providing a widget for indie devs to sell their games. Check the link below:
Indiegamemag was not content with it decided to go to the root of matter. So they bought a game from the widget and were greeted by 'Humble Store' instead of 'Humble Bundle' They also received email confirmation from 'Humble Store'. was not content with it decided to. So they bought a game from the widget and were greeted by 'Humble Store' instead of 'Humble Bundle' They also received email confirmation from 'Humble Store'.
Indiegamemag directly contacted Jeff Rosen. This is what he said: However, this was still not enough. No official word yet. So. This is what he said:
“The Humble Store is something we are working on”.
“We don’t really have anything to announce at the moment. It is a super easy way to buy games. You can see it in action on a few sites like braidgame.com and wolfire.com/overgrowth. When we open it up to more developers, we will let people know. Any ETA at the moment would be pretty inaccurate.”
So still not a 100% confirmation but we can say that something is being developed by Humble guys. A Store or some other way of buying DRM free games at one place is definitely on the cards.
If this happens Humble Indie Store can give serious competition to Steam and Desura considering the advantages it can offer. You don't even have to make an account. Just put your email, buy the game and all proceeds go to devs. No cuts.When it comes to marijuana legalization Texas wants to pass it in their state. In fact, the vast majority of Texans want existing marijuana policy reformed—or, preferably, done away with entirely. Results from a poll in February revealed less than 20 percent support for keeping cannabis outright illegal. More Texans want outright marijuana legalization than support the current status quo.
The change in attitude is coming thanks to other states legalizing, but also to widespread awareness that, hey, this stuff is really medicine. Earlier this year, a Texas family whose daughter suffers from severe autism recorded a video demonstrating this notion for anyone with eyes.
But you can’t go from red-state prohibition straight to marijuana legalization. (Or at least no one does.)
A reasonable compromise, then, would have been allowing extremely sick people to more easily use medical marijuana. This is the concept supported by more than 80 percent of voters—and, for once, a bevy of lawmakers, like the 77 Democrats and Republicans who supported such an expansion of the state’s extremely limited medical marijuana program.
Not that it mattered.
Marijuana reform is dead in Texas this year, despite “unprecedented” support, as the San Antonio Express-News reported.
What happened?
The way representative government is supposed to work in a democratic republic such as ours, elected officials do the bidding of their constituents. Sounds simple, but as the current ongoing debacle with healthcare in Congress is demonstrating, that’s not quite how it works.
And with marijuana policy, this easy formula breaks down with even more predictability.
Across the country, lawmakers have proved remarkably unwilling to touch marijuana reform. Marijuana legalization has come only via ballot initiatives, and even medical marijuana needs the cover of a public vote. The few medical marijuana programs to come via state legislatures are, by no coincidence, the country’s strictest.
So. The medical marijuana bill supported by those 77 state lawmakers was never called to the floor of the Texas State House for a vote. A companion bill in the State Senate never even received a hearing, the Express-News reported.
Another bill that would have followed the lead of Houston, which earlier this year downgraded marijuana possession to an infraction punishable by a fine, also didn’t make it to the floor for a vote before the legislative deadline last week.
State Rep. Jason Isaac, a Republican and the bill’s sponsor, chalks up the medical cannabis failure to education.
The bill would have expanded the state’s medical marijuana program to allow sick people who aren’t epileptic kids to use the drug. It would also have allowed strains of cannabis with slight levels of THC, a necessary component for many patients who need pain relief, appetite stimulation and, possibly, tumors shrunk.
But since THC is also in recreational marijuana, that harbinger of all that is bad, Isaac’s colleagues collapsed, he told the paper.
Isaac is being political, which behooves his position, considering he’ll need help in the future from the craven crew who screwed him: the shot-callers in the State House, the ones who decide which bills deserve to be debated in a public forum, who decided this just wasn’t going to be the year for marijuana reform.
As a result, Isaac told the newspaper, he has constituents who are either buying weed on the black market to give to an autistic child like Kara Zartler, seen in the video, or a parent with cancer—or they’re leaving Texas entirely.
Other cannabis advocates took the long view.
In prior years, decriminalization efforts didn’t even get calendared. Think of that!
It’s progress for lawmakers to blow a deadline to discuss a popular issue, and not to merely ignore it entirely. This shows you both how far we’ve come and how much further there is to go.
In preparation for marijuana legalization Texas voters should remember two things: the nonviolent drug offenders and the sick people who will suffer, and the recalcitrant lawmakers whose inaction ensured it.Tomatoes to French or runner beans, there’s no need to buy seeds. Simple steps save them and preserve heritage varieties, advises our Vertical Veg man as part of his series about container gardening
Until 50 or 60 years ago, saving some of your own seed was an integral part of the gardening year for most vegetable gardeners. Over generations, their dedication helped to create a rich diversity of vegetable varieties, adapted to suit the local soil and climate. Knowledge of how to save seeds has largely been lost by amateur gardeners and today many of us assume that they are something you have to buy in packets from seed suppliers.
This is a shame. Not least because there is something immensely rewarding about saving a few of your own seeds. You get to watch them grow the following year. You can share them with your friends and neighbours, or give them away as presents. You can take them to seed swaps to exchange for other intriguing varieties. And by saving your own seeds you can also help to preserve heritage varieties, many of which are in danger of being lost.
Some vegetables are easier to save seeds from than others. When growing in a small space, it’s easiest to save good quality seeds from “self-pollinated” crops. This is because self-pollinated plants hold all the genetic information they need for healthy offspring within one plant (so even if you are only growing one plant you can save seeds from it – although the more the better). Self-pollinated crops include tomatoes, French and runner beans, lettuce, peas, chillies, and peppers.
Chillies are among self-pollinating plants that make it easy to save seeds. Photograph: Mark Ridsdill Smith
Cross-pollinated crops, on the other hand, present more difficulty when saving healthy seeds. This is because the genetic information for a healthy population is not held in one individual plant but scattered across several. So to save healthy seeds you need to grow a larger number, maybe 16 plants or more (the number varies with the crop). You’ll also need to prevent them cross-fertilising with your neighbour’s crops. Cross-pollinated plants include most root crops, brassicas (such as rocket, mizuna or cabbage), chard, spinach, onions and sweetcorn.
As well as knowing which crops are easiest to save seeds from, there are also a few golden rules that apply to all seed saving.
Do:
Save seeds from healthy plants.
Ensure your seeds are dry before storing them – and keep them somewhere cool and dry. A large glass jar with a lid or a plastic Tupperware is perfect.
Don’t:
Save seeds from F1s. F1s are hybrids, and if you save seeds from them, the plant you grow is unlikely to have the same characteristics as the parent plants. (Seed packets tell you if the plant is an F1).
Two of the easiest seeds to save (as well as being two of the best crops for small spaces) are tomatoes and French beans. Both have the added benefit that there are many intriguing heritage varieties that you never see in the shops (check out the Heritage Seed Library for their wonderful collection).
How to save tomato seeds step by step
Mature, very ripe tomatoes are good for saving seeds with a few simple steps Photograph: Mark Ridsdill Smith
1. Identify a healthy, ripe tomato on your plant. You can save the seeds as soon as it is ripe to eat - but it is even better if you can leave it on the plant for a week or two more to let it ripen further (so it’s over-ripe in eating terms). This gives the seeds more time to mature. Tie a label round the fruits you want to save seeds from so you don’t pick them by mistake!
2. Pick the tomato and cut it in half. Spoon out both the seeds and pulp into a bowl or pot, mush it up slightly, and add a few tablespoons of water.
3. Leave the gooey mess in a warm place to ferment. If it goes a bit mouldy that is normal and nothing to worry about. The purpose of the fermentation is to break down the gel that surrounds the seed coat of tomatoes.
4. After three to four days, skim off the debris from the surface and clean and rinse the seeds in water (a metal sieve can help).
5. Separate the seeds (so they don’t stick together) and leave them to dry on a plate or a glass surface. Avoid drying them on paper as they can stick.
6. When they are completely dry after a few days, pop them in a paper envelope, and label it with the name of the variety and the date you saved the seeds.
You can watch a video of Peter Brinch, founder of the campaign for Open Pollinated Seeds, doing this here.
How to save French or runner bean seeds
A heritage variety of French beans. Photograph: Mark Ridsdill Smith
1. Identify healthy ripe beans to save seeds from. Those at the bottom of the plant will ripen and be ready to save first.
2. Leave the beans on the plant until the pods swell, and turn yellow and then brown. When brown, harvest the pods on a dry day.
3. Bring the pods inside and leave them to continue to dry. When the pods are crisp and crackle when broken, shell the beans and put them in a packet, and label.
Even if you’re just growing in a few containers, you can have a lot of fun and satisfaction in giving seed saving a go. I urge you to give it a try.
Next time: shoots and micro greens you can grow throughout the winter.
Interested in finding out more about how you can live better? Take a look at this month’s Live Better challenge here.
The Live Better Challenge is funded by Unilever; its focus is sustainable living. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here.Share. The Avengers face threats at home and away in Marvel's latest event. The Avengers face threats at home and away in Marvel's latest event.
Age of Ultron just wrapped up last week, but Marvel is already paving the way for its next event comic. But despite the short gap between the two stories, Infinity has been in the works ever since Jonathan Hickman first took the reins of Avengers and New Avengers. The story spins directly out of current conflicts and sees the Avengers fighting a massive battle on two fronts. On one hand, Captain America leads an A-List team of heroes deep into space to confront a looming threat from a group of beings called The Builders. That leaves Earth almost completely unprotected and ripe for an invasion by Thanos and his army.
That's the crux of Infinity, a story which will unfold in a mini-series of the same name, both of Hickman's Avengers titles, and various other tie-ins (including the recently announced Mighty Avengers ongoing). Marvel held one of their "Next Big Thing" press calls today to shed more light on Infinity and how it fits into Hickman's overarching plan for the Avengers. Joining Hickman was Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort.
To start off, Brevoort reiterated the core concept of the event. "Infinity is a direct outgrowth of the events that have been building slowly through Avengers and New Avengers since we started the books as part of Marvel NOW. It is a big, epic, space sci-fi spectacular in which, in terms of the little loose shorthand we've been using, there's a war on two fronts. The Avengers and most of Earth's other big heroes have to head out into the outer reaches of the cosmos to deal with a threat coming this way that's plowing its way through the other known cosmic civilizations on its way to Earth."
Brevoort continued, "While that is happening, Thanos sees his opportunity for he and his forces to descend on a largely unprotected Earth looking for something - looking for that which Thanos desires. So there will be stuff going out on the biggest canvas you can imagine in terms of space, cosmic, and galactic, but there will also be things simultaneously going on in our own backyard. These two arms of the story will intersect and dovetail before the piece is over."
The conversation then shifted to how Avengers and New Avengers will intertwine with the Infinity mini-series. Brevoort said that Infinity will veer slightly from Marvel's traditional strategy of offering a core mini-series and a slate of tie-in projects. "There are events taking place in the core Infinity series that will be greatly expanded upon and illuminated in the Avengers and New Avengers tie-in issues. It's really not wrong to say that these are virtually as important as the core book. That's why, even in terms of the cover setup we're using for them, Avengers and New Avengers will carry an Infinity cover dress that is much closer visually to the Infinity mini-series."
Brevoort compared it to the relationship between Secret Invasion and concurrent issues of Mighty Avengers/New Avengers. "But in this case, even more so, because these tie-ins are happening in real-time, whereas Brian [Bendis] tended to use those tie-ins to kind of tell side-stories or focus in on a single character or two characters... Here, we're dealing with the actual big events of this massive cosmic war that's going on in linear, regular time. There are essentially two tracks - you can follow the Avengers track and you can follow the New Avengers track. But they do kind of jig together in this nice symphony if you're looking at it all together." Hickman joked that Marvel solicited a six-issue mini-series and he delivered a 16-issue series instead.
Hickman then clarified how the art duties on the core Infinity series will be divided. Jim Cheung is pencilling the first and last issues of Infinity. Jerome Opena and Dustin Weaver are splitting pages on issue #2-5, with Opena handling the cosmic sequences while Weaver tackles the material set on Earth. Hickman said, “I've worked with Jerome and Dustin before, and they're both fantastic artists that are equally adept at world-building and character interaction. It's always a pleasure. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that the big stuff inside my head is always better when it's realized by those two guys.”
As for Cheung, Hickman said he had been looking forward to the chance to work with the artist. “He's one of my favorite artists... I've asked for him on pretty much everything. It was such a pleasure to start seeing him draw the stuff I'm writing. He just makes it so much better.” Cheung had previously drawn the Infinity FCBD prologue issue, and Brevoort revealed that that comic will be made available digitally for readers who missed the print version.
Mike Deodato will continue drawing New Avengers for the course of Infinity, while Leinil Yu is handling Avengers. Hickman praised both artists, and said of Yu's work, “I gave Leinil some of the hardest stuff I've ever given anyone, and he's just crushed it. I feel like every time I start a new script I need to write even more difficult stuff just to see if we can break him.”
As press questions began, Hickman was asked to shed more light on the Builders and what specific threat they pose to the galaxy's heroes. “Before I was doing Infinity, I was always going to do a story called 'Avengers Universe,' happening at this exact same time in the Avengers. All of this kind of got married into that. This is sort of the culmination of everything we started back in issue #1 – the guys on Mars, the garden created by the Builders, who are this nebulous, older than ancient race in the universe. They've been building great societies and destroying them based on whether or not they were were worthy enough to evolve. This all comes to a head, like everything I'm doing in the Avengers books. There's the stuff happening on the top with the Avengers, which is what this is. There's the stuff happening underground, which is what New Avengers is. Because of the events in New Avengers, all of these guys start interacting with the Marvel cosmic and are heading to Earth, and the Avengers have to become prime players in stopping them.”
Infinity will mainly focus on the same large cast of characters from Hickman's two Avengers books, along with characters like Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, Brevoort teased a large presence from the Inhumans, as well as appearances by Super-Skrull, Ronan the Accuser, Gladiator and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. “This is about a big story in terms of scale as anything that's been done in the Marvel Universe.”
Age of Ultron was notable for its accelerated shipping schedule, which saw all ten issues ship between March and June. Infinity won't ship quite as rapidly, but it will have a fairly compressed schedule. Issue #1 ships in August. Both September and October will see the series ship twice, and the final issue will ship in November. Both issues #1 and 6 will be oversized. Brevoort compared the level of ancillary tie-ins to events like Fear Itself and Secret Invasion. “It's not absolutely every single book, but it's a wide swath. Probably a slightly greater concentration on the Avengers/Marvel heroes side of the line, but not exclusively. So there will be X-Men titles that tie in. There will be Spider-Man stuff that ties in.”
Obviously Infinity isn't the first Marvel event to have the word "infinity" in the title. The original Infinity Gauntlet was followed up by a number of sequels including Infinity War, Infinity Crusade, and Infinity Abyss, many of which featured Thanos prominently. Brevoort talked about the connections between those books and this one. “There's typically been something of interest to Thanos in all of these stories, whether it was the Cosmic Cube, the Soul Gems, the Infinity Gems, or what have you. In that regard, Infinity is no different. But it's not the same story. It's not the fourth or fifth part of that Infinity cycle... While there's obviously a thematic resonance in that it's called 'Infinity,' that doesn't have to do so much with the Infinity Gauntlet, per se, so much as it does the scope and scale and other things that will become more apparent when you read the book.” That said, Brevoort hinted that recent events involving the Illuminati's accidental destruction of the Infinity Gems might be touched upon in Infinity.
Finally, Brevoort and Hickman discussed Thanos' presence in upcoming Marvel Studios movies and if the desire was to craft an accessible, cosmically-oriented epic to capitalize on the growing popularity of Marvel's cosmic characters. Brevoort said, “All we really know for certain is what you guys know, that Thanos was in the end of Avengers as the sort of after-credits Easter egg. And certainly the fact that he was there got a lot of people really interested, which is why we've done the stories we have. We did Brian's story in Avengers Assemble that came out around the same time. We've done Thanos Rising. And it's why we're doing a big, huge story that Thanos is at the center of. It's nice, easy, low-hanging fruit. Clearly, a lot of people are interested in him or re-interested in him."
Brevoort continued, "Clearly, it doesn't hurt us that he was on 10 million movie screens and in a billion DVD players recently. I absolutely hope to take advantage of that and get a bunch of people who haven't checked out what we do to give us a gander and become interested in this as advance peek as to what might happen with Thanos in the cinematic world i none way, shape or form. But really, we're doing what we always do. We're doing our thing... We're guided by the stories we want to tell and the things we want to do rather than specifically setting up anything [Marvel Studios] are doing."
Hickman said, "In terms of what we get out of it, specifically relating to the comics, this is the first big kind of pushpin moment that we have in the longer Avengers plan that I originally pitched to Tom. This is the first of three of these that are going to be continually escalating. This is big. Like Tom aid, it's as big as we can go. What we get out of it is something that will project us forward into something even bigger."
Scroll down for a look at more variant covers and interior art from the core Infinity mini-series:
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.The term Seattle Freeze refers to a widely held belief that it is especially difficult to make new friends in the city of Seattle, Washington, particularly for transplants from other cities. A 2005 Seattle Times article appears to be the first known use of the term, though a 1946 Seattle Daily Times excerpt also describes the phenomenon.[1][2]
Newcomers to the area have described Seattleites as being standoffish, cold, distant, and distrustful,[3] while in settings such as bars and parties, people from Seattle tend to mainly interact with their particular clique.[4] One author[who?] described the aversion to strangers as that "people are very polite but not particularly friendly".[5] While some residents dispute the existence of the Seattle Freeze,[6][7] a 2008 peer-reviewed study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that among all 50 states, Washington residents ranked 48th in the personality trait extroverted.[8] In 2014 a similar report by the Seattle CityClub ranked the population 48th out of 50 similarly-sized cities in activities such as "talking with neighbors frequently".[9] The rapid growth of Amazon and its accompanying influx of largely young, male technology workers may have exacerbated the problem.[10][11]
It has been speculated that the origin of the phenomenon could stem from the reserved personalities of the city's early Nordic[12] and Asian immigrants.[2] Other reasons may include the emotional effects of the climate (such as Seasonal Affective Disorder), or the region's history of independent-minded pioneers.[2][13][14]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]Buy Photo Sylvia Hendon. (Photo: Enquirer file)Buy Photo
A Hamilton County judge will decide whether a transgender boy whose parents, according to court documents, want "Christian-based" therapy for him can receive treatment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
The 16-year-old wants to transition in gender, but court documents say his parents have denied he is transgender, have refused services from Children's Hospital and at one point refused to allow him to change his "appearance to a male look."
The teen has reported that he was once forced to sit in a room and listen to Bible scriptures for more than six hours at a time, the documents say.
The case is in Hamilton County Juvenile Court. County social workers are asking a visiting judge, Sylvia Hendon, to order treatment for the teen at Children’s Hospital.
In court Tuesday, attorneys for all parties asked the courtroom to be closed to the media. Hendon granted that request. But before the courtroom was closed, an attorney for the parents, Karen Brinkman, said there are allegations in the complaint that are not true.
The hearing is scheduled to continue Thursday.
Early this year, Hamilton County Job and Family Services filed a complaint, seeking temporary custody of the teen. That was granted, and he was placed with his grandparents.
The teen, according to the complaint, at one point was seeing a therapist through Children's Hospital. But that therapy was stopped early last year by his parents, the complaint says.
The therapy, however, later resumed due to the teen's anxiety and depression, even as his parents were "still opposed to the transition issue," the documents say.
In October 2016, the complaint says the teen's father was told by a therapist that the teen doesn't "have the coping skills to manage the home situation."
More: Library settles transgender lawsuit, now covers transgender surgery
The teen's mother then emailed that they were going to seek a Christian therapist, the complaint says.
According to the complaint, in November 2016 the teen emailed a crisis hotline that one of his parents had told him to kill himself and refused to let him get therapy "unless it was Christian-based."
During a December 2016 meeting at Children's Hospital, the teen tried to read a letter to his parents, the complaint says.
NEWSLETTERS Get the News Alerts newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Be the first to be informed of important news as it happens in Greater Cincinnati. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-876-4500. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for News Alerts Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
His mother stood up, the complaint says, pointed her finger at him and screamed, "You're a liar!"
The teen started shaking and curled into "the fetal position."
The case has similarities to that of transgender teen, Leelah Alcorn, who in 2014 ran into traffic on Interstate 71, was struck and killed. In a note left behind on social media, Leelah said her evangelical parents’ efforts to change her with “Christian therapy” left her without hope.
More: Want to complain about LGBT conversion therapy in Cincinnati? It isn't easy
Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/2AZKwXYI call this a Chicken Barrow instead of a Chicken Tractor because it really reminds me more of a wheel barrow than a tractor!
Anyway, after researching chicken tractors in-depth online, I finally decided on the "hoop house" type design and am very pleased with how it came out. I think this is a good project for someone with little to no building skills, and it's easy to get your friends to help because they want to know what it is!
I enlisted the help of some girlfriends and my carpenter husband, who offered lots of advice for my |
suitable for walking than riding among the Vikings.
Flósi var í leistabrókum því að hann ætlaði að ganga. Vissi hann að þá mundi öðrum minna fyrir þykja að ganga.
Njáls saga, chapter 134 (original text with modern Icelandic orthography) Flósi wore leistabrók because he meant to walk. He knew that then the others would mind it less to walk. (Or more precisely "knew he that then would others less think of walking" where 'think less of' is meant literally instead of a synonym for 'have a lower opinion of')
Translation with help from Tor Gjerde
Personally, I do not find the few passages in the sagas a sufficient argument to limit footed brækr to walking, but neither do I agree with Hägg that a seam running underneath the foot would be an argument for these being exclusive riding brækr. Several of the existing hose from before and after the Viking Age have a foot piece with a seam along the bottom of the foot, without being classified as riding hose. The seat construction of the early Iron Age brækr make them well suited for riding, but the flexibility of movement could also be an advantage when fighting, sailing or working.
If we look at picture stones and figurines, we can find several people that might be wearing leistabrækr and who is walking or riding. Of course, this is not conclusive - on a picture stone or figurine it is pretty much impossible to tell the difference between footed brækr, hose or bare feet.
Picture stone from Lärbro, Tängelgårda, Gotland Picture stone from Sanda, Gotland Silver figurine from Birka (Bj 825)
Christer Åhlin SHMM
Given the uncertainty of the current evidence, my conclusion is that there are several indications that footed brækr existed and was used by the Vikings. They were probably constructed in the same manner as earlier footed brækr (and later hose), with a single piece of fabric for each leg, a broad gore in the back, possible extra gores in the front or down the legs, and one or more foot pieces. They might have been better fitted and of a higher status than brækr reaching to the ankle, but I do not believe that they were restricted for a specific use (riding or walking).
Short brækr
The ankle length Skjoldehamn brók was worn together with short socks and ankle bands wound around the brók legs, an ensemble that would have covered the entire leg. As for the knee-length brók at Birka in grave 905, the fragments still remaining on the bronze hooks indicate they were worn with some kind of knee-length hose (or possibly leg windings).
However, at Haithabu there has been found fragments of a hose that would have reached above the knee. This hose would not combine well with the wide hábrækr, and so there must have existed other (and slimmer) types of knee-length or shorter brækr worn by the Vikings. Unfortunately the finds give no information regarding how these might have looked.
We know that straight knee-length brækr were already worn by Germanic people during the early Iron Age (as demonstrated by the finds from Dätgen and Marx-Etzel). Also, while not directly applicable to Viking clothing, the Frankish people were wearing knee-length brækr at the same time as the Vikings. These are mentioned in de Carolo Magno, written by a monk around 883-884:
This was the attire or apparel of the Franks of old: shoes gilded outside, adorned with laces of three cubits, kermes-dyed bands on the shins, and under these, hose and breeches of linen, of the same colour but varied with the most intricate work. Above these and the bands, in and out, before and behind, the long laces were arranged in the style of a cross.
De Carolo Magno, translated by Thor Ewing in Viking Clothing p 78, my underlining
There was continuous contact between the Frankish people and Vikings during the Viking Age, so they might have been wearing similar short brækr - although the Vikings (as far as I know) were not wearing cross-gartered laces.
Photograph of silver crucifix by Yliali Asp SHM
Lacking other evidence, Thor Ewing suggests that the cut of the short brækr followed simple patterns, akin to medieval braies, instead of the more complicated Iron Age brækr pattern (as seen in the Dätgen, Damendorf and Thorsberg brækr). According to him they would have looked somewhat like the brækr worn by Christ in the eleventh century crucifix from Gotland in Sweden.
Fastening the brækr
The brækr could have been kept in place by several different techniques. From the brók found at Skjoldehamn we know that one possibility was to gather the brók at the waist by a drawstring running within a channel. Also, the fragments 22 A-C from Haithabu include a possible belt loop, and so may have sported a Thorsberg-type waistband with belt loops and a belt.
Some earlier techniques, like rolling the top of the brók down over a belt (possibly used with the second brók from Thorsberg), or using some kind of buttons or laces (possibly found on the Damendorf brók), might also have been used in the Viking Age.
Thor Ewing suggests that many Viking men would have been wearing two belts; one to keep up the brók or hose, and one to secure the tunic. Interestingly, there is seldom more than one buckle in the graves (many graves have none), and where more is found, the extra buckles are rarely found in the waist area. In addition, where buckles have been found with associated textile remains, it appears that they have been used to secure the shirt or tunic.
Due to metal buckles being expensive and decorative, it makes sense that they would have been openly displayed rather than hidden under the tunic. With this in mind, Ewing argues that the brók belt would not have been buckled, but instead would have been tied in place. According to him, tablet-woven bands are decorative and high-status, and thus unsuitable as brók belts. Instead he suggests a simple leather belt with a slit at one end through which the other end passes before it is tied, or a belt of rope of some kind.
Wool or linen?
The usual method for preserving textiles in e.g. graves is by being close to a metal artefact. Unfortunately, leg clothing is seldom worn in direct contact with a lot of metal, which may explain why there is so few of these finds from the Viking Age.
The brækr fragments found at Haithabu and Skjoldehamn are all made of wool. The only trace of linen brækr that I am aware of is Birka grave 905 with the bronze hooks. However, although the archaeological evidence for linen brækr is scant, there is some circumstantial evidence for their existence.
In his book on Viking clothing, Thor Ewing points out that the Icelandic sagas explicitly mentions "lín brækr", and the saga phrase "in linen clothing" (í linklæðum) suggests that while it was unusual to wear only linen outside the house, linen clothing was ubiquitous.
De Carolo Magno describes how the Franks were wearing linen brækr and hose, something that supports the use of linen in brækr sometimes. Ewing also refers to an edict of Diocletian from the late Roman period, which lists coarse linen as cheaper than fine wool, and argues that this supports the suggestion that linen could have been in common use.
While the sagas were written after the Viking Age, the Hudud al-'Alam, a tenth-century Persian source, and the account of Ibn Rusta are both contemporary sources. They describe the clothing of the Rus (Vikings in Russia), including wide and baggy linen brækr. Together with the archaeological evidence from Birka these sources confirm that Viking brækr could be made from both linen and wool.
However, the choice of material may have varied according to geography, custom, social status and personal taste. The eleventh-century writer Adam of Bremen remarks that the Norwegians rely upon their flocks for their clothing (indicating that linen was seldom used). The same might have been true of the early Icelanders - when Ketill puts on woollen shirt and brók in the Fljótsdæla saga, the saga writer notes that equivalent linen clothing was not worn "at that time".
Unfortunately, the existing finds are far too few for us to draw any conclusion as to whether one type of material was more prevalent than the other in the making of brækr. All we can conclude is that both types existed.
To dye or not to dye?
Identifying dyes from the archaeological evidence is challenging, partly because it is difficult to separate colour originating from dye from rust or other discolouration, and partly because plant dyes decay in the ground. In addition, the archaeological evidence can only take us so far. The fragments are just too few to give a correct picture.
So what can we tell about the colour of Viking Age brækr? While all of the Haithabu brækr fragments were dyed, they were also made of finely woven fabric, indicating that they were high status garments. It is likely that the less wealthy would have worn undyed clothing, probably made from cloth with a less careful selection of wool than the Skjoldehamn brók or the hose fragments from Haithabu harbour.
According to Hägg one set of brók fragments from the harbour (22 A-C) had been dyed a reddish brown with walnut shells. This is a dye that is found on fragments from several other garments at Haithabu. It has an antibacterial effect, something that is very useful in clothes worn close to the body, like brækr or undertunics. Additionally, Hägg notes that 39 A-B was dyed (but doesn't say which colour) and that S19 was dyed either blue or green.
However, the most interesting set of brók fragments in terms of colour are 72 A-B and 91A. These appears to have been dyed in two separate colours: red on one side of the garment (believed to be the front) and yellow-green on the other side (believed to be the back of the brók). This must have created a striking impression when the brók was new. The sagas have a term for parti-coloured garments, namely halflit, halfskipt or tviskipt. Also according to Hägg, the sagas often speak of a red-green combination, just like the find at Haithabu.
While dyed linen did exist (found in e.g. Birka grave 563 and 762, and in Pskov), neither Geijer nor Arbman mentions colour when reporting on the content of grave 905. As most of the linen found in Birka graves was undyed, I will assume that this is the case for the brók fragments from 905 as well, until told otherwise.
Although there is a limited set of colours found in the archaeological evidence for leg clothing, it is not unlikely that a wider range were in use. Collecting and summarizing the different studies by textile archaeologists in regards to which dyes were likely to be known and used by the Vikings is a separate research project though, and not one I have had time to do (yet). Instead I recommend the work done by Carolyn Priest-Dorman in her article on colours in the Viking Age.
Some reconstruction patterns
Hábrækr
This reconstruction is presented by Historiska världar, a project run by the Museum of National Antiquities.
They don't set a specific geographic place or time for their reconstruction, but the pattern they suggest appears to build on the evidence from the Haithabu finds.
One difference though, is that the legs of the two-coloured hábrók from Haithabu must have been divided into two parts in order to dye the front and back in different colours. Thus, unlike the early Iron Age brækr, it must have had a seam running along both the inside and the outside of each leg.
The Thorsberg type brækr
As seen above, the Thorsberg pattern may make a good starting point for leistabrækr and ökulbrækr. None of the reconstructions presented here have added the stockings of the "footed" brækr.
Nille Glæsel presents a pattern as part of her report on Viking Clothing to the Viking museum in Lofoten, Norway.
She follows the interpretation by Margrethe Hald with the exception of the waistband, which is cut in one single piece instead of two that are sewn together. The front gore is also made from one piece, as per Hald's pattern. (The Thorsberg brók have a front gore created by two pieces that have been sewn together.)
Shelagh Lewins use an identical pattern, down to a single-piece waistband and front gore. She presents a detailed step-by-step set of instructions on how to fit the pattern to the prospective wearer.
Lastly, a slightly adjusted pattern with step-by-step instructions is presented by Matthew Marino.
More about Viking Age hose and socks:
http://urd.priv.no/viking/hose.html More about Viking Age clothing:
http://urd.priv.no/viking/
Bibliography
Illustration sources
Database of the Swedish History Museum Photograph of Bj 905 (by Christer Åhlin)
http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/fid.asp?fid=582954 (last visited 17th February 2018) Photograph of picture stone from Smiss, Gotland
http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/bild.asp?uid=17816 (last visited 6th March 2018) Photograph of silver figurine from Bj 825 (by Christer Åhlin)
http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/fid.asp?fid=108919 (last visited 6th March 2018) Photograph of silver crucifix (by Ytali Asp)
http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/bild.asp?uid=28516 (last visited 6th March 2018)
Photograph by Svenska kulturbilder
http://kulturbilder.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/bildsten-fran-broa-halla-700-800-tal/ (last visited 6th March 2018)
Rosengren, J. Barbaricum, accompanying booklet to the Exhibition, Lund University Historical Museum, ISBN 978-91-975955-1-3.
Photograph of the Sockburn store, Durham (by Europa re-enactment association)
http://www.europa.org.au/images/nbt/sockburnstone.jpg
Reconstruction articlesHero dog leads rescuers to suffering puppies
Hero stands in front of Mona and her puppies, whom he rescued from the frigid woods by finding help from walkers in the park. Hero stands in front of Mona and her puppies, whom he rescued from the frigid woods by finding help from walkers in the park. Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Hero dog leads rescuers to suffering puppies 1 / 45 Back to Gallery
A stray Labrador had been evading Dallas dogcatchers in a city park for weeks, until he urgently needed their help.
Two canine experts told Fox and Friends Weekend how the dog emerged from the frigid woods to get their attention and save a litter of newborn puppies and their mom from the cold. It started with incessant barking with an urgent tone.
Dog behaviorist John Miller and animal rescuer Marina Tarashevska were walking when the canine came calling.
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"Every time we got closer, he would go away and bark at us, saying keep coming," Miller told Fox. "Keep coming my way."
The followed the dog into the woods until they heard the faint calls of puppies, and peered inside a burnt-out tree to find 10 baby dogs and their mother, nearly frozen to death.
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"He led s there," said Miller. "He took us to the puppies. That is exactly what he was trying to do."
"It really is a miracle," Tarashevska said.
The heroic dog has aptly been named Hero. It's unclear if he's the puppies' father, but nonetheless he's been taken out of the cold and into the shelter as a member of the family.
Tarashevska, who works with the dog rescue group Dallas Dogrr, told Fox that the puppies would be placed in homes once weaned from their mother. But for now, they're under the care of Dogrr, which is searching for open homes.
"Taking in 10 puppies and two adult dogs is a lot for a small rescue and we desperately need foster families to take in the pups once they are old enough," said Lindsay Butler with Dogrr by email. "We will also be covering all the medical bills of this family so donations are needed too."
To adopt a dog, Butler said you can contact the group through their Facebook page.Rob Kampia is executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.
During the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama raised hopes among those who support medical marijuana by pledging to respect state laws on the issue. But his administration has reversed course and massively escalated the federal government’s attacks on medical marijuana businesses, most of which are legal under their states’ laws.
This is perplexing because medical marijuana is far more popular than Obama is. A Washington Post-ABC News poll from January 2010 found that 81 percent of Americans supported legalizing medical marijuana. A CBS News poll from October found that 77 percent of Americans support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana for serious medical conditions. By contrast, the president’s approval rating last October hovered around 42 percent — and is currently about 47 percent.
The shift has been clear. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced in March 2009 that the Obama administration would end the Bush administration’s practice of raiding medical marijuana providers that violated federal statutes. A memo from the Justice Department later that year said the department would not prioritize prosecutions of individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.
Through 2010, that policy seemed to work. California, Colorado, Maine and New Mexico took steps to regulate the distribution of medical marijuana at the state and local levels. Other states had similar plans in the works.
But last year the tide turned. Obama’s Justice Department authorized a series of letters from U.S. attorneys across the country threatening to “vigorously” prosecute individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. In some cases the U.S. attorneys suggested that government employees who help regulate their states’ medical marijuana systems could be prosecuted for “facilitating” a crime.
There was more. The IRS cracked down on medical marijuana dispensaries, refusing to allow them to deduct such standard business expenses as rent and payroll. Last September the National Institute on Drug Abuse refused to provide federally grown marijuana to a Food and Drug Administration-approved research protocol seeking to measure the extent to which marijuana helps combat veterans with their post-traumatic stress disorder. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives outlawed gun sales to medical marijuana patients. And federal prosecutors in California announced that they would crack down on dispensaries across the state, saying that they intend to seize the property of landlords who lease space to these businesses that are legal under state law.
Last month Obama clarified his position on medical marijuana, saying on a late-night show that “we’re not going to be legalizing weed... anytime soon.” This after he had recently told an interviewer: “I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana — and the reason is, because it’s against federal law. I can’t nullify congressional law.”
Simply put, Obama has become more hostile to medical marijuana patients than any president in U.S. history.
To put Obama’s implosion in perspective, consider what Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) wrote in his 2010 book “Fed Up!”: “When the federal government oversteps its authority, states should tell Washington they will not be complicit in enforcing laws with which they do not agree. Again, the best example is an issue I don’t even agree with — the partial legalization of marijuana. Californians clearly want some level of legalized marijuana, be it for medicinal use or otherwise. The federal government is telling them they cannot. But states are not bound to enforce federal law, and the federal government cannot commandeer state resources and require them to enforce it.”
Perry also wrote, “If you don’t support the death penalty and citizens packing a pistol, don’t come to Texas. If you don’t like medicinal marijuana and gay marriage, don’t move to California.”
The five presidents from Richard Nixon through George H.W. Bush allowed medical marijuana research to proceed unhindered.
The three presidents from Jimmy Carter to George H.W. Bush allowed patients to apply to the federal government for waivers to use medical marijuana legally under federal law.
Obama appears to be to the right of Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Ronald Reagan and even George W. Bush on this issue. It’s hard to imagine how this helps Obama politically, and it’s easy to imagine how forcing patients to purchase their medicine from an illicit provider instead of a regulated business hurts people who are suffering from cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.“Why am I not accepting bitcoin?” This is the question you should be asking yourself. Some believe Bitcoin, the decentralized crypto-currency, is a revolutionary technology that could change the world. Others think it’s a Ponzi scheme where the early adopters profit at the expense of the new comers. (Side note: those who make this claim may not understand the definition of a Ponzi scheme).
Bitcoin ecommerce spending is up. Way up.
When I first looked into Bitcoin (the technology) in February of this year, you could get a full bitcoin (the currency) for around $17. As of this writing, that same amount is worth around $880 (today’s price can be found here). Worth noting, there are 100,000,000 divisions in each bitcoin, so any fractional amount can be purchased or used. There are a lot of bitcoin holders who are looking to spend their new found wealth. Bitpay supports 14,000 merchants who accept bitcoin payments and this past Black Friday they saw a 6,296% increase over last year. [1]
As you look around the web, you’ll see many arguments for and against bitcoin’s use as money. More often than not, these debates are not about the technology itself, but instead they focus on economic theories discussing inflation vs. deflation or Keynesian vs. Austrian ways of thinking. At the end of the day, you probably don’t care about all that.
You just want to sell more stuff and meet the needs of your customers.
Are customers actually spending their bitcoin?
Some think, “Why would anyone spend their bitcoin if tomorrow they could be worth more?” That’s a fair question, but one usually asked by someone who doesn’t own any bitcoin. Most of the bitcoin owners I’ve talked to (including myself), think differently. They understand how the network effect of bitcoin will increase its usefulness, which will ultimately benefit them.
As an example: My wife and I are considering purchasing a new entertainment system. Our current setup is pretty sad. We purchased the DVD player 9 years ago which also doubles as our TV sound system and requires a not-so-gentle tap now and again for the sound to work properly. The primary reason we’re thinking of upgrading is because we have new purchasing power via the increase in value of bitcoin outside of our normal budget.
There are many bitcoin owners who feel exactly the same way we do. Much like purchasing the latest computer or smart phone, people are willing to pay a premium to have what they want now, even if they can get it much cheaper in a year or two. Yet people still buy new technology knowing it will drop in value, and people are spending bitcoins now knowing they might rise in value.
Customers who have bitcoins want to use them because they believe in the concept and want to see Bitcoin succeed. They understand how spending bitcoins not only helps increase the network effect, it also translates something virtual into real world goods and services.
Your store could help with this process. You can create a Bitpay account today, login to your FoxyCart admin, and activate the Bitpay payment method. Your customers will see an option to pay with bitcoin right along with other payment methods like PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, Dwolla, or Amazon Payments. Not only that, but there has been a lot of news coverage on companies which decide to accept bitcoin as payment. The bitcoin reddit community often posts about new merchants who are on board.
“But I don’t want bitcoins. I want dollars!“
As of this writing, the market cap of bitcoin is over $10 billion. Many believe it will go up quite a bit more. Is it volatile and has it gone down in the past? Yes. Do you want that risk? Maybe not, and that’s the great thing about partnering with a company like Bitpay. If you like, you can price your goods and services in your local currency, let users pay with the bitcoin equivalent amount and in that same moment, convert back to your currency thereby avoiding any currency exchange risk. In other words, you can accept bitcoin for payment but not actually have to deal with bitcoin at all. Or you have the option of joining along for the ride and keeping your money in bitcoin. Who knows, your vendors and employees may someday prefer to be paid in bitcoin also.
Some resources for learning more about Bitcoin:
Other FoxyCart blog posts about bitcoin:
Have you heard about bitcoin before and have you seen it in the news?
Do you you have any questions we can help with?
Why shouldn’t you accept bitcoin?This is the only way I can get time off. I have to kill myself to get time off.
—CM Punk
Ten months ago, CM Punk left WWE. It was the biggest pro wrestling story line of the year, and it wasn’t even mentioned onscreen until two months after his departure, when WWE was in Punk’s hometown of Chicago. Even then, it was only brought up to defuse the inevitable pro-Punk chants. Since then, rumors have swirled about the reasons for his walkout. Last week, on Thanksgiving, Punk appeared on his friend Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast to finally tell his side of the story. The YouTube video of the podcast already has more than 950,000 views. That’s more than the number of people who subscribe to WWE Network. It’s kind of a big deal. Little wonder Punk thinks he’s making more of a difference at home on his couch than he ever could have made inside WWE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxHRJnZsinQ
Over the course of the podcast, Punk lists a series of issues — medical negligence, pay disputes, creative differences — that led to him leaving the company. Punk tells a lively story of distrust and exploitation that should call into question any fan’s devotion to WWE in the same way that the Dave Duerson or Jonathan Martin or Ray Rice stories rocked fans’ fidelity to the NFL. “There’s a lot of assumption out there from people: I was disgruntled with my story lines, I was banged up, I was mad that I wasn’t the main event of WrestleMania, I was mad that I was wrestling Triple H. There’s an element of truth in all of those things, but I can’t say there was one big thing that led to my decision.”
“Actually,” he immediately corrects himself, “the big thing that led to my decision was my health.”
Whether or not that was the case, Punk’s health was this interview’s real pipebomb — if you’ll forgive me for using a term Punk now claims to despise. Set aside his gripes about missed promotional opportunities: He couldn’t put sponsors on his tights; he couldn’t escort his buddy Chael Sonnen to the octagon at a UFC show; he lost the lead in 12 Rounds 2. Set aside putting up with Internet fans who call him a “quieter” (sic) and feel entitled to answers about why he left. Set aside his distaste with WWE’s regular demands for him to lose to part-time talent (“I’ve gotta put over the Rock and he goes away; I’ve gotta put over Taker and he goes away; and now I’m putting over Brock and he goes away. My stock is dropping rapidly in the eyes of the casual viewer, who is who they care about.”) Hell, even set aside his lousy relationship with Triple H, with whom he claims there were “never any good vibes.”
The real issue was his health, and by inference the health of every WWE “superstar.” Punk’s litany of charges are ghastly and borderline unconscionable, even if, as WWE chairman Vince McMahon noted Monday night on Steve Austin’s podcast, “there are two sides to every story.” Punk’s account boils down to the following eyebrow-raising claims:
That he frequently worked through injury, like when he “tore up” his knee against John Cena at Night of Champions 2012; when his elbow “locked up at like a 45-degree angle” and he did physical therapy to keep wrestling every night; when some newbie wrestlers gouged his eyes immediately after laser eye surgery; or when he strained his ACL, tore his MCL, meniscus, and PCL, and bruised his patella in the WrestleMania match against the Undertaker, which led to the quote atop this piece.
That he was called back into action just weeks after surgeries. After one elbow surgery, he received a call from McMahon on Punk’s way home, when he was still anesthetized, and was told it had been announced that Punk would be in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match on Raw in two and a half weeks. His expected recovery time was four to six weeks.
That he was subjected to working with Ryback, a novice and determinedly unsafe opponent who comes out of this interview looking worse than anybody but the WWE doctor. During his matches with Ryback, his ribs were broken by a kick, according to Punk. He also described a match that included a misplaced slam through a table, wherein Ryback “fucking misses the table, dumps me on the concrete fucking ground, tilts me on my pelvis, fucks me up for weeks.”
That, perhaps most galling, he was treated dismissively by WWE’s in-house doctor (who goes unnamed throughout the podcast) when Punk had a staph infection that later became a potentially lethal case of MRSA. (Punk said he was prescribed Z-Pak to the point that he shit himself on television.)
That the WWE doctor didn’t adequately respond to concussions and allowed Punk to wrestle with a concussion while on a European tour, as well as to perform in the 2014 Royal Rumble while concussed.
There are counterarguments for nearly all of Punk’s accusations: Why didn’t he refuse to work when he was injured or felt unsafe? Why didn’t he have a personal doctor? But the overall effect of listening to him recount his experience is devastating. It should be arresting to WWE fans and to WWE shareholders. It’s time to question how WWE conducts business when one of its biggest stars says that post-concussion syndrome had him “on all fours after every match and I’m either puking for real or I’m just dry heaving because I don’t have anything in my stomach. I have no appetite. I don’t know what is up and what is down. I can’t sleep. I can’t fucking train.”
WWE has been good about creating concussion protocols and publicizing them, but as Punk’s Rumble experience shows, pro wrestling isn’t easily ruled by codes. You can’t enumerate the protocols without also stating what should happen if somebody gets concussed during an important match. As Punk recounts: “I roll under the fucking corner and I motion to Doc, I go ‘I have a concussion.’ And he was like ‘what do you want me to do?’ And I just started laughing and I was just like ‘Doctor, you are one of the most worthless pieces of shit I have ever met in my entire life.’”
It seems the doctor (or someone) did alert people backstage, since WWE sent Kane out sooner than expected to eliminate Punk — though it also had Kane choke-slam Punk through a table to achieve that result.
On this point, though, Punk’s statements deserve closer attention. He makes the logical connection to the NFL, though he seems to overstate the impact on the NFL, as well as the NFLPA’s success in getting meaningful concessions from the league.
WWE doesn’t do anything to protect the wrestlers; they do things to protect themselves. That sounds really harsh and I stated earlier I don’t want to come off as like ‘bash WWE’ but they don’t let everybody know that they’re doing all these fantastic things for concussions for the boys. They do it so it looks good on them in the public. The NFL is getting fucked in the ass because there is a union for the football players and the union is saying, “You need to pay these guys this much money for medical, for past injuries, whatever.” And the NFL is doing it. The NFL is paying out the ass and Vince doesn’t want to do that so they put all these things in place like “Oh, look, we’re doing all this, we’re doing all that.”
First of all, of course the WWE’s concussion policy is driven by PR concerns. McMahon admitted this when he was asked by a congressional committee why he’s giving out free rehab to former employees: “Two words. Public relations.” And what’s more, that’s exactly why the NFL is doing it too. The NFLPA didn’t clamor for concussion protocols; the public did, and the NFL rushed them into effect to stem the tide of public outrage. What’s more, the NFL is paying a settlement because of a class-action lawsuit filed by former players. The NFLPA is uninvolved, except that it’s now the target of a similar suit.
If Punk wants to throw his weight behind a pro wrestlers union, then good for him. If he wants to support a lawsuit to win benefits for ex-wrestlers with brain trauma, then one of those exists, too. The problem isn’t that nobody knows about these issues, the problem is an industry built on the ethos that Punk himself espouses in the interview: “What would Harley Race do?”
♦♦♦
After Punk’s WrestleMania 29 match against Undertaker, he took an extended leave to heal up. “I discovered fucking life,” he said. “And I started looking at my bank account and being like, ‘All right, this is fucking ridiculous. I don’t need to do this anymore. I’ll go work at Starbucks. They’ll probably actually give me insurance.’” Which is true.
Pro wrestlers are independent contractors because of tradition, but in the modern era the designation is sometimes closer to indentured servitude. They have to provide their own health insurance. They accept the contracts they’re offered because there’s almost nowhere else to work, and they’re prohibited from doing any work outside of WWE or accepting sponsorships without WWE’s express permission. They get paid according to an arcane system of base salary plus merchandise royalties plus pay-per-view bonuses; the last two categories are heavily influenced by the mercurial whims of WWE matchmaking, and since WWE Network came into existence and subscribers have been allowed to watch PPVs at no additional charge, the bonuses have largely dried up.
Despite all of this hardship, Punk seems most concerned that he never headlined WrestleMania — “I say it probably 85 percent of the time: I failed at wrestling. I failed at my goal of the main event of WrestleMania.” It’s the Harley Race ethos. When Race was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame, legendary announcer Gordon Solie said there were two words that could sum him up: “pure dedication.” It’s that dedication that makes a wrestler an all-time great, but it also makes the business impervious to change.
On his last day in WWE, still reeling from the concussion he had suffered in the Rumble, Punk was asked to take the concussion test and a urine test. “I flew off the handle at that,” he said. “I was like, ‘Right now, me, right now, in Cleveland, Ohio, take fucking care of me right fucking now. Don’t worry about where I’m supposed to be tomorrow. Don’t worry about what segment I’m supposed to be. Fucking fix me. My fucking ribs are broken, my knee is fucking torn up, I’m fucking sick. Fucking help me.’”
On Monday night, McMahon apologized for sending Punk his termination papers on his wedding day (that happened) and said he hoped they’d get back together someday. At one point, when Austin was comparing Punk and himself, he said, “I worked my ass off.” “So did Punk,” answered McMahon. When Punk turned heel to feud with the Rock, even though it meant cutting his royalty checks in half, McMahon said, “I owe you one.” When Punk rushed back from surgery to wrestle Brock at SummerSlam, McMahon said, “I owe you one.” When Punk rushed back from surgery to face Ryback in the TLC match, McMahon said, “I owe you one.” Punk kept waiting to cash in, and eventually he walked away.
WWE is getting dogged this week, and justifiably so. Many fans who were incensed at Punk for walking out are back on his side. And yet, as incredible as it is to hear a modern star give voice to the trials that so many wrestlers go through, it’s impossible not to wonder if he could have done more to prevent the same things from happening to other wrestlers. What would have happened if he had done this podcast while he was still a WWE superstar? For all of Punk’s insistence that leaving really meant something (because his departure elevated Daniel Bryan into the main event), you can’t organize a union as a former employee. Which is why it’s hard to think he cares too much when he says, “I would like to see them get some sort of a union for the boys and girls; that way I know they’re serious about protecting them from concussions and other things.” I’m sure he does want those things, but when Punk left, he was leaving for himself.
And he should have. After everything he’d been through, if he was ready to go, I’m happy he found his way out. And who knows — maybe Punk’s podcast will elevate the subject to a level that will force WWE to respond. |
may want read my post On Africa fastest growing economies 2016.
5. Increase agricultural produce and export
In the 1960’s, agriculture is the main base of Nigeria, in terms of GDP, foreign exchange earnings, and employment. Today, Nigeria spends about $10 billion a year on the importation of agricultural products.
Nigeria government led by Buhari should stop talking and start working. Enough of talk, people want to see actions. The youth like I earlier stated should be encouraged to go into farming. They should be trained free on various agricultural sector.
Yes the government major policy is on agriculture development but a better mechanism should be put in place to grow the sector, the government should empower the youth to go into the sector, government should bumper harvest store to store agriculture product excess. Government should also go into farming on the many lands lying fallow.
Agriculture should be all year round, irrigation programme pursued in all the states in Nigeria.
You want to read the Impact of agriculture on Nigeria economic growth
6. Increase manufacturing produce and export
Sanusi Lamido (2016) during the economic submit on “The Search For A New Growth Model,” noted that Nigeria should learn from country like Ethiopia and then Meles Zenawi, the late Prime Minister.
Ethiopia keeps growing year after year at 11-12 percent. And what did Meles do?
“Like Nigeria Ethiopia is facing insecurities; yet took advantage of her resourses. For instance, coffee originated from Ethiopia in the world. But, Ethiopian farmers, before Meles, would get 10 percent of the value of coffee from their crops“.
The Etiopia would just produce the coffee and sell to companies, and the companies will take their coffee into Latin America and have it improved and dried and packaged. And Zenawi just asked: “Why can’t we produce coffee in Ethiopia that would go straight from Ethiopia to the coffee shops in Europe?”
And all sorts of responses came. “Well, you know your weather is good for growing coffee. Your coffee is very good, but your farmers have bad farming practices.”
So he said: “Why don’t you teach them?” So, he got in touch with the IFC (International Finance Corporation), got a loan, organised Ethiopian coffee farmers into cooperatives, taught them how to grow the coffee, how to dry, prepare and package it.
Today, if you go to coffee shops in Europe and take a cup of coffee that came straight from Ethiopian farm. And Ethiopian farmers are now getting 70 percent of the value of the coffee, from the former 10 percent.
So, he tells Aliko Dangote, come and build a cement manufacturing plant here. I am going to give you electricity at three cent per kilowatt hour. For a cement manufacturer, that is all the incentive that you need.
So, Dangote goes, builds the most sophisticated cement plant in Ethiopia, gets electricity almost for nothing and cost of cement drops by 60 percent. Wow!
The construction industries gets boosted. Roads are being built with cement. Jobs are created. And new industry has taken off.
He said to the Chinese, “I don’t like this your idea of coming to buy hides and skin and leather from Ethiopia and sell us shoes. Why not set up the factory here.”
Is Nigeria the only country experiencing economic recession? No! As seen in the image above, but Nigeria is not doing much to resolve its own. government should:
Invest in the energy sector to reduce power outage,
Engage the Niger-Delta militants in a dialogue,
Reduce the tax rate or regulate same to avoid double taxation,
Borrowing from both domestic and foreign should be invested more on infrastructure, funds should be sourced more from the domestic economy than the foreign investor to avoid the incidence of capital flight,
The government should work with the legislative body to endure speed execution of her project,
Commodity price and raw material price should be regulated through consumer protection agency to avoid further inflation,
The government should learn from Ethiopia and other developed countries.
The government should grow Nigeria economy and should kindly allow the naira to be. Let the forces of market control the value of the naira.
You can reference the article using this format: Noko, J. E (2016) Economic Recession in Nigeria: Causes and solution. Retrieved online from http://educacinfo.com/economic-recession-nigeria/
Click the link to download the article Economics Recession in Nigeria causes and solution
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You can also read Strategies of reducing the effect of economic recession on Low income earners in Nigeria.
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WhatsAppIn January, I will become a first in Canadian history: the first Francophone transgender person and expert in transgender studies to be hired as a professor to teach, in French, sexual and gender diversity. While I jumped for joy when the School of Social Work at the University of Ottawa notified me of this news, I cannot rejoice when I think of the many transgender persons in Canada who are unemployed.
Although I savour this historic gain for the Francophone transgender community, and I celebrate the fact that I now have a chance to focus on my intellectual passions, it is premature to cry victory – and callous not to seize this opportunity to raise awareness about the various forms of violence, exclusion, marginalization and discrimination faced by transgender individuals.
Transgender issues are increasingly front-and-centre in our cultural representations, in media and within activist, community and university networks. At universities, these issues are increasingly the focus of student interest and academic research, both by cisgender (non-transgender) students and professors studying sexual and gender diversity.
This trend could lead one to believe that the number of transgender academics specialized in transgender issues at Canadian universities has grown. But this is not the case. Despite the fact that there are now more transgender graduates who are experts in these studies, it seems that departments are not yet ready to hire them. According to my research, only eight such individuals hold tenured or tenure-track positions, in all departments combined. Among these eight, only two are women, only one is a visible minority and none is Francophone. Hence, I will be the ninth professor, and first transgender Francophone, to specialize in transgender issues in Canada.
The discrimination that transgender individuals face in universities reflects the discrimination they experience generally in the workforce.
My study of the under-representation of transgender individuals who are also academic experts on trans issues shows that this relative absence can be explained not only by direct gender discrimination, but also by indirect discrimination such as lack of institutional support mechanisms – including positive discrimination measures – systemic barriers such as transphobia/cisgenderism, as well as a lack of acknowledgement of the particular realities of trans people, such as the time required for surgeries or convalescence.
Indirect discrimination is also apparent in the type of knowledge that is considered legitimate within departments, which do not see the importance of hiring those who are experts in trans issues.
Another factor contributing to this under-representation is the invisible work contributed by transgender individuals that allows universities to conduct research on transgender individuals while excluding them from tenured positions. While transgender individuals are represented in a variety of university roles, including as lecturers, part-time professors and research assistants, these positions relegate them to the background, where they often carry a significant workload without proper recognition or remuneration. It is high time this glass ceiling was broken.
The discrimination that transgender individuals face in universities reflects the discrimination they experience generally in the workforce: only 37 per cent are employed full-time in Canada, making the transgender population among the marginalized groups most likely to experience unemployment and poverty, with an average annual income level of $15,000 or less (Trans Pulse Survey). Those transgender individuals who are employed experience significant violence, discrimination and exclusion in the workplace. Mockery, verbal abuse, incorrect pronoun usage, lack of medical leave for transition-related treatment, difficulty in accessing locker rooms and washrooms, and outing of their transgender status are just a few examples.
I am thrilled to have landed this position after searching actively for four years. Conversely, my heart goes out to my transgender peers who have not been so fortunate, and to all the other unemployed transgender individuals.
I call on all my academic and community colleagues, as well as employers, political leaders and others who, like me, have a platform from which to address the public, to join me in raising our voices to denounce the tokenism of transgender individuals, and to genuinely including the voices of transgender individuals in our actions, activism, policies, research, institutions and workplaces.
Alexandre Baril is the first Francophone transgender person and expert in transgender studies to be hired as a professor to teach, in French, sexual and gender diversity.Some time back there was a great controversy over the brand ambassadorship to tennis player Sania Mirza by the Telangana government. It is a case book study of how the electronic media behaves on most issues.
You may remember that there has been a great amount of animosity between various factions in Andhra Pradesh over the Telangana issue for decades.
But when the new state was born, it was a major victory for the people of Telangana and it was a time to bury old grouses and begin on a fresh note.
However TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao refused to invite any of the Central leaders. Is it right for any State to do that? Can a Congress Chief Minister refuse to invite a BJP Prime Minister for his swearing in ceremony and vice versa?
So in the end KCR did not attend even Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing in ceremony. Both Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend KCR’s swearing-in ceremony. KCR also began his term on a false note.
Not only did he call a bandh protesting the Polavaram issue, but KCR’s son, daughter and nephew have all been accommodated into the ministry. As political dynasties are crumbling all over India, KCR is trying to build a new one.
( Continued... )
Telangana chief minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao presenting a cheque Rs.1 crore to Sania Mirza.
Image: PTISEGA Networks released a new report showing the strong growth in their mobile division and lays out future plans. The report came with a host of interesting facts, from animes being produced to possibly a future MMO in production. Hit the break to find a host of a interesting information including updated figures on their NOAH Pass service which they launched in August 2013.
SEGA Networks seems to be enjoying a healthy array of highly successful titles but the major ones from last year’s report, Puyo Quest and Chain Chronicle, continue to enjoy the bulk of the revenue. People may recall but Chain Chronicle had generated over $73 million for SEGA and if it continues to generate 500 million yen a month, it’s almost certain that the title has brought in $100 million for the division. Similarly, Puyo Puyo Quest should be hovering around the same sort of figure. It goes to underline that even if you fail multiple times on mobile, one break out success can cover for all the game’s that weren’t successful. Despite this, the above image illustrates how the group has more hits than failures. The division is expected to generate 31.4 billion yen, up 10.5 billion yen from last year (Actually already above last year with the first 3 quarters.)
Other major information to be noted is the development of 20 new mobile titles with 15 coming from in-house studios (10 from SEGA Networks and 5 from SEGA) with a further 5 being co-developed/published. Eagle eyed forum member Ryan posted a comprehensive list over at our forums but we can already start marking out some of these future titles;
Total War Kingdoms / In-House / SEGA /The Creative Assembly
/The Creative Assembly Xuccess Heaven / Co-developed with Namco
Hortensia Saga / In-House / SEGA Networks
Chaos Dragon / In-House / SEGA Networks
Dragon Parade / In-House / SEGA Networks
It’s interesting to note if this is going to include MOBA titles too, as that would mean Total War: Arena would be one of the other in-house SEGA titles. What’s interesting to note is SEGA specifically points out that a newly invested studio, Ignited Artists, is being “comprised of experienced PC online/home video game developers”. I wonder if that hints at a MMO rather than a mobile title? In which case the scope of SEGA Networks opens up massively.
SEGA has also seem more willing to invest in anime tie-ins for their mobile games, as some of you are aware Chain Chronicle is getting an anime adaptation. This report also confirms that Ange Vierge will be getting it’s own anime as well, along with Xuccess Heaven which is being developed as a multimedia franchise. It’s somewhat amazing that SEGA is investing so heavy on multimedia projects for free mobile games, but these are the times we live in now.
SEGA’s NOAH Pass service was created as a replacement to GREE. GREE is a popular social networking site that also offers a hub for users to download free-to-play mobile games, the issue is that GREE take a percentage of the profits made through microtransactions. SEGA launched NOAH Pass as their own hub to save them from paying a percentage to GREE. When it launched back in August 2013 the service only had 15 developers publishing their titles on the service and it has now increased to a whopping 88 developers. Not only that but the number of users has quadruple from 20 million users on launch to 89.1 million users.
To round up, here are some more pieces of information announced in the report and a quick recap of what was said in this article;
The group is set to release 20 new mobile titles the following fiscal year.
Development of 20 broken down as: 10 from SEGA Networks, 5 from SEGA and 5 co-developed/published
Revenue expected to be 31.4 billion yen, up 10.5 billion yen from last year (Actually already above last year with the first 3 quarters.)
Ange Vierge will be joining Chain Chronicle in getting its own anime.
Sonic Dash has recorded 98 million downloads, total Sonic series has 143.5 million downloads.
Interesting one, Ignited Artists which is “comprised of experienced PC online/home video game developers” set to release a new title next fiscal year. I wonder if that hints at a MMO rather than a mobile title?
NOAH Pass has increased the number of develops using the service: from 15 developers in 2013 to 88 developers. Also increased userbase from 20 million users to 89.1 million.
This is all with Sonic Runners only having a soft launch in Canada and Japan. Just imagine the increase revenue when it finally gets a world wide release?Update: After the Polk County GOP tried to pull this video off the Internet, we reposted it here.
At a town hall meeting in Polk County, Wisconsin earlier this year, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) was asked whether he’d vote to cut his $174,000 annual salary. Duffy sort of hedged, and went on to talk about how $174,000 really isn’t that much for his family of seven to live on. Then he went on to say he supports cutting compensation for all public employees, along the lines of what Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has proposed for the Badger State.
The whole thing was caught on tape, and it was posted to the Polk County GOP’s blog, along with several other clips from the town hall. Then just that clip where Duffy talks about his salary was taken down and removed from the internet by the county party because, an official said, the YouTube clip “was being republished without our consent.”Here’s the clip, obtained by TPM:
Loading video…
Note: see a clip of the video, and an explanation of why it’s not here anymore, in this post.
Here’s what Duffy says about his salary:
I can guarantee you, or most of you, I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. With 6 kids, I still pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I’m living high on the hog, I’ve got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right now. Would it be easier for me if I get more paychecks? Maybe, but at this point I’m not living high on the hog.
Duffy also said that he pays more in health care costs and retirement savings than he did when he was a district attorney before he ran for Congress. That said, Duffy said he’d support the idea of “public employees across the board” taking a compensation cut.
“Let’s all join hands together and say ‘I’ll take a pay decrease, absolutely,” Duffy said.
A Duffy spokesperson told TPM that Democrats are trying to make the salary line into a partisan shot.
“Congressman Duffy is committed to working with his colleagues in the House to face these challenges head on, not score cheap political points,” Duffy spokesperson Daniel Son said. “Wisconsin’s working families don’t need partisan Democrats in Washington weighing in on the economic hardship they continue to face, especially with a misleading attack like this that Congressman Duffy’s constituents know to be false.”
Like all House members, Duffy makes $174,000 in taxpayer-funded salary every year. The Speaker makes a lot more ($223,500) and the party leaders and president pro tempore of the Senate make a bit more ($193,400.)
All of them make way more than most people in Polk County, Wisconsin do. The median household income there was $50,520 in 2008, according to Census data.
Whether or not Duffy is rich is a matter for debate. But that’s apparently not a debate the Polk County GOP wanted to have, at least not on the wider Internet. Here’s a screenshot of what the page containing the video looked like on Monday. Today, the video is gone.
“The Polk County Republican Party’s blog & website is provided for the constituents in our district and when it became apparent that the content on our website was being republished without our consent, I decided to take it down,” the county party’s “Web & PR Guy” told TPM in an email that lacked a name. “All content and video is copyright protected by the Polk County Republican Party and may not be used without written consent.”
County party Chair Sandy Fretwell told TPM in an interview he had no idea why the video was taken down, but put the aforementioned IT guy in touch with us to explain it. Fretwell said he hadn’t seen the video clip on the site, but said Duffy’s town hall was held “about a month ago” and he was in attendance.
“I believe he was correct,” Fretwell said when asked to respond to Duffy’s line about not living “high on the hog” on his $174,000/year. “What he was mentioning was he has a mortgage just like everyone else…basically, that was the pay that got set and is afforded to all members of Congress.”
The chair called Duffy’s pay “a good salary” and acknowledged it’s on “the upper end of things” for Duffy’s district, but said that’s not really a fact worth talking about.
“I don’t know what your point is when you compare one legislator’s salary to other legislators,” he said. “Everyone across all 535 members and senators, they get paid equally.”
Fretwell chastised the questioner for asking Duffy to on the spot congressional salaries he didn’t vote for. He said that in his book, $174,000 a year was a reasonable salary for Duffy.
“Congressmen represent us, they have a certain amount of responsibility,” he said. “Given compensation across the country, sure it’s more than many people make but then again their responsibility is probably greater than many people’s responsibility.”
Ed. Note: This post has been updated from the original.To say fundraising this election is being dominated by the 1% would be a gross overestimation. The actual number is more like.0000063%. Super PACs, the most talked about aspect so far of the 2012 campaign, received nearly 80% of their individual donor funding last year from just 196 people, each of whom contributed $100,000 or more. More than half of the individual contributions to super PACS (52%) came from the 37 super wealthy Americans who contributed $500,000 or more.
Donations from individuals account for 56% of all super PAC funding. This concentration of political fundraising in the hands of so few people was made possible by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which freed up certain political action committees to collect unlimited contributions from people, businesses and unions.Recent signee Yann Karamoh wasted little time in impressing the Inter Milan’s bosses after recording a brace in the Nerazzuri’s 4-1 win over its Primavera squad Monday.
The former Caen winger earned a start for the first team in the training match following being called up for Inter’s game with SPAL, which ended in a 2-0 win for the Beneamata.
Besides Karamoh’s brace, the first team picked up goals from Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino. Christian Mutton scored the Primavera’s lone goal of the match.
The Inter Academy teams had a strong Sunday to follow the senior team’s win at the San Siro. Teams went 2-0-1 with the Under-17 match with Cittadella postponed.
Under-19 Primavera
The Under-19s got second-half goals from Merola and Rover to push past Udinese, 2-0 to open their title defense.
“Last year, we struggled a bit to find the right balance but then we enjoyed the fruits of our labor,” said Inter Primavera boss Stefano Vecchi to Inter Channel before the win. “This year, it seems that we’re a bit further forward but we still have to show what we can do on the pitch.”
This week, the Primavera will take on AC Milan in the derby at the Vismara Sporting Centre. AC Milan fell 5-1 to Sassuolo over the weekend.
Under-17 — Serie A and B
The first match day against Cittadella was postponed due to weather. No makeup has been announced.
Under-16 — Serie A and B
Barazetta found the back of the net in the 32nd minute to give Inter a 1-1 draw with Udinese.
Under-15 — Serie A and B
Two goals in the second half lifted Inter to a 2-0 win over Udinese. Radaelli hit the back of the net in the 511st minute followed by Peschetola in the 83rd.Coinbase has managed to secure $25m in series B funding led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. This brings the total amount raised by the company to $31.9m.
The firm, which describes itself as an “international digital wallet that allows you to securely buy, use, and accept bitcoin currency”, is going from strength to strength, with an estimated 600,000 people now using its wallet service, up from 200,000 in August.
The $31.9m raised so far represents the biggest fundraising success of any bitcoin company, dwarfing Circle’s $9m of Series A funding from multiple tech investors. To say that this is huge is not an overstatement.
Coinbase is getting a lot of positive press, too. Last week it was named the second most exciting tech start-up by Time magazine.
“This funding solidifies our position as the largest and fastest growing bitcoin service in the US. We plan to use the funds to expand our team, continue to educate the market, and promote the mainstream adoption of bitcoin,” Coinbase said in a statement, adding:
“We’ll also expand our referral program, where you can give and get $5 in bitcoin for free when you refer a friend who buys or sells at least $100 of bitcoin.”
Coinbase also announced that Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen has joined the company in an advisory role. Andresen said Coinbase has already become a “critical piece of the Bitcoin infrastructure” in the United States. He added that the best part of his job as chief scientist of the Bitcoin Foundation is interacting with brilliant people at Coinbase and other start-ups who are working to bring bitcoin to a wider audience.
“We’re very excited about the investment. The team at Andreessen is very far up on the curve on their thinking on bitcoin, especially as a way to bring simple economics in to the web in a low level way,” Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam told CoinDesk. “The money will allow us to continue building a world class engineering team, to continue to play offense when it comes to regulation and compliance, and to throw fuel on the fire for our referral program.”
Ehrsam said it is all about continuing to build a user experience that continues to reduce any friction in bitcoin – whether by making it easier to buy bitcoin with more pay-in options, getting more world-class merchants on board to what is the most seamless checkout experience in bitcoin, or adding to the Coinbase API, which is currently the most active developer platform in the bitcoin ecosystem.
Coinbase likes to point out that it is the only company in the bitcoin ecosystem that encompasses both consumers, merchants and developers.
“We are averaging 10,000 new customer sign-ups a day, and are now working with over 16,000 merchants including OkCupid, Khan Academy, and reddit, who use Coinbase to accept bitcoin,” said Coinbase.I made this costume once for Indiana ComicCon 2014, but was unhappy with it, so seven months later, I completely remade the suit, finally finished the gloves, updated my collar, and styled the wig a bit better. Both suits took about a week to make. It was a fun, easy project!
Photo by Koji, Cosplay made by me, Effects edit by me
Here's my Facebook if you'd like to see more
cosplay photos, progress pics, and my cosplay plans!</b>
More Black Cat Photos
Just a cheesy, fun edit that I made while I was bored and should have been studying for finals- but why would you want to do that when you can make a bunch of lasers?I'm like MEGA bad at Photoshop and stuff, so I usually avoid it, but I would like to learn to do more things in it in order to achieve fun effects that can't always be achieved on camera, as much as I love neat photography tricks! So I still prefer to avoid using it liberally on everything, but I do think photo edits in and of themselves are an amazing art on their own! By no means was anything on this edit meant to be subtle, though.Just all an experiment!Houston • Midway through Utah’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night, Rodney Hood let out a slight chuckle when he looked at the guys wearing Jazz uniforms.
He recognized them as his teammates, that much is obvious. But he was on the floor with teammates who he hadn’t been on the floor with much this season. And teammates who were playing different positions for the first time this season.
“It was weird, I admit,” Hood said. “It was tough, but we made it work. I think a lot of guys have been able to pitch in and step up.”
For Hood and the Jazz, it goes to show how creative coach Quin Snyder has had to become with his lineups, as the Jazz have been one of the most injury-ridden teams in the league for a third consecutive season.
As Utah’s six-game road stretch continues in Houston on Monday night with a matchup against the league-leading Rockets, the Jazz’s situation is different, and unique, and challenging.
There’s no Rudy Gobert, as the all-NBA big man is sidelined with a significant knee sprain for the second time this season. He was injured in Friday night’s win over the Boston Celtics, and is out for at least two weeks.
Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets
When - Monday, 6 p.m.MST
Where - Toyota Center, Houston
TV - AT&TSportsNet
Radio - 97.5 FM, 1280 AM
Records - Utah14-16; Houston 24-4
Last Meeting - Houston 112-101, Dec.8
About the Jazz • Utah has lost five of its last six games. …The Jazz are on the fourth of a six-game road stretch. … Utah’s 0-2against the Rockets this season. … Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (18.1points per game) leads all NBA rookies in scoring.
About theRockets • Houston is 14-0 this season with point guard Chris Paul in thelineup. … The Rockets are on a 13-game winning streak, with 10 comingby double-digits. … Houston will be playing its fourth game in sixnights. … James Harden leads the NBA in scoring and is second inassists.
And now, there’s no Derrick Favors, who took an elbow from Boston forward Jaylen Brown and received six stitches above his left eye. He tried to play Saturday night, but complained of a headache while warming up and was diagnosed with a concussion.
The Jazz have had injury issues with their big man duo in the past, just not at the same time. So, on Saturday night, Jonas Jerebko and Joe Johnson each played minutes at center. Part of this concerned matchups: Cleveland typically downsizes, especially with its second unit.
But beyond Ekpe Udoh, who blocked six shots against the Cavaliers, the Jazz simply don’t have many healthy big men remaining. Utah recalled rookie Tony Bradley, but he doesn’t have the experience just yet to be a rotation guy. Jerebko was Snyder’s best center option off the bench.
“We had to adapt to having a next-man-up mentality,” Johnson said. “We had to go with what we had. Whatever lineup coach threw out there, it’s on us to go out there and play hard.”
What it means is this: For the second time this season, the Jazz are going to have to play a completely different style of basketball, which can be traumatic for any NBA team. With Favors and Gobert, Utah plays slow and deliberate offensively. Defensively, the Jazz funnel opposing ballhandlers into the waiting arms of their shot blockers.
When Gobert missed 11 games previously, the Jazz played at a faster pace. They played smaller lineups and took more perimeter shots, taking advantage of more space.
For two weeks, Utah’s been trying to get used to having Gobert back in the lineup. And now, the Jazz have to go back to another style. In a year when big change has come to the roster, the Jazz are having to adjust on the fly during the season.
That’s not easy.
“It’s definitely different for all of us, but it is what it is,” Jerebko said. “This is what happens when you’re short-handed. You have to do what’s needed. We’re not used to it, but we have to go out there and make the best of the situation.”
For the first time this season, the Jazz have a healthy wing rotation, so that helps. That allowed Snyder to get a bit creative. Royce O’Neale — who didn’t play against the Celtics — scored a career-high 12 points. Thabo Sefolosha provided a lift, as did Johnson and Jerebko.
But the Jazz are going to be a small team in the short term. And that will hurt on Monday night against Houston, as Clint Capela has established himself as one of the best centers in the league. Wednesday night brings Oklahoma City and Steven Adams. Thursday brings San Antonio and the duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol. OKC visits Vivint Smart Home Arena on Saturday. So, the Jazz are going to face a number of teams where they will be at a size disadvantage, if Favors can’t shake his concussion in the next few days.You would be hard pressed to read the news and not know that fintech is seemingly at a crossroads — from Lending Club‘s CEO resigning to reports of other peer-to-peer lending platforms reducing their workforce to headlines that state that, after a boom in funding, venture capitalists are looking to other sectors out of fear.
Indeed, some are already declaring financial technology dead as a space for the near-term.
Not so fast.
Here’s what we know. These signals are actually the chaotic realities of a space that is maturing. Yes, government regulation is on its way, but that doesn’t mean the sky is falling.
Compliance and transparency within markets are good things. Consumer protections are good things. So while many have focused on the role that regulations may play in the industry — with clear fears that government may stifle innovation in the face of this turmoil — the truth is much more complicated.
At heart, the competitive advantages in fintech are the same as the rest of the startup world, with the same power and purpose of “disruption” — better technology, faster iteration and more empathy for users. Regulatory arbitrage, if it ever truly existed within finance, is not a defensible business strategy: product quality, customer outreach and lower cost structures are.
Clear, more specific regulations are forthcoming, but to think it will be the downfall of the industry is naïve. In fact, there are many companies in the fintech space that will have champions on both sides of the aisle in Washington, DC.
Some are already declaring financial technology dead as a space.
As a category, fintech has more than 60 million users. Many startups are focusing on millennials; with 60 percent thinking big banks are not designed to serve their generation, it is not surprising that 73 percent are more likely to be excited by a new financial service from a tech company than a nationwide bank. Simplicity, transparency and consumer-focused experiences are key.
Many companies have taken advantage of this opportunity, helping to make financial services more accessible — ranging from payments to student loans and savings to remittances. These are the companies government regulations need to help protect and in which they should encourage greater investment. Doing so not only benefits the consumer, but also the market.
The government has shown willingness to support continued innovation in the space, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Finance Protection Board and the Treasury Department. The increased scrutiny by the political establishment and the press needs to focus on more than the headlines and questionable actors. Recent trouble at some of the larger companies should not taint the government’s view on all fintech companies.
The future of our vibrant economy and the reformation of the financial services industry depends on striking a balance between growth and citizen protection. How do we find the path forward (and upward)? And how do we make sure the path does not simply focus on the big banks, but understands the importance and value of newer and more specialized companies?
Regulators can start by being more open to experimentation and alternative business models. And open to coordinating among themselves. Too often guidance from a department will clash with a project in another part of the government. The end result tends to be a fractured, unnecessarily complex and (likely) unintentional hampering of innovation.
Talking about problems without identifying possible solutions or processes that can lead to concrete ideas is too often the bureaucratic death of a shared conclusion. So what can be done?
It might help to look at how other countries are not just allowing fintech companies to explore new areas, but are encouraging and helping fund them.
Simplicity, transparency and consumer-focused experiences are key.
Several countries have created a regulatory sandbox. The purpose is to let companies push the boundaries of the current regulations in pursuit of new ways of doing business. It is not about circumventing rules, but rather acknowledging that it is impossible to know what could be done if we box companies in and hold them accountable for rules that never contemplated new technologies. This is what the CFPB is aiming to do through Project Catalyst. While not perfect, in part because of the limited authorities granted to the bureau, the protection is rather thin, but it is a positive and perhaps aspirational step.
The U.K., through the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), provides an array of tax incentives for innovation in fintech, including R&D tax credits, the Patent Box (a way for companies to pay a lower rate of corporation tax on profits earned from patented inventions) and more under their Project Innovate.
In India, with the goal of increasing financial inclusion, the Reserve Bank of India established two new categories of banks: “small” and “payment.” For example, payment banks can issue debit cards, but cannot issue credit cards because they are not licensed to carry out lending activities. Payment banks are particularly beneficial to low-income households and small businesses. They also launched a contest to find solutions to prevent financial fraud, reduce the cost of transactions and develop an e-payment infrastructure.
By comparison, America is a bit behind. It was somewhat inevitable. The government is simply not built for the dynamics of fintech. Instead of years perfecting a system of moveable parts, now it can take only days to upend established business practices. And when innovators, engineers and investors do not take the time to help the public, and especially the policy makers, understand new products and developments, it becomes even harder for them to catch up. That seems to be one of the issues emerging in fintech.
The policy makers, whether on the Hill or in an agency, are continuing a status quo that discourages innovation in some areas that could benefit the underserved. Conversations should be informative and collaborative. They can’t play out on a stage that only produces political division. Not only because it is not productive, but also because many of these companies, like Acorns, Betterment, Square, Bond Street and Earnest, make financial services easier to understand and engage.Met a girl, thought she was grand
fell in love, found out first hand
went well for a week or two
then it all came unglued
in a trapp trip I can't grip
never thought I'd be the one who'd slip
then I started to realize
I was living one big lie
She fucking hates me
trust
she fucking hates me
la la la love
I tried too hard
and she tore my feelings like I had none
and ripped them away
She was queen for about an hour
after that shit got sour
she took all I ever had
no sign of guilt
no feeling of bad, no!!!
that's my story, as you see
learned my lesson and so did she
now it's over and i'm glad
'cause i'm a fool for all i've said!!!!
i hate girls... i hate love.... and i've understood i'm ok okay with love!!!!
tried a lot of girls.... nothing like should go.... all unserious bitch.
now i will start do do a lot of sports starting september...... the only thing that count.. is MYSELF.......
NOW THAT THE LOVE IS |
being aware of this option was enough to substantially counteract the noise effect.[6] In 2011, an animal study[7] found that animals with control over stressful stimuli exhibited changes in the excitability of certain neurons in the prefrontal cortex. Animals that lacked control failed to exhibit this neural effect and showed signs consistent with learned helplessness and social anxiety.
Expanded theories [ edit ]
Research has found that a human's reaction to feeling a lack of control differs both between individuals and between situations. i.e. learned helplessness sometimes remains specific to one situation but at other times generalizes across situations.[6][8][9] Such variations are not explained by the original theory of learned helplessness, and an influential view is that such variations depend on an individual's attributional or explanatory style.[10] According to this view, how someone interprets or explains adverse events affects their likelihood of acquiring learned helplessness and subsequent depression.[11] For example, people with pessimistic explanatory style tend to see negative events as permanent ("it will never change"), personal ("it's my fault"), and pervasive ("I can't do anything correctly"), are likely to suffer from learned helplessness and depression.[12] Such people can often be helped to learn a more realistic explanatory style by cognitive behavioral therapy, a therapy heavily endorsed by Seligman.
Bernard Weiner proposed a detailed account of the attributional approach to learned helplessness. His attribution theory includes the dimensions of globality/specificity, stability/instability, and internality/externality[13]:
A global attribution occurs when the individual believes that the cause of negative events is consistent across different contexts. A specific attribution occurs when the individual believes that the cause of a negative event is unique to a particular situation.
occurs when the individual believes that the cause of negative events is consistent across different contexts. A stable attribution occurs when the individual believes the cause to be consistent across time. An u nstable attribution occurs when the individual thinks that the cause is specific to one point in time.
occurs when the individual believes the cause to be consistent across time. An external attribution assigns causality to situational or external factors, while an internal attribution assigns causality to factors within the person. [11]
assigns causality to situational or external factors,
Neurobiological perspective [ edit ]
Research has shown that increased 5-HT (serotonin) activity in the dorsal raphe nucleus plays a critical role in learned helplessness. Other key brain regions that are involved with the expression of helpless behavior include the basolateral amygdala, central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.[14] Activity in medial prefrontal cortex, dorsal hippocampus, septum and hypothalamus has also been observed during states of helplessness.
In the article, "Exercise, Learned Helplessness, and the Stress-Resistant Brain", Benjamin N. Greenwood and Monika Fleshner discuss how exercise might prevent stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression. They show evidence that running wheel exercise prevents learned helplessness behaviors in rats.[15] They suggest that the amount of exercise may not be as important as simply exercising at all. The article also discusses the neurocircuitry of learned helplessness, the role of serotonin (or 5-HT), and the exercise-associated neural adaptations that may contribute to the stress-resistant brain. However, the authors finally conclude that "The underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this effect, however, remain unknown. Identifying the mechanisms by which exercise prevents learned helplessness could shed light on the complex neurobiology of depression and anxiety and potentially lead to novel strategies for the prevention of stress-related mood disorders".[16]
Health implications [ edit ]
People who perceive events as uncontrollable show a variety of symptoms that threaten their mental and physical well-being. They experience stress, they often show disruption of emotions demonstrating passivity or aggressivity, and they can also have difficulty performing cognitive tasks such as problem-solving.[17][18][19] They are less likely to change unhealthy patterns of behavior, causing them, for example, to neglect diet, exercise, and medical treatment.[20][21]
Depression [ edit ]
Abnormal and cognitive psychologists have found a strong correlation between depression-like symptoms and learned helplessness in laboratory animals.[22]
Young adults and middle-aged parents with a pessimistic explanatory style often suffer from depression.[23] They tend to be poor at problem-solving and cognitive restructuring, and also tend to demonstrate poor job satisfaction and interpersonal relationships in the workplace.[20][24] Those with a pessimistic style also tend to have weakened immune systems, having not only increased vulnerability to minor ailments (e.g., cold, fever) and major illness (e.g., heart attack, cancers), but also poorer recovery from health problems.[25]
Social impact [ edit ]
Learned helplessness can be a factor in a wide range of social situations.
In emotionally abusive relationships, the victim often develops learned helplessness. This occurs when the victim confronts and/or tries to leave the abuser, only to have the abuser dismiss or trivialize the victims feelings, pretend to care but not change, and/or impede the victim from leaving [ citation needed ].
. The motivational effect of learned helplessness is often seen in the classroom. Students who repeatedly fail may conclude that they are incapable of improving their performance, and this attribution keeps them from trying to succeed, which results in increased helplessness, continued failure, loss of self-esteem and other social consequences. [26] [27]
Child abuse by neglect can be a manifestation of learned helplessness. For example, when parents believe they are incapable of stopping an infant's crying, they may simply give up trying to do anything for the child. [28]
Those who are extremely shy or anxious in social situations may become passive due to feelings of helplessness [ citation needed ]. Gotlib and Beatty (1985) found that people who cite helplessness in social settings may be viewed poorly by others, which tends to reinforce the passivity.
. Gotlib and Beatty (1985) found that people who cite helplessness in social settings may be viewed poorly by others, which tends to reinforce the passivity. Aging individuals may respond with helplessness to the deaths of friends and family members, the loss of jobs and income, and the development of age-related health problems. This may cause them to neglect their medical care, financial affairs, and other important needs. [29]
According to Cox et al., Abramson, Devine, and Hollon (2012), learned helplessness is a key factor in depression that is caused by inescapable prejudice (i.e., "deprejudice"). [30] Thus: "Helplessness born in the face of inescapable prejudice matches the helplessness born in the face of inescapable shocks." [31]
Thus: "Helplessness born in the face of inescapable prejudice matches the helplessness born in the face of inescapable shocks." According to Ruby K. Payne's book A Framework for Understanding Poverty, treatment of the poor can lead to a cycle of poverty, a culture of poverty, and generational poverty. This type of learned helplessness is passed from parents to children. People who embrace this mentality feel there is no way to escape poverty and so one must live in the moment and not plan for the future, trapping families in poverty.[32]
Social problems resulting from learned helplessness may seem unavoidable to those entrenched. However, there are various ways to reduce or prevent it. When induced in experimental settings, learned helplessness has been shown to resolve itself with the passage of time.[33] People can be immunized against the perception that events are uncontrollable by increasing their awareness of previous experiences, when they were able to affect a desired outcome.[34] Cognitive therapy can be used to show people that their actions do make a difference[35] and bolster their self-esteem.[36]
Extensions [ edit ]
Cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman used learned helplessness to explain why people blame themselves when they have a difficult time using simple objects in their environment.[37]
The US sociologist Harrison White has suggested in his book Identity and Control that the notion of learned helplessness can be extended beyond psychology into the realm of social action. When a culture or political identity fails to achieve desired goals, perceptions of collective ability suffer.
Emergence under torture [ edit ]
In CIA interrogation manuals learned helplessness is characterized as "apathy" which may result from prolonged use of coercive techniques which result in a "debility-dependency-dread" state in the subject, "If the debility-dependency-dread state is unduly prolonged, however, the arrestee may sink into a defensive apathy from which it is hard to arouse him."[38][39]
See also [ edit ]SYDNEY (Reuters) - The rise of selfie photography in some of the world’s most beautiful, and dangerous, places is sparking a range of interventions aimed at combating risk-taking that has resulted in a string of gruesome deaths worldwide.
A man takes a selfie by a crashing wave on Beirut's Corniche, a seaside promenade, as high winds sweep through Lebanon during a storm February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/Files
The act of taking a picture of oneself with a mobile phone, placing the subject centre-stage, has exploded in popularity in recent years, with everyone from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to U.S. President Barack Obama joining in.
But the selfie has also inspired a spate of risk taking and offensive public behaviour, pushing the boundaries of safety and decorum, whether by dangling from a skyscraper or posing with live explosives.
Several governments and regulatory bodies have now begun treating the selfie as a serious threat to public safety, leading them to launch public education campaigns reminiscent of those against smoking and binge drinking.
Dozens of grisly selfie-related deaths and injuries in early 2015 led Russia’s Interior Ministry to launch a campaign warning avid mobile phone snappers about the danger of, among other things, posing for a selfie with a lion.
In June, two men in the Ural Mountains died after posing pulling the pin from a hand grenade; in May a woman survived shooting herself in the head in her Moscow office; a month later a 21-year-old university graduate plunged 40 feet (12 metres) to her death while posing hanging from a Moscow bridge.
“A cool selfie could cost you your life,” reads a poster from the campaign, which includes safety videos and information booklets.
Despite Russia’s diplomatic isolation over its support for separatist rebels in Ukraine, on the issue of dangerous selfies the Kremlin finds itself in accord with the European Union and the United States.
In Texas on Wednesday, a 19-year-old father of two died after shooting himself in the neck during a selfie. In Yellowstone National Park exasperated officials issued warnings after five separate selfie takers were gored this summer while standing too near bison.
The European Union in June proposed a law to criminalise social media posts containing pictures of landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Rome’s Trevi Fountain. And in India this week officials said they were implementing a “no selfie zone” at the Hindu Kumbh Mela festival over fears they may cause stampedes.
ALL ABOUT ME
Yet despite the risks, selfies are more popular than ever, according to data from Google Trends. Searches for the term were up eight times in 2014 over the previous year, leading the Internet search giant to dub it “The Year of the Selfie”.
Selfies tend to attract a type of person already more likely to push the boundaries of normal behaviour, says Jesse Fox, an assistant professor of communications at Ohio State University.
Her research says people exhibiting the so-called Dark Triad of personality traits - narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy - are likely to pursue selfie glory regardless of who gets hurt in the process.
“It’s all about me. It’s putting me in the frame. I’m getting attention and when I post that to social media, I’m getting the confirmation that I need from other people that I’m awesome,” Fox told Reuters.
“You don’t care about the tourist attraction you’re destroying; you don’t care about annoying people in your social media feed... you’re not even thinking about the consequences of your actions, so who cares if you’re dangling off the side of the Eiffel Tower?”
That has not stopped some countries trying to capitalise on the trend’s popularity.
Tourism Australia this week launched a campaign promising an opportunity to take the “World’s Largest Selfie”, aimed at selfie-mad Japan.
They have installed several so-called GigaSelfie platforms in some of the country’s most breathtaking environs from which, with an associated app, visitors can capture an ultra hi-resolution shot taken by a far away camera.Get the latest from TODAY Sign up for our newsletter
Dec. 1, 2015, 5:56 PM GMT / Source: TODAY By Ree Hines
Psy's brand-new K-pop song and video, "Daddy," is gaining viral fame as quickly as the Korean pop star's "Gangnam Style" sensation did back in 2012. But not everyone is enamored with the dance track.
Michael Buble, for one. The Grammy-winning crooner stopped by TODAY Tuesday and watched the buzzed-about clip with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, and he wasn't exactly raving about it afterwards.
Hoda, who happens to love the song, looked at Buble and said, "He's got it!"
"No," the singer deadpanned. "I don't got it."
Kathie Lee, who is definitely on Team Buble when it comes to Psy's comical dad-bod anthem, was happy to hear it.
TODAY
"Honestly, this just made me really sad," Buble continued. "I don’t want to live in this world anymore."
In fact, after seeing Psy's latest offering, he's not even sure if he wants to make music anymore. "If this is what we have to look forward to at the Grammys next year, I'm out!" Buble declared.
Hoda was stunned.
"I can't believe I'm alone at this table!" she exclaimed. "It is so shocking."
After declaring himself "over the hill or something," Buble had a tongue-in-cheek change of heart.
TODAY Show: Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Griffith and Michael Buble at the desk in Studio 1A. -- December 1, 2015
"I realized just watching that, something is wrong in my life," he said. "I'm now only going to make techno music. And I'm doing a sex tape! That's the next Christmas special."
MORE: Is Psy's 'Daddy' video the next 'Gangnam Style'? Watch and see
Well, not quite the next one. His star-studded (and family friendly!) special, "Michael Buble's Christmas in Hollywood," airs on NBC Thursday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. ET.
Follow Ree Hines on Twitter.Blindspot lives on. NBC has renewed the bubble drama series for a third season.
The big breakout new series of fall 2015, Blindspot lost steam when moved to the Wednesday 8 PM slot this season, landing on the bubble this year following an early renewal in 2016. But it has been a reliable performer and has built-in fan base, which is valuable in today’s environment where it costs tens of millions of marketing dollars to launch a new show. I hear NBC was not losing money on Blindspot, which comes from Warner Bros. TV, and it boasts two big-name, marketable stars as its leads, Sullivan Stapleton and Jaimie Alexander.
RelatedNetwork Series Renewal Scorecard
Created and written by Martin Gero, Blindspot, centers on a beautiful woman (Alexander), with no memories of her past, who’s found naked in Times Square with her body fully covered in intricate tattoos. Her discovery sets off a vast and complex mystery that immediately ignites the attention of the FBI, who begin to follow the road map on her body to reveal a larger conspiracy of crime while bringing her closer to discovering the truth about her identity. Stapleton and Alexander lead the cast, which also includes Rob Brown, Audrey Esparza, Ashley Johnson, Luke Mitchell, Michelle Hurd and Archie Panjabi.
Gero also serves as executive producer along with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Jeff F. King. Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, and Quinn’s House produce.A controversial piece of facial recognition technology (and a PopSci "Best of What's New 2010" alum) is rolling out in police stations across the country this fall, and naturally not everyone is happy about it. The Mobile Offender Recognition and Identification System (MORIS) uses an augmented iPhone to snap pictures of faces, scan fingerprints, and even to image irises, and then combs through police databases looking for matching identities. This, understandably, has privacy and civil liberties advocates crying foul.
The MORIS device attaches to the back of an iPhone, adding roughly 1.75 inches to the thickness of the smartphone. Police officers armed with the tool can take a photo of a person's face from about five feet away, or scan his or her iris from about six inches, and wirelessly beam that data to law enforcement databases elsewhere to look for a match. It can also perform remote fingerprint matching.
Similar biometric technology has been deployed by the U.S. military in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to confirm the identities of civilians entering military safe zones and to search for known insurgents at checkpoints. But rolling it out in the streets of the U.S. has plenty of people concerned with privacy and Constitutional issues.
The technology lives in a somewhat gray area of the law. It's generally permissible to take a photo of anyone in a public space, but when a law enforcement agent does so--and especially when he or she then cross references it against a criminal database--that could constitute a search, and therefore should require a warrant.
It's another one of those situations where technology has simply outpaced the law ( you would think Ben Franklin of all people would've seen mobile facial recognition software coming). So while it would be nice to turn to legal precedent here, there simply is none.
Nonetheless, BI2 has deals with about 40 agencies nationwide to deliver about 1,000 of the devices starting in September. From a law enforcement standpoint, police officers seem to like it. It's a technology that lets them get to the bottom of a situation quickly. Moreover, in the technology's defense, it's tough to use MORIS to abuse a person's rights if an officer is not already in the process of abusing them.
In an interview with BI2's chief executive Sean Mullin last year, he told PopSci that the responses of privacy groups and civil liberties advocates are entirely appropriate, but that he thinks the technology passes legal muster. The facial recognition technology requires a frontal facial image taken from close proximity, he says--in other words, it requires consent. Iris scans are practically impossible without the subject's cooperation, as are fingerprint scans. Besides, the alternative when a police officer can't confirm a suspect's identity is generally a trip downtown to sort it out. MORIS simplifies that process.
Whether or not that's enough to satisfy the privacy rights crowd--and the law--remains to be seen. How this kind of technology is treated by the law now will set the precedent for when the technology becomes more robust--and perhaps more long-range, more surreptitious, and potentially more "Big Brother."
WSJAmadeo Bordiga (13 June 1889 – 23 July 1970) was an Italian Marxist, a contributor to communist theory, the founder of the Communist Party of Italy, a leader of the Communist International and later a leading figure of the International Communist Party. Bordiga was originally associated with the Communist Party of Italy, but he was expelled in 1930 after being accused of Trotskyism. Later on following World War II, he moved more explicitly towards a left communist position and was one of the more notable Western European representatives of this tendency.
Biography [ edit ]
Early life [ edit ]
Bordiga was born at Resina in the province of Naples.
In the Italian Socialist Party [ edit ]
An opponent of the Italian colonial war in Libya, he was active in the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), founding the Karl Marx Circle in 1912. He rejected a pedagogical approach to political work and developed a "theory of the Party", whereby the organization was meant to display non-immediate goals as a rally of similarly minded people and not a necessary body of the working class. However, he was deeply opposed to representative democracy, which he associated with bourgeois electoralism:
Thus if there is a complete negation of the theory of democratic action it is to be found in socialism (Il Socialista, 1914).
Therefore, he opposed the parliamentary faction of the PSI being autonomous from central control. In common with most socialists in Latin countries, Bordiga campaigned against Freemasonry, which he identified as a non-secular group.
In the Communist Party of Italy [ edit ]
Following the October Revolution, Bordiga rallied to the communist movement and formed the communist abstentionist faction within the PSI, abstentionist in that it opposed participation in bourgeois elections, the group would form, with the addition of the former L'Ordine Nuovo grouping in Turin around Antonio Gramsci, the backbone of the Communist Party of Italy (PCd'I, Partito Comunista d'Italia)—founded at Livorno in January 1921. This came after a long internal struggle in the PSI as it had voted as early as 1919 to affiliate to the Comintern, but it had refused to purge its reformist wing. In the course of the conflict, Bordiga attended the 2nd Comintern Congress in 1920, where he added two points to the 19 conditions of membership proposed by Vladimir Lenin. Nevertheless, he was criticised by Lenin in his work "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder (1920).
For Bordiga, the party was the social brain of the working class whose task was not to seek majority support, but to concentrate on working for an armed insurrection in the course of which it would seize power and then use it to abolish capitalism and impose a communist society by force. Bordiga identified the dictatorship of the proletariat and the dictatorship of the party and argued that establishing its own dictatorship should be the party's immediate and direct aim.
This position was accepted by the majority of the members of the PCd’I, but it was to bring them into conflict with the Comintern when in 1921 the latter adopted a new tactic, i.e. that of the united front with reformist organisations to fight for reforms and even to form a workers' government. Bordiga regarded this as a reversion to the failed tactics which the pre-war social democrats had adopted and which had led to them becoming reformist.
Out of a regard for discipline, Bordiga and his comrades (who became known as the Italian Communist Left) accepted the Comintern decision, but they were in an increasingly difficult position. When Bordiga was arrested in February 1923 on a trumped-up charge by the new government of Benito Mussolini, he had to give up his post as member of the Central Committee of the PCd’I, but on his acquittal later that year decided not to reclaim it, thus implicitly accepting that he was now an oppositionist. In 1924, the ICL lost control of the PCd’I to a pro-Moscow group whose leader Gramsci became the party's General Secretary in June. At the third Congress of the PCd’I held in exile in Lyons in January 1926, the manoeuvre of the pro-Moscow group was completed. Without the support of the Communist International to escape from fascist control,[citation needed] few members of the Italian Communist Left were able to arrive to the Congress, so the theses drawn up by Bordiga were rejected and those of the Stalinist minority group accepted.[citation needed]
He attended his last meeting of the Executive Committee of the Comintern in 1926, the same year in which he confronted Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin face-to-face. In his final confrontation with Stalin in Moscow in 1926, Bordiga proposed that all the communist parties of the world should jointly rule the Soviet Union as a demonstration of the supra-national reality of the workers' movement. However, this proposal was coolly received by Stalin and his friends. Bordiga accused Stalin of betraying the revolution, calling the Soviet leader "the gravedigger of the revolution".
Under arrest [ edit ]
In December 1926, Bordiga was again arrested by Mussolini and sent to prison in Ustica, an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, where he met with Gramsci and they renewed their friendship and worked alongside each other despite their political differences. Bordiga was concerned about Gramsci's ill health, but nothing came of a plan to help him escape the island. In 1928, Bordiga was moved to the Isle of Ponza, wherehe built several houses, returning after his detention in 1929 to finish them.[1]
Opposition [ edit ]
Following his release, Bordiga did not resume his activities in the PCI and was in fact expelled in March 1930, accused of having "supported, defended and endorsed the positions of the Trotskyist opposition" and been organisationally disruptive.[1] With his expulsion, Bordiga left political activity until 1943 and he was to refuse to comment on political affairs even when asked by trusted friends. However, many of his former supporters in the PCd'I went into exile and founded a political tendency, often referred to as Italian Communist Left. In 1928, its members in exile in France and Belgium formed themselves into the Left Fraction of the Communist Party of Italy, which became in 1935 the Italian Fraction of the Communist Left. This change of name was a reflection of the Italian Communist Left's view that the PCI and the other communist parties had now become counter-revolutionary. The Bordigists, as they became known, with their theory of the party and their opposition to any form of frontism, held that program was everything and a gate-receipt notion of numbers was nothing. Bordiga would again work with many of these comrades following the end of World War II.
International Communist Party [ edit ]
After 1944, he first returned to political activity in the Naples-based Fraction of Socialists and Communists, but when this grouping was dissolved into the International Communist Party (ICP) Bordiga did not initially join. However, he did contribute anonymously to its press, primarily Battaglia Comunista and Prometeo, in keeping with his conviction that revolutionary work was collective in nature and his opposition to any form of (even incipient) personality cult. Bordiga joined the ICP in 1949.
When the current split in two in 1951, he took the side of the grouping that retained the name, publishing its Il Programma Comunista. Bordiga devoted himself to the party, contributing extensively. Bordiga remained with the ICP until his death at Formia in 1970.
Theories [ edit ]
On Stalinism [ edit ]
On the theoretical level, Bordiga developed an understanding of the Soviet Union as a capitalist society. Bordiga's writings on the capitalist nature of the Soviet economy in contrast to those produced by the Trotskyists also focused on the agrarian sector. In analyzing the agriculture of the Soviet Union, Bordiga sought to display the capitalist social relations that existed in the kolkhoz and sovkhoz, one a cooperative farm and the other a wage-labor state farm. In particular, he emphasized how much of the national agrarian produce came from small privately owned plots (writing in 1950) and predicted the rates at which the Soviet Union would start importing wheat after Russia had been such a large exporter from the 1880s to 1914.[2]
In Bordiga's conception of Stalinism, Joseph Stalin and later Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and so on were great romantic revolutionaries, i.e. bourgeois revolutionaries. He felt that the Stalinist regimes that came into existence after 1945 were extending the bourgeois nature of prior revolutions that degenerated as all had in common a policy of expropriation and agrarian and productive development, which he considered negations of previous conditions and not the genuine construction of socialism.
On democracy [ edit ]
Bordiga proudly defined himself as anti-democratic, believing himself to be following the tradition of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. However, Bordiga's hostility toward democracy was unrelated to the Stalinist narrative of the single-party state. Indeed, he saw fascism and Stalinism as the culmination of bourgeois democracy. Democracy to Bordiga meant above all the manipulation of society as a formless mass. To this, he counterposed the dictatorship of the proletariat, to be implemented by the communist party, based on the principles and program enunciated in The Communist Manifesto (1848). He often referred to the spirit of Engels' remark that "on the eve of the revolution all the forces of reaction will be against us under the banner of 'pure democracy" (as every factional opponent of the Bolsheviks in 1921 from the monarchists to the anarchists called for soviets without Bolsheviks—or soviet workers councils not dominated by Bolsheviks). Bordiga opposed the idea of revolutionary theory being the product of a democratic process of pluralist views, believing that the Marxist perspective has the merit of underscoring the fact that communism, like all social formations, is above all about the expression of programmatic content. This enforces the fact that for Marxists communism is not an ideal to be achieved, but a "real movement" born from the old society with a set of programmatic tasks.
On the united front [ edit ]
Bordiga resolutely opposed the Comintern's turn to the right in 1921. As General Secretary of the PCI, he refused to implement the united front strategy of the Third Congress. He refused to fuse the newly formed PCI, dominated by Bordigism, with the left-wing of the PSI from which it had just broken away. Bordiga had a completely different view of the party from the Comintern, which was adapting to the revolutionary ebb which was announced in 1921 by the Anglo-Russian trade agreement, the Kronstadt rebellion, the implementation of the New Economic Policy, the banning of factions and the defeat of the March Action in Germany. For Bordiga, the Western European communist parties' strategy of fighting this ebb by absorbing a mass of left-wing social democrats through the united front was a complete capitulation to the period of counter-revolutionary ebb he saw setting in. This was the nub of his critique of democracy, for it was in the name of conquering the masses that the Comintern seemed to be making all kinds of programmatic concessions to left-wing social democrats. For Bordiga, program was everything, a gate-receipt notion of numbers was nothing. The role of the party in the period of ebb was to preserve the program and to carry on the propaganda work possible until the next turn of the tide, not to dilute it while chasing ephemeral popularity.
Bordiga provided a way of seeing a fundamental degeneration in the world communist movement in 1921 (instead of in 1927 with the defeat of Trotsky) without sinking into mere empty calls for more democracy. The abstract formal perspective of bureaucracy/democracy, with which the Trotskyist tradition treats this crucial period in Comintern history, became separated from any content. Bordiga throughout his life called himself a Leninist and never polemicized against Lenin directly, but his totally different appreciation of the 1921 conjuncture, its consequences for the Comintern and his opposition to Lenin and Trotsky on the united front issue illuminates a turning point that is generally obscured by the heirs of the Trotskyist wing of the international left opposition of the 1920s.
On communism [ edit ]
For Bordiga, both stages of socialist or communist society (sometimes distinguished as socialism and communism) were characterised by the gradual absence of money, the market and so on, the difference between them being that earlier in the first stage a system of rationing would be used to allocate goods to people while in communism this could be abandoned in favour of full free access. This view distinguished Bordiga from other Leninists and especially the Trotskyists, who tended and still tend to telescope the first two stages and so have money and the other exchange categories surviving into socialism, but Bordiga would have none of this. For him, no society in which money, buying and selling and the rest survived could be regarded as either socialist or communist—these exchange categories would die out before the socialist rather than the communist stage was reached.NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India looks likely to harvest a bumper wheat crop this year, its eighth in a row to exceed demand, possibly encouraging the government to allow exports from overflowing grain bins.
A dozer unloads wheat next to a ship at Mundra Port in Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files
A slow start to the planting season and a less than expected rise in the price at which the government will buy new-season wheat from farmers had raised some apprehension about a drop in output.
But as the weather turned favourable, planting gradually picked up the usual pace.
“Every single trend suggests that we are heading for a harvest as big as last year,” Indu Sharma, chief of the state-run Directorate of Wheat Research, told Reuters.
But Sharma and her colleagues are keeping an eye out for any sudden rise in temperatures in February and March, as dry weather could damage the crop.
The crop has to now been unscathed apart from some minor fungus which was “highly localised”, Sharma said.
Indian farmers grow only one wheat crop a year. Planting starts in October, with harvests from April. Wheat acreage hovers between 29 million and 31 million hectares.
The area planted with wheat is 3 percent lower than the previous year, according to provisional data from the farm ministry which updates its numbers as it gathers more information.
The reduction in area was “marginal and well within the range”, said Farm Commissioner J.S. Sandhu, who oversees crop planting.
“The last few spells of rains, intermittent fog followed by sunshine and no large-scale pest infestation indicate a big crop size, at least as big as the 2014 harvest,” Sandhu said.
In 2014, India, the world’s biggest wheat producer after China, harvested a record 95.91 million tonnes, bumping up stocks to three times the target.
To make room for the new harvest, the government could allow exports.
But trade experts say India has narrowly missed an opportunity to export wheat as global prices have again nosed down and rival European supplies have become cheaper.
Benchmark prices in Chicago WH5 on Monday hit a four-month low of $4.92-1/4 a bushel.
“The price dynamics changed swiftly and India failed to take a quick call on exports. Now French wheat is available at $210-$215, (free on board) against Indian wheat which is priced at $275 a tonne,” said Tajinder Narang, a New Delhi-based trade analyst who advises many big global traders.FBI statistics released this week show that the number of marijuana arrests in the United States, after rising slightly in 2014, fell by 8%t last year, reaching the lowest level in two decades. The total was nevertheless more than twice the number in 1991, before a nationwide cannabis crackdown that peaked in 2007. The number of marijuana arrests has fallen more or less steadily since then, reflecting a growing consensus that cannabis consumers should not be treated as criminals.
The FBI’s numbers indicate that police across the country made 643,121 marijuana arrests in 2015, 26% fewer than the 2007 total of 872,720. As usual, the vast majority of pot arrests—almost nine out of 10—were for possession, as opposed to sale or cultivation. A 2006 analysis by the Sentencing Project’s Ryan King and Marc Mauer found that less than 6%t of marijuana arrests lead to a felony conviction.
It’s not clear exactly why police started targeting cannabis consumers with renewed zeal in the early 1990s. Changes in marijuana use do not account for the surge in arrests. To the contrary, the risk of arrest for the average cannabis consumer rose substantially between 1991 and 2007, when the number of marijuana arrests tripled. Marijuana accounted for 52% of all drug arrests by 2010, up from less than 29 percent in 1991. “Since 1990,” King and Mauer noted, “the primary focus of the war on drugs has shifted to low-level marijuana offenses. During the study period [1990 through 2002], 82% of the increase in drug arrests nationally (450,000) was for marijuana offenses, and virtually all of that increase was in possession offenses.”
Last year the lion’s share of drug arrests—43%—still involved marijuana. But that percentage has been dropping since 2010.
In some jurisdictions, police no longer have the option of arresting adults for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Colorado’s 2012 legalization initiative eliminated all penalties for possession of up to an ounce by adults 21 or older, which was previously a petty offense. The Drug Policy Alliance found that the number of marijuana possession cases in Colorado fell by 84% between 2010 and 2014, from 9,011 to 1,464.
The change in Washington state, where voters also approved legalization in 2012, was even more dramatic. According to the ACLU of Washington, marijuana possession cases fell from 6,879 in 2011 to 120 in 2013—a 98% drop.
Oregon, where voters approved legalization in 2014, decriminalized possession of an ounce or less back in 1973, making it a violation subject to a fine rather than an offense for which someone can be arrested. Data from the Oregon State Police nevertheless show a big drop in pot busts after legalization took effect, from 4,273 in 2014 to 1,129 in 2015.
Alaska, the other state where a legalization initiative passed in 2014, also decriminalized possession in the ’70s. According to the Alaska Department of Public Safety, marijuana-related arrests fell from 716 in 2014 to 290 in 2015.
Washington, D.C., decriminalized possession in 2014 and legalized possession, home cultivation, and sharing in 2015 (as a result of an initiative approved the previous year). Possession arrests plunged from more than 2,000 in 2011 to fewer than 10 last year.
A ballot initiative approved by Massachusetts voters in 2008 made possession of less than an ounce a citable offense punishable by a $100 fine. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, marijuana arrests fell precipitously, from 10,260 in 2008 to 2,748 in 2009. By contrast, after Maine’s legislature made possession of up to two-and-a-half ounces a civil infraction in 2009, arrests fell only slightly.
California and New York City |
size of the system and the ambitious goals of the program. To date, the task force has trained staff at fewer than one-quarter of the district’s 107 schools. In fact, neither Kerr nor most of his teachers have received any formal training in restorative techniques. Instead they have embraced the initiative on their own. A significant portion of the task force budget goes to consultants and paying for substitutes while the teachers are in training.
Budget constraints also apply to independent nonprofits that provide restorative justice services and expertise. After the Board of Education embraced restorative justice in 2009, experienced, successful programs like Peer Courts did not receive additional funds and were not able to expand. Peer Courts received $100,000 from the city in the 2010-11 school year, which “is basically our total program budget,” Litwak said. That year, Litwak worked with 50 students, the same number of students he did in 2008.
In early 2012, the program abruptly closed, “due to systemic budget cuts over the last few years, and an increasingly difficult environment for alternative justice programs,” as its website announced.
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To Lisa Schiff and Tim Lennon, the lack of financial commitment calls into question the district’s ability to deliver on the promise of restorative justice. The two are spouses and longtime leaders in Parents for Public Schools and the parent-teacher associations at the schools their two children attended.
“The trouble is that they have $600,000 to address a $10 million problem,” Lennon said.
Thanks to budget cuts, Schiff added, “There’s been no rigorous analysis to say what kind of impact this program is really having. That’s too bad, because during a time of competing resources, we want to be able to defend programs that are working or change them to be more effective. You can’t do that without good data. And unfortunately, in this case, the lack of analysis and planning means that kids are getting physically hurt,” she argued, because violent offenders are not dealt with effectively.
The district acknowledges the program’s challenges but says it has made progress in two years. In the 2010-2011 school year, it trained 823 employees, including the entire staff at three demonstration schools. This year, said Kerri Berkowitz, San Francisco Unified’s restorative practices coordinator, 35 schools have requested on-site training—something she is hard-pressed to provide.
“Our capacity right now is a challenge,” Berkowitz said. “Our team is made up of myself and a coach, and we’re hiring another full-time coach. Plus, there’s very little time in the school day—teachers don’t have very many professional development days, and we need funding to hire substitutes so that teachers can leave their classrooms. We have some money, but it’s not enough.”
Some schools late adopters
Berkowitz has never conducted training at the 769-student Thurgood Marshall Academic High School, which could use her help. Suspensions there jumped from 115 in the 2006-2007 school year to 315 last year, while they were falling across the district.
Thurgood Marshall is located in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, where 30 percent of families make less than $10,000 a year. Homicide is the leading cause of death for children in the neighborhood, according to the Hunters Point Family social service agency. That statistic hit home when Thurgood Marshall student Andy Zeng was killed and mutilated in April. Two other neighborhood teenagers are accused.
As in many schools throughout the district, poverty and punishment go hand and hand. When Edgar Ulu, a student at Thurgood Marshall, was suspended in 2009 for fighting in the lunch line, he was taken to the principal’s office and suspended for one week. Edgar said there was no effort to discuss the incident or repair any damage done to the other student or the school—he was simply sent home.
In his case, at least, suspension worked. “I learned my lesson,” he said. That week he cut off his abundant Afro, a symbolic step intended to convey his desire to get serious about school. He graduated in 2011 and is now attending San Francisco City College.
“Thurgood’s a good school,” said Edgar, who as a linebacker was named to the high-school All-City team. “It’s just that they don’t have a football field, they don’t have enough extracurricular activities. Kids don’t feel connected.”
Administrators at Thurgood Marshall did not respond to requests for interviews.
The Board of Education’s resolution to adopt restorative justice did not force schools to adopt the practices, though rates of expulsion and suspension are now part of how the Board evaluates the performance of principals. Instead, the resolution funded a plan to gradually introduce the concept and train the staffs over a period of many years. In the meantime, deans, principals and teachers still have wide latitude in how they deal with disciplinary issues. District officials said the idea of diverting students from punishment spreads incrementally and varies school by school, social worker by social worker.
“The challenge is that at some schools there are only pockets of belief in restorative practices,” said Claudia Anderson, executive director of Student Support Services for San Francisco Unified. She is the district’s chief expulsion officer and leader of its restorative justice efforts. “If students continue to make inappropriate choices, then there’s a lot of pressure to fall back on traditional responses like expulsion.”
Even when administrators implement restorative practices, the staff sometimes botch the process, and parents sometimes resist.
Emotional Learning Brings Real Hope to Schools
A little-known movement helps kids understand the connection between the brain and heart, and improve their behavior (and test scores) too.
Two parents, who asked that their names not be used to protect the privacy of their middle-school daughter, said that when their daughter was attacked by two other girls in an assault they described as “life-threatening,” they were “pressured” to go through a restorative process that required the girl to face the classmates who assaulted her—a terrifying prospect. Ultimately, after requesting a more traditional disciplinary response to the attack, the family decided to leave the school, while the offenders remained. The family reported feeling victimized twice: by the attack and by the restorative process, which they said resulted in no consequences for the attackers.
“In restorative justice, the total focus is on re-integrating the perpetrator,” said the father. “But too often it comes at the expense of the victim.”
The district’s Claudia Anderson is not daunted. “There’s always going to be criticism,” she said. “For a decade we went through this zero-tolerance era. And quite frankly it didn’t work. It didn’t make one bit of difference.” The results so far suggest that the San Francisco experiment, while just getting started, could bear fruit if given the resources and time the staff need to develop it. The district has scheduled meetings with parents at 18 schools of the course of Winter and Spring 2012, to educate them about the program and, at schools where it’s been implemented, to get feedback on progress.
These conversations are happening all across the country. Nancy Riestenberg has coordinated restorative justice efforts in Minnesota public schools since 1994, which gives her a long-term perspective on the challenges facing San Francisco teachers and administrators as they ramp up the program.
“The research said that it takes three to five years to implement anything in schools,” Riestenberg said. “So everyone in San Francisco should take a deep breath and proceed as calmly as they can. You’re building a new system because the old system wasn’t working. And that’s to be applauded.”
Interested?Over the last 10 years, OpenSSL has published advisories on over 100 vulnerabilities. Many more were likely silently fixed in the early days, but in the past year our goal has been to establish a clear public record.
In September 2014, the team adopted a security policy that defines how we handle vulnerability reports. One year later, I’m very happy to conclude that our policy is enforced, and working well.
Our policy divides vulnerabilities into three categories, and defines actions for each category: we use the severity ranking to balance the need to get the fix out fast with the burden release upgrades put on our consumers.
HIGH severity issues affect common configurations and are likely to be exploitable. The most precious OpenSSL component is the TLS server, and of the four HIGH severity bugs we had in the last year, two were server DoS. The third was the RSA EXPORT downgrade attack, and the fourth a certificate forgery attack, which luckily was discovered and reported to us very fast and so only affected OpenSSL for one release cycle. When a HIGH severity report comes in, we drop whatever we were doing, investigate, develop patches and start preparing for a release. We aim to get the fix out in under a month.
MODERATE severity issues are likely to affect some subset of the OpenSSL users in a notable way. Examples from past year include DoS problems affecting clients and servers with client auth, crashes in PKCS7 parsing, and an array of bugs in DTLS. MODERATE issues don’t kick off an immediate release; rather, we pool them together. But we also don’t wait for a HIGH issue to come along (of course we hope one never does). We’ve been releasing pretty regularly on a bi-monthly basis to get the patches out.
LOW severity issues include crashes in less common parts of the API and problems with the command-line tool (which you shouldn’t be using for security purposes!). For those, we’re reasonably confirmed that usage patterns that could lead to exploitation are rare in practice. We do due CVE diligence on every issue that may have a security impact, but in order to reduce the complexity of release and patch management, we commit these fixes immediately to the public git repository.
The graph below (raw data) shows the number of days from first report until the security release for each of the CVEs of the past year. You can see the policy in action: serious vulnerabilities do get fixed faster. (The first 9 issues were released in August 2014, just before adopting the new policy, and don’t have a severity ranking.)
The acceptable timeline for disclosure is a hot topic in the community: we meet CERT’s 45-day disclosure deadline more often than not, and we’ve never blown Project Zero’s 90-day baseline. Most importantly, we met the goal we set ourselves and released fixes for all HIGH severity issues in well under a month. We also landed mitigation for two high-profile protocol bugs, POODLE and Logjam. Those disclosure deadlines weren’t under our control but our response was prepared by the day the reports went public.
We’ve also made mistakes. Notably, the RSA EXPORT man-in-the-middle attack didn’t get the attention or execution speed it deserved. We underestimated the impact and gave it the LOW treatment, only reclassifying it to a HIGH in a later advisory, once we realised how prevalent EXPORT cipher suite support still was. A couple of times, we scrambled to get the release out and introduced new bugs in the process: better release testing is definitely something we need to work on, and we’re grateful to everyone who’s helped us with continuous integration tests.
Of course, the true goal is to not have any CVEs in the first place. So I can’t say it’s been a good year: too many bugs are still being found in old code. But we’re working hard to improve the code quality going forward, and we’ve set the baseline.
Finally, a special thanks to all the security researchers who’ve sent reports to openssl-security@openssl.org: the quality of reports is generally very high and your collaboration in analysing the vulnerabilities has been tremendously helpful.Photo Scissors Pilot Removing Objects from a Photo
The Photo Scissors Pilot program allows you to remove objects from a photo and to change the space between them.
Removal of Objects
Removing an object from a landscape
Removing someone from a photo
Changing Space between Objects
Cut out the middle of the image, if you need to reduce the size of the image and to save the main objects.
Marker for selection of " unnecessary " and "main" objects
Selection of direction in the removing area (vertical / horizontal)
Possibility of restoring the original size of the image after removal of the object
What You Can Do with Photo Scissors Pilot: 1. Remove Objects
2. Change the spacing between main objects (with changing the size of the image)
Marker for selection of the remaining objects
Possibility of saving the "main" objects without changing
3. Remove small, unnecessary objects with the Smart Patch tool
Copy a "smart patch" from one part of an image to another
Adjust the color of the copied and pasted object
4. Crop images
Feel free to check our line of photo retouching software.
Page topThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was my favorite place in the world. It’s still the stadium where the Minnesota Twins played the longest, and the stadium where they won all of their World Series Championships. I spent an exorbitant amount of time in there watching baseball. I once even read a poem I wrote about how much I loved the Metrodome to an audience of hundreds of very confused people in New York City.
I cried when the Twins played their last game in The Dome, and I cried when it was demolished. I never even got to be in the Hormel Row of Fame.
The Metrodome was demolished, of course, to make way for U.S. Bank Stadium—the new home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers Baseball Team. The Gophers, if you remember, used to share The Dome with the Twins back in the day. The boys in maroon and gold finally got to play their first game at the new place last Friday.
Here’s the field setup:
Season opener at US Bank Field on Monday. Excited for some indoor baseball! #beready #awesome pic.twitter.com/UjKk2vMPp2 — Macalester Baseball (@MacalesterBase) February 24, 2017
Basically, it looks similar to the Metrodome, except shittier.
Enjoying some Gopher baseball at US Bank Stadium. pic.twitter.com/e2mcsE54S4 — LF Baseball (@LF_Flyers) February 26, 2017
Okay, maybe I’m a little biased. There are actual windows, and maybe some actual sunlight during the day. I guess that’s a good thing? I don’t know.
But let’s take a look at the right field baggie for a second.
First of all, could we make that baggie any longer? I don’t think it’s long enough.
Second of all, what abomination is this?
If you didn’t know, that’s a home run line. Any ball that hits above the line is a home run. That’s right—balls don’t even need to be hit over the baggie to be a home run.
I already feel like I’m developing an ulcer from MLB Commissioner in Poop Rob Manfred’s ridiculous rule changes and rule change proposals. Even the intentional walk thing, which isn’t THAT big of a deal, annoys the hell out of me. Now this? On the holy grounds of the Metrodome? To paraphrase Piers Morgan, I want dead.
It’s not just the unreasonably long baggie with the stupid home run line, either. There are other things lacking at US Bank Stadium—most noticeably, dirt. There’s no dirt anywhere in the infield besides the mound (which is pathetic) and home plate. We spent over $1 billion on this stadium and they can’t even put dirt around the bases? Seriously? It’s dirt. Nick Punto is probably rolling in his grave.
Here’s a shot video of early batting practice:
Getting in some cuts before game 2️⃣ at U.S. Bank Stadium! ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/f9Dq7wuEv7 — Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) February 25, 2017
Yeah, okay, nice windows—but they are practically the same color as the Metrodome roof anyway.
In case you’re wondering: no, I did not use any kind of filter on the above photos to make the windows and the roof look closer to the same color. I wanted to, just to enhance whatever point I’m trying to make here, but I’d already had a rally beer and gave up trying to figure out how to adjust the colors pretty quickly. I’m not a graphic designer.
Anyway, if you ask me, the windows actually look even more annoying than the old roof because they’re too fancy.
Here’s an example of what the place looked like in action:
If you were able to focus on anything besides the mismatching colored “dirt,” you probably noticed the complete lack of a giant, inflatable, Land O’ Lakes milk jug in right field. I know the Twins got rid of the milk jug in the later days of the Metrodome, and I’m still planning on starting a letter-writing campaign about that, but it doesn’t make its absence at U.S. Bank Stadium any less salient. And really, who wants to watch indoor baseball without a giant, inflatable milk jug in the corner? Not me.
Another point of contention I have is that, according to this review of the stadium by Tom Froemming—who actually paid ten real, American dollars to see this insult against indoor baseball in person—you aren’t allowed to sit anywhere besides the baselines on the first level. That actually seems perfectly reasonable. I don’t have a problem with that. My problem is with the execution. They didn’t even put up a giant curtain around the off-limit seats to let you know you’re not really supposed to sit there? Again: We paid one. billion. dollars. for this.
Don’t even get me started on the dugouts. They look they were built using an Erector Set and a giant piece of sheet metal that was on sale at Menard’s.
In summary: US Bank Stadium sucks. Too much natural light. Not enough dirt. The Metrodome was way better and we should have never bulldozed it—but maybe the new place would be okay if they put a giant, inflatable milk jug in right field. Or hell, even left field. I’m not that picky. Just as long as it lights up when someone hits a dinger above the stupid home run line.
Damn it, now I’m just mad all over again.PHILADELPHIA — Three Philadelphia women will face a judge next week for the murder of a homeless man whom they allegedly attacked in the most savage manner imaginable, with the assistance of several children, because one woman’s son falsely accused the man of hitting him.
Video shot by a surveillance camera at a Sunoco in the north Philly neighborhood of Olney on April 7 shows a minivan pull into the gas station parking lot, where a group that police say included Aleathea Gillard, Shareena Joachim, and Kaisha Duggins, as well as three unnamed teenagers, attacked Robert Barnes just outside the door of the convenience store.
The three women and three juveniles have been in custody since they were arrested in April for the gang assault on Barnes, who remained in a coma until he died Nov. 25. The death was ruled a homicide by Alexander Balacki, chief medical investigator for Montgomery County, who said Barnes died of “complications from blunt impact to the head.”
Authorities say the vicious, sustained assault was prompted when Gillard’s 10-year-old son, who did not participate in the beating but competed with Barnes pumping gas for tips at the Sunoco, told his mother Barnes had hit him during an argument at the gas station.
It was later revealed that the boy had fabricated that assault to explain an injury he received falling from his bicycle—he had argued with Barnes earlier in the day but concocted the story as an excuse for coming home late.
The brutal attack ended when the woman seen in the video wielding a chair leg and who inflicted the most obvious damage, who police say is Gillard, retrieved a boy who had returned for a few more kicks. She pulls him to the waiting minivan and the group makes a very professional-looking getaway.
At the height of the brutality, the woman, allegedly Gillard, crouches over Barnes, who is cowering on the sidewalk, to directly and repeatedly strike him in the head with her salvaged furniture bludgeon. Her alleged accomplice Duggins, police say, beat Barnes with a hammer, the first blow from which toppled Barnes to the ground, while Joachim allegedly bungled her role in the ambush, accidentally pepper-spraying Gillard’s 13-year-old son (this can been in the video when the young man begins yelling and jumping around the parking lot).
The alleged assailants, many of whom were wearing clothes spattered with Barnes’s blood, were arrested after they took the boy to an emergency room for treatment.
Last June, Gillard’s 13-year-old son, her then-12-year-old daughter, and a 14-year-old male friend who participated in the attack pleaded guilty before a Family Court judge to charges of aggravated assault and conspiracy, in exchange for the DA’s dismissing attempted murder charges.
The DA’s office says homicide charges are now also probable for the teens but have not been formally filed. A source close to the investigation says those charges are likely to come in the next few days.
People who knew Barnes, including the monsignor at an area parish, say that what little the homeless man had he was always willing to share with others.
“We’re the same age for a month,” Barnes’s sister Diane told The Daily Beast. “I turned 51 Nov. 27, two days after Bobby died. He used to tell people I was his twin sister.” He would have been 52 this coming Monday.
Diane Barnes learned her brother had been critically wounded when her stepbrother, a Philly cop, called her about the incident when he saw it reported on the news.
She recognized her brother in the video by the boots she had given him.
Barnes said her brother was still conscious when paramedics arrived. “He told the ambulance driver that he was just jumped by five black girls and beat with a hammer, so he knew what happened to him. And then when he was brought to the hospital that’s when he fell unconscious from bleeding on the brain. At that time they raced him into surgery and removed a great portion of his skull to alleviate the pressure, and of course when I went in to see him, I just lost it.”
Her brother had been on the streets on and off for two decades and was estranged from many family members due to his alcoholism, she said. He worked occasionally with his father as a roofer.
“There were times that he lived with my father, when he was alive in Olney… he would live with my father and do well and work with him, and not drink, but occasionally he would tell us all to go to hell and start drinking again… that’s what caused him to stay on the streets, ultimately, because there were no rules for him.”
Robert and Diane Barnes have a sister, Debbie, who lives in Connecticut, and a half-brother, Steven, who lives in Philadelphia. Diane said Debbie will be in town next week, and both will attend the Dec. 30 appearance in court for the three women accused of killing their brother. They want to keep the pressure up.
“I want this mother that did this, I want her to get the death penalty,” Diane Barnes said. “I really do, I just think it’s terrible what she did, she brought all those people down with her, she initiated it all. And you know, she went there equipped with everything she needed to do this. She knew my brother, she knew him well, they all knew my brother.
“When he drank he could be mouthy, but he was harmless,” she added. “He would never hurt anybody, he would never hurt a child, he just ran his mouth sometimes. I don’t know whether he said something they didn’t like, maybe he urinated on their property, he did a lot of that over there, you know. I don’t know... they only lived a block away. You could tell they went there with a lot of anger inside them.
“They just didn’t give a shit, these people, I mean, it’s obvious. The cameras were right in their view and they didn’t care.”
Barnes started an online fundraiser to help pay for the costs of her brother’s funeral. She said she hopes to raise extra money to give other homeless men the same gift that meant so much to her brother: boots.
“We’re going to work with Payless Shoes and purchase a ton of work boots and donate them to a homeless shelter,” she said.The Persistence of the Old Regime
This afternoon I ended up reading this Vox story about an effort to rank US Universities and Colleges carried out in 1911 by a man named Kendric Charles Babcock. On Twitter, Robert Kelchen remarks that the report was “squashed by Taft” (an unpleasant fate), and he links to the report itself, which is terrific. Babcock divided schools into four Classes, beginning with Class I:
And descending all the way to Class IV:
Babcock’s discussion of his methods is admirably brief (the snippet above hints at the one sampling problem that possibly troubled him), so I recommend you read the report yourself.
University reputations are extremely sticky, the conventional wisdom goes. I was interested to see whether Babcock’s report bore that out. I grabbed the US News and World Report National University Rankings and National Liberal Arts College Rankings and made a quick pass through them, coding their 1911 Babcock Class. The question is whether Mr Babcock, should he return to us from the grave, would be satisfied with how his rankings had held up—more than a century of massive educational expansion and alleged disruption notwithstanding.
It turns out that he would be quite pleased with himself.
Here is a dotplot of the 2014 USNWR National University Ranking, where the dots are color-coded for Babcock Class. There are two panels, one on the left for Private Universities, and one on the right for Public Universities. USNWR’s highest-ranked school at the moment is Princeton, and it is at the top of the dotplot. You read down the ranking from there.
You can get a larger image or a PDF version of the figure if you want a closer look at it.
As you can see, for private universities, especially, the 1911 Babcock Classification tracks prestige in 2014 very well indeed. The top fifteen or so USNWR Universities that were around in 1911 were regarded as Class 1 by Babcock. Class 2 Privates and a few Class 1 stragglers make up the next chunk of the list. The only serious outliers are the Stevens Institute of Technology and the Catholic University of America.
The situation for public universities is also interesting. The Babcock Class 1 Public Schools have not done as well as their private peers. Berkeley (or “The University of California” as was) is the highest-ranked Class I public in 2014, with UVa and Michigan close behind. Babcock sniffily rated UNC a Class II school. I have no comment about that, other than to say he was obviously right. Other great state flagships like Madison, Urbana, Washington, Ohio State, Austin, Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, Kansas, and Iowa are much lower-ranked today than their Class I designation by Babcock in 1911 would have led you to believe. Conversely, one or two Class 4 publics—notably Georgia Tech—are much higher ranked today than Babcock would have guessed. So rankings are sticky, but only as long as you’re not public.
I also did the same figure for Liberal Arts Colleges, almost all of which are private, so this time there’s just the one panel:
You can get a larger image or a PDF version of the figure if you want a closer look at it.
Again, there is a substantial degree of stability over the course of the century. Here we see a bit more evidence of some movement up by colleges that Babcock put in Class II—Swarthmore, for example, as well as Middlebury and Pomona. The Class I schools that seem to have fallen from favor most are Knox, Lake Forest, and Goucher colleges.
Now, some caveats. First, because I was more or less coding this stuff while eating my lunch, I have not attempted to connect schools which Babcock did rate with their current institutional descendants. So, for example, some technical, liberal arts, or agricultural schools that he classified grew into or were absorbed by major state universities in the 20th century. These are not on the charts above. We are only looking at schools that existed under their current name (more or less—there are one or two exceptions) in 1911 and now. Second, higher Education in the U.S. really has changed a lot since 1911. In particular the postwar expansion of public education introduced many new and excellent public universities, and over the course of the twentieth century even some decent private ones emerged and came to prominence (such as my own, which competes with a nearby Class II school). This biases things in favor of the seeming stability of the rankings, because in his own data Babcock had the luxury of not having to classify schools that did not yet exist.
We can add these in a final, rather large, chart for the National University data.
You can get a larger image or a PDF version of the figure if you want a closer look at it.
Now the coding includes the pink “None” category, which adds universities that appear in the USNWR rankings but which are not in Babcock, either because they did not exist at all in 1911, or had not yet taken their present names. In fairness to him, the new additions still leave Babcock’s classification looking pretty good. On the private side, Duke, Caltech, and Rice are added to the upper end of the list, and a number of new private schools further down.
Meanwhile on the public side you can see the appearance of the 20th century schools, most notably the whole California system. The UC System is an astonishing achievement, when you look at it, as it propelled five of its campuses into the upper third of the table to join Berkeley. But the status ordering that was—take your pick; these data can’t settle the question—observed, intuited, or invented by Babcock a century ago remains remarkably resilient. The old regime persists.
Note: Updated August 8th to correct some coding errors.WaterTower Music will release a full soundtrack album for the HBO original series Westworld. The album features the music from the show’s first season composed by Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones, Pacific Rim, Iron Man, Clash of the Titans, Warcraft). The soundtrack, which has a run time of 109 minutes, will be released digitally this coming Monday, December 5 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon, where you can also listen to audio samples. The label has previously released an EP featuring five selections from the soundtrack. Westworld is created by Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 feature and stars Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Tessa Thompson, and Sidse Babett Knudsen. The final episode for the show’s first season will premiere this Sunday on HBO. Visit the official show website for more information.
Here’s the album track list (might contain spoilers!):
Disc 1:
1. Main Title Theme – Westworld
2. Sweetwater
3. Black Hole Sun
4. Paint it Black
5. This World
6. Online
7. No Surprises
8. Dr. Ford
9. A Forest
10. Reveries
11. Nitro Heist
12. Motion Picture Soundtrack – Vitamin String Quartet
13. Freeze All Motor Functions
14. Pariah
15. Fake Plastic Trees
16. MIB
Disc 2:
1. The Maze
2. House of the Rising Sun
3. Trompe L’Oeil
4. What Does This Mean
5. Something I Can Never Have – Vitamin String Quartet
6. White Hats
7 Back to Black
8. No One’s Controlling Me
9. Memories
10. No Surprises (Stride Piano)
11. Violent Delights
12. Someday
13. Sweetwater Stride
14. Do They Dream
15. The Stray
16. Bicameral Mind
17. Exit Music (For a Film)
18. ReverieArizona is already gearing up to enforce its strict immigration law as it anticipates a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court sometime this month, with Gov. Jan Brewer issuing an executive order this week telling police to bone up on the details of the law.
Mrs. Brewer ordered that training materials produced to help police understand the law and its limits should be distributed throughout the state in preparation for a ruling.
The materials, created by a state board that sets standards for all law enforcement, include a DVD designed to help police understand the circumstances that would let them question someone about immigration status.
That power has been the most controversial part of the law, SB 1070, which Mrs. Brewer signed in 2010 but was largely halted by lower federal courts as an infringement on federal powers.
In her order, Mrs. Brewer said the materials need to “make clear that an individual’s race, color or national origin alone cannot be grounds for reasonable suspicion to believe any law has been violated.”
Among other provisions, the Arizona law requires police to check the immigration status of those they have encountered during their duties and have reasonable suspicion are in the country illegally.
Immigrant-rights groups and civil liberties organizations said SB 1070 would lead to racial profiling, but that has yet to be tested in court.
Instead, the Obama administration sued to halt Arizona’s law, arguing it would set the stage for a patchwork of laws throughout the country and infringe on the federal government’s exclusive rights to set immigration policy.
The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case in late April and is expected to rule before the end of June, when its 2011-2012 term concludes.
During oral arguments the justices seemed to take a dim view of the government’s challenge to at least parts of the law, saying the state seemed to want to push federal officials to enforce their own laws rather than try to compete with them.
The Obama administration said it should be allowed to determine the extent of calls it gets from local authorities to respond to illegal immigrants, but the justices said the government can always ignore those calls if they want.
The administration appeared on firmer ground, however, when it argued Arizona should not be allowed to impose its own state penalties, such as jail time against illegal immigrants who try to seek jobs.
In her executive order, Mrs. Brewer said authorities should be prepared to update their police training materials with any guidance the Supreme Court gives on how to enforce the law.
She issued a similar executive order in 2010 when the law was to go into effect, and decided with the court ruling pending it was wise to make sure police were prepared.
“The governor thought it was an appropriate time to revisit that and make certain law enforcement across the state of Arizona is as prepared as possible for the partial or full implementation of this law,” said Matt Benson, a spokesman for the governor.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.Interior (1911)
The Frederick C. Robie House is a U.S. National Historic Landmark on the campus of the University of Chicago in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1909 and 1910, the building was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright[4] and is renowned as the greatest example of Prairie School, the first architectural style considered uniquely American. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 27, 1963[5], and was on the first National Register of Historic Places list of October 15, 1966.[1]
History [ edit ]
Wright designed the Robie House in his studio in Oak Park, Illinois between 1908 and 1909.[6] The design precedent for the Robie House was the Ferdinand F. Tomek House in Riverside, Illinois, designed by Wright in 1907-08.[7] At the time that he commissioned Wright to design his home, Robie was only 28 years old and the assistant manager of the Excelsior Supply Company, a company on the South Side of Chicago owned and managed by his father. Although later drawings of the Robie House show a date of 1906, Wright could not have started the design for the building earlier than the spring of 1908 because Robie had actually purchased the property only in May of that year.[8] He and his wife, Lora Hieronymus Robie, a 1900 graduate of the University of Chicago, had selected the property at 5757 South Woodlawn Avenue in order to remain close to the campus and the social life of the university.[9] The property was a typical urban lot in Hyde Park, measuring 60 feet (18 m) by 180 feet (55 m).
The contractor for the project, H.B. Barnard Co. of Chicago, began construction on April 15, 1909.[10] Wright did not supervise the construction of the house except in the earliest stages. He closed his Oak Park studio in the fall of 1909 and left for Europe to undertake the work which led to the publication of the Wasmuth Portfolio. He turned over his existing commissions to Hermann von Holst, who retained Marion Mahony, a draughtswoman in Wright's office, and George Mann Niedecken, an interior designer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who had worked with Wright on the Susan Lawrence Dana House in Springfield, Illinois, the Avery Coonley House in Riverside, Illinois, and the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to continue their work on the project.[11] Niedecken's influence can be seen in the design of some of the furnishings for the house as well as the carpets in the entrance hall, the living room, and the dining room.
The Robie family—Frederick, Laura, and their two children, Frederick Jr. and Lorraine—moved into the home in May 1910, although all of the final details, including rugs and furniture, were not completed until January 1911.[12] The final cost of the home was $58,500--$13,500 for the land, $35,000 for the design and construction of the building, and $10,000 for the furnishings.[13] (Simple inflation adjusted equivalents of $58,500 in 1910 hover around $1.5 million in 2015, although other ways of comparing price and value over time could place that figure as high as $10 million without accounting for any potential premium as a result of the historical fame of the house.)[14][15] Robie's original budget had been $60,000.[16]
Robie's tenure in his |
So, do the women-only hours indeed violate “the laws of New York City and the Constitution”? “No,” said Feldman. “The laws are a constitutional accommodation of religion. And the NYC Human Rights law also allows for public policy accommodations; this qualifies.” (Feldman hopes to write in detail on this subject for his column at Bloomberg View.) I asked Feldman if the Times‘s argument was correct on the merits, would it also implicate Muslims with the same accommodations? “Yes,” he said.
Volokh, by contrast, was less sanguine about the practice. Though there is “a plausible case” to be made for the legality of sex-segregated swimming, he said, “this is a kind of religious accommodation that ends up benefiting some at the expense of others, and those are the kinds that are considered especially troublesome, especially when they involve presumptively forbidden forms of discrimination.” As such, he continued, “on balance, I think The New York Times is probably right as to the result although I think its rhetoric may be a bit overheated.” But, Volokh added, “surely the answer must be the same for Muslims.”
Personally, I come down on Feldman’s side. Given that both traditionalist Muslims and Jews support these public facilities with their tax money, it seems unfair to deny them just a few hours when they can actually use them comfortably in areas where they constitute a significant proportion of the population. Moreover, at a time when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his supporters are actively working to make both Muslims and Jews feel unwelcome in America, liberals ought to be especially sensitive to moves that would exacerbate this dynamic.
But while the merits of the pool policy are certainly debatable, the merits of the Times pinning it on the Jews—when such controversies have swirled around Muslims for years—should not be. If the Times opposes such accommodations for Muslims, it ought to say so explicitly and own the implications for the integration of Muslims into American life. And if it doesn’t, it ought to reconsider its selective opprobrium for religious Jews engaging in the same practice. After all, unfairly singling out one minority for criticism in an article premised on the paramount importance of equal treatment doesn’t exactly bolster its case.
Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.The New ‘Matrix’ Film Will Not Be A Reboot Or Remake Says Writer
Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Warner Bros. and Zak Penn are developing a new incarnation of The Matrix. The internet met this story in exactly the way you would expect it to; horribly. The news was frustrating for fans of the series, all because of a simple word; “reboot.” Since the release of the first Matrix film back in 1999, the series has gone on to become one of the most iconic – and successful – science-fiction franchises. Despite what was previously reported, the new movie will not be a reboot or a remake.
According to the film’s writer, the film has no interest in remaking the iconic original. Penn – who worked on The Avengers – revealed on his official Twitter account:
“All I can say at this point is no one could or should REBOOT the Matrix. People who know Animatrix and the comics understand. Can’t comment yet except to say that the words “reboot” and “remake” were from an article. Let’s stop responding to inaccurate news. If I were going to recast Keanu Reeves, I would cast Keanu Reeves. How about just re-release the matrix? Don’t reboot it, you can’t do better. Do I want to see more stories set in the universe of the matrix? Yes. Because it’s a brilliant idea that generates great stories.”
Like many, I found it quite strange that Warner Bros. were interested in rebooting The Matrix now. Keanu Reeves has had a pretty incredible career resurgence, and remaking one of his most iconic roles would seem rather pointless. From the sound of this, I think we should expect a movie inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Creed. Penn and Warners have no interested in remaking one of the best blockbusters of all time, but they can create a new story in that universe for a contemporary audience.
Penn also Tweeted a comparison between his idea and what 20th Century Fox are doing with the X-Men franchise:
Look at what people are doing with Xmen universe. Between Logan and Legion and Deadpool, does anyone want them to stop? Not me. — Zak Penn (@zakpenn) March 17, 2017
So, in case you needed any further confirmation; this film is not a reboot.
So, how do you guys feel about this? Are you excited for this upcoming Matrix movie? Do you hope to see Reeves reprise his role as Neo? Who do you think would be an awesome leading actor or actress for this project?
Source: We Got This CoveredThe anti-abortion movement's tactic known as a "personhood amendment," which legally defines a person as existing at the moment of fertilization, has been rejected twice in recent years by voters in Colorado.
But the effort has found new life in Mississippi, where a personhood amendment will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot. Mississippi is, by some measures, the nation's most conservative state, and the proposal has earned the support of both the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, the majority of attorney general candidates, and a host of other state leaders.
If Proposition 26 passes, abortion foes hope it will build momentum for a broader national assault on Roe vs. Wade. Supporters say similar propositions will be featured on ballots in Florida, South Dakota and Ohio in 2012.
Both sides in the debate agree that the measure would outlaw abortion, even in the cases of rape and incest. But there is disagreement about what other, potentially wide-ranging effects it may have.
"Part of the concern is that it's not entirely clear what will happen if this passes," Mississippi College law professor Jonathan Will told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger recently.
The text of the measure proposes that the definition of "person" in the state constitution include "every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof."
Opponents fear that could ban some fertility treatments and birth-control methods, including IUDs, which prevent the implantation of fertilized eggs. In the Clarion-Ledger, Will raised the possibility that the legal voting age would actually be 17 years and 3 months after birth, and that population figures might have to be calculated with the frozen embryos housed in fertility clinics taken into account.
Michele Alexandre, an associate law professor at the University of Mississippi, is among those who worry that if Prop 26 passes, women unaware of their early pregnancy might be exposed to prosecution if they are found to have consumed alcohol or engaged in "a strenuous physical competition."
The Yes on 26 supporters argue that the amendment would not ban "most forms" of birth-control pills, though they say it would ban the pregnancy-terminating treatment known as RU486. They deny it would prohibit in vitro fertilization, though it "would not allow unused embryos to be destroyed."
They also dismiss as "silly and cruel" the suggestion that the law would result in criminal prosecutions of women who miscarry.
Personhood USA, which spearheaded the Colorado ballot measures, is heading up the Mississippi effort. The liberal investigative magazine Mother Jones notes that another major player this time around is a man named Les Riley, founder of the group Personhood Mississippi. Riley, the magazine reported, is a neo-secessionist who "once supported an effort to form an independent theocratic republic in South Carolina."
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-- Richard Fausset
Photo: Dr. Beverly McMillan, president of Pro-Life Mississippi and a retired OB-GYN, speaks in Clinton, Miss., in support of the "personhood amendment" on the state's Nov. 8 ballot. Credit: Rogelio V. Solis / Associated PressPROVO — Jo Greer's treasure box isn't quite what it used to be.
It still looks like it once belonged to a pirate — still has the wooden lid and metal hinges — and it still has a sticker or a piece of gum inside, depending on the day.
But what was once a coveted birthday honor in Greer's preschool classroom is now somewhat of a dud. These days, when the birthday boy or girl gets to open the box and claim the treasure inside, the response is increasingly indignant: "I don't want any of that," the 4-year-olds say. "Is that all you have?"
"The gratitude is vanishing," Greer says.
This change in behavior is a symptom of a greater phenomenon that psychologists, family experts, sociologists and scholars say is gripping the world. Now, more than ever, entitlement — the idea that "I should get everything I want when I want it, even if I haven't worked for it" — is rearing its ugly head.
But the problem isn't just in preschool classrooms; it's in homes, high schools, offices and even the highest levels of government. It impacts the way children treat their parents and siblings, interferes with education and can contribute to a lifetime of unhappiness, financial instability and disdain for work, experts say.
Yet despite the massive groundswell of the "gimmies," there is a way to course-correct — though that process often requires self-introspection, a bit of humility and an acceptance that parents contribute to the problem.
Evolution of entitlement
When students walk into Greer's classroom wearing T-shirts that say things such as "Here comes trouble," that's exactly what she thinks.
She's been teaching for 20 years — from preschool to high school — but every year, the attitudes she encounters just keep getting worse.
"Ten years ago, the children were more respectful; more prone to say 'please' and 'thank you,' " Greer says. "It's no longer an expectation that children say these things coming from home — the social development is going backward."
Several generations ago the belief was that "children were to be seen and not heard," says Jane Nelson, licensed marriage, family and child counselor and author of the "Positive Discipline" series. Subsequent generations wised up and realized that was fairly cruel and by the 1960s, it had swung to the other extreme.
Psychologists were pushing the idea that children needed a strong concept of self to have a happy and successful life. Parents wanted their children to succeed, so they told them they were special, important and "number one," says Jim Fay, a former teacher, co-author of "Parenting with Love and Logic" and co-founder of The Love and Logic Institute, which parents can visit at www.loveandlogic.com/articles.html.
That approach gave way to a movement that preached the value of a child-centered environment, where the child is the most important member of the family and the parents offer lots of encouragement and positive reinforcement, no matter what the child is doing.
"That worked really well until the kids would say 'no' when the parents expected the kid to do something," Fay says. "The kids would get mad, so now parents are saying to themselves, 'Wait a minute, my kids are supposed to be happy. My job is to make sure they are comfortable, and now he's unhappy, so I must be doing something wrong.' What happened was a gradual disintegration of parental confidence."
Without confidence, parents cave when their children want the same possessions, loose standards or special treatment their friends have — and the cycle of entitlement continues as children then become parents and repeat the same mistakes.
This cycle hits working parents especially hard, says Nelson, who notes they often try to make up for the lack of time with their children by giving them things or quickly solving their problems.
"I'm one who believes that you meet all their needs, but you don't meet all their wants," Nelson said. "But if they always get everything they want, of course they feel entitled. If their parents give them that, then of course they become obnoxious."
Leslee Miller, a licensed clinical social worker in Sugarhouse in Salt Lake City, sees the entitlement mentality all the time.
It comes from a low-frustration tolerance, she says, "the idea that I should never be frustrated, life should be easy. And it's not just in kids."
Entitled adults exude the belief that "everything is everybody else's fault," "the world is unfair to me" and question "why is this happening to me?" — "as if hard things shouldn't be happening to (them) — when that's just a really healthy part of life," she says.
Wake of problems
The attitude of entitlement doesn't just mean that kids and teens believe they should have everything they want when they want; it's also that they believe they're entitled not to do some things — like work.
"People who have this mind-set often hold a negative view of hard work — they put it down and ridicule it," wrote James Lehman, a renowned child behavioral therapist who died in 2010. "They think they deserve things they haven't earned, and they can develop contempt for people who work to earn things.
"I believe that a false sense of entitlement affects every strata of society today. Kids who grow up this way don't want the jobs that are available because they have the belief that they're entitled to something better without having to make an effort. So that false sense of entitlement prohibits them from getting the work skills and the social skills they need to start at the bottom and work their way up."
Such an attitude often manifests itself in the home, where children want mom to make dinner, wash their soccer uniforms and help them with homework, but they grumble and stall when asked to unload the dishwasher or fold the laundry.
Yet it's this work — despite society's labels of menial and mundane — that binds families together and strengthens children, says Kathleen Bahr, a retired BYU professor who spent her career researching the importance of family work.
"Family work links people," she wrote in an essay on this topic. "On a daily basis, the tasks we do to stay alive provide us with endless opportunities to recognize and fill the needs of others. Family work is a call to enact love, and it is a call that is universal."
Without opportunities to sacrifice and serve, particularly in a family, children can become selfish, impatient and narcissistic adults. These adults also often deal with a fear of failure — because they've always been shielded from frustration — and financial instability, because they feel entitled to comforts they can't afford.
Marriages will also suffer if one person expects their spouse to give them everything they're used to getting, or if one partner doesn't want to pull their share of the load.
So instead of working on their relationships, "when things get rough, they just bail," says Don Herrin, professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah.
Even the hostility in recent political disputes shows signs of an entitled generation, Herrin says. Inflated promises and progress in tackling problems such as debt are crippled by individuals' inability to accept sacrifice or compromise. The growing trend is worrisome to parenting experts Richard and Linda Eyre, who just completed a book about battling entitlement called "The Entitlement Trap — How to Rescue Your Child with a New Family System of Choosing, Earning and Ownership."
"The thing we worry about most is the kids, because they are the ones paying the debt," Richard Eyre said during a recent interview about the new book. "They will be stuck with the bills for our retirement, Social Security and Medicare and the national debt we're ringing up, but on a macro level, we're worried that they're growing up in a society where the model is 'I need to have it right now.'"
With that entitlement attitude, children aren't grateful for what has been given to them because they think it's deserved. In the end, giving in to demanding behaviors is not just discouraging for parents and frustrating to teachers, it's also damaging to the child.
"It's a guaranteed prescription for unhappiness," says Love and Logic's Fay. "Because nothing will ever be their fault, and they can never have enough stuff."
Discussion over dollars
Materialism is one of the biggest factors driving entitlement, experts say. Kids today are nearly drowning in a wave of consumerism that leads them to believe they need the newest gadget to keep up with their friends. Thus it's no surprise that parents far too often hear, "I want this," "I have to have it" and "Everybody else has one."
To combat this, many parents give their children allowances or assign monetary values to chores, requiring that they save up for their own toys and clothes to learn money management and the value of patience.
Nelson believes children should be given allowances — unrelated to chore completion — so when they ask for something at the store, parents can teach the child what it means to save. Or perhaps they can create an arrangement where if the child saves half, the parents will chip in the other half.
"If they want it bad enough, they'll learn they have to earn their money," she said. "They learn delayed gratification."
Other parents choose not to pay their children for chores or even give an allowance. Instead, they expect children to participate in chores just because they're a member of the family, and when needs arise, the family assesses them together.
Bahr remembers growing up like this, working with her 12 siblings alongside her father on the family's two-and-a-half-acre farm in northern Utah. When money came in, it wasn't dad's money, she says. It was family money and "we were as entitled to spend it as my mother was."
When the children needed notebooks, clothes or even toys, they brought it up in a family meeting and were given the money to buy what they needed. And when someone else's needs were more pressing, the siblings learned how to sacrifice for each other.
She believes that when kids are paid to do chores, "(they) don't learn to do things out of the goodness of their heart. If we as adults impose that on our kids' thinking that we're teaching them how to manage money, what we're doing is robbing them of the lessons of learning how to work and serve with each other."
In an attempt to evaluate what impact paying for chores had on children, Kristine Manwaring did her master's thesis on the topic, interviewing 30 families, half of whom had monetary systems in place.
"We found that the methods they used to teach their kids about money and work actually had unintended consequences," said Manwaring, who formerly taught in the School of Family Life at BYU. "The families who felt strongly about paying their kids for work and trying not to (promote) entitlement had kids who would only work when they wanted to buy something. So parents were in the awkward position of encouraging their children to buy things, which promoted materialism and a fixation on money beyond what a child at certain age levels would have."
Her research also showed that in families where children were paid for chores, they were less likely to help siblings or other family members without financial incentive.
She remembers one family where the grandparents asked their grandsons to come help them with yard work.
"The boys responded, 'How much?' " Manwaring recalled. "It horrified the parents, but the kids had been trained.
"We came away from the research with (the understanding) that the more you can minimize money, the less entitled your kids will be," Manwaring said, adding that the topic still needs to be studied in greater detail.
Stopping the selfishness
Jennifer Young loves watching the excitement in her young foster care kids' eyes when her teenage kids come home from school and scoop them up for snuggles.
"It doesn't have to be foster care, but anytime you're busy serving, it's a great way to get out of the'me-me-me' (mode)," says the Kaysville mother of five biological children and dozens more foster kids. Her family's participation in the foster care program has helps her children stay grounded.
"We have something in common," she says. "Something that we're all working toward every minute of every day. (My kids know) we're trying to help these (foster) kids."
Teaching children to care for other people is essential to warding off feelings of entitlement, Herrin says. Looking out for another's needs is fundamental to neighborhood and community relationships — not just family success.
"We don't get anywhere when we are our own highest priority," Herrin says. "It doesn't work very well."
But parents need not despair if their children show signs of entitlement. To start, they need to make sure they're setting the type of example they want their children to follow. Then, show lots of love, encourage hard work and give children quality time, rather than things.
When entitled teens act out, Miller says parents need to sit them down and say, "I haven't done you a favor. I've let you get away with a lot of stuff and haven't allowed the natural consequences of life to come. There are going to be some unpleasant things in life and this is one of them, me saying that you are grounded for a week and you're not going to use the car. Oh, it's prom night? I'm going to hold my own. I usually give in, but we're going to do it the right way now."
It may not be pleasant now, but it will pay off in the long run, she said. And hopefully it will be the first step toward curbing the trend of entitlement.
"If I were a young parent right now, I could look out and say, 'This is dangerous — there is an (entitlement) epidemic out there, and it could impact the world negatively,'" Fay says. "But it doesn't have to happen to my kids. My kids can float to the top."
Back in Greer's classroom, it's not all bad news. Yes, some students are self-absorbed and unkind, but others are in the process of floating to heights she's never seen. One little 4-year-old boy, with big ears and a bigger smile, is particularly impressive, she says. He helps people off the floor, holds doors open and includes everyone.
"When that sort of stuff happens, we need to celebrate," Greer says. "That little guy wasn't my best alphabet guy, but he was by far the most socially skilled person, and he is going to go far."The statement that Europe faces a historic crisis has become a platitude. A record 1.1 million migrants crossed into Europe last year. That is set to triple this year. The number of migrants arriving in the EU during the first 10 days of this month was recorded at 18,400 — more than triple the number in the same period last year.
German Development Minister Gerd Muller has warned that hyper-migration to Europe has just begun since “eight to 10 million are still on their way”. The European Commission regards this escalation as a fact of life. It is evident that the continent will never be the same. Already the EU is confronted with a bitter row about how to deal with the situation. Sweden, which has historically been the most open to welcoming migrants, recently barred the entry of people without valid paperwork from Denmark. In turn, Denmark has stepped up controls on its borders with Germany. Germany has started sending back migrants to Austria. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble has warned that freedom of movement within the EU is close to coming to an end.
There are many reasons why migration fears have spiked in recent weeks. The economic and political costs of mass migration are now impossible to ignore. Divisions within the EU continue to deepen. There is a sense of helplessness within the institutions of the EU and in private many policymakers argue that continuous mass migration is unstoppable. Heinz Buschkowsky, a Social Democratic Party parliamentarian, has calculated that the number of migrants entering Germany by 2020 is likely to be between five and 10 million.
Read Next
The main catalyst for the new outburst of fear about mass migration was not the awareness of the scale of the flow of people into Europe but the sudden detonation of cultural insecurities through the continent. News about the attacks on German women by crowds of migrant men in Cologne during the New Year’s Eve celebrations spread rapidly.
The German political class and public was caught totally unaware by Cologne. Until New Year’s Eve, many commentators congratulated themselves and Chancellor Angela Merkel for heroically managing the 1.1 million migrants that arrived in the previous year. But once the news got out — and it took the better part of the week for information about the scale of the incident to be communicated to the public — the political landscape altered dramatically.
Merkel faces growing hostility from even her party’s supporters in the media. Members of her party and even cabinet ministers have argued for the reversal of her open-door policy. An editorial in the conservative Die Welt under the headline “House of cards in Berlin” asserted that “everything that the Chancellor is doing to reduce the refugee numbers … not only looks helpless, it is helpless”. This week, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt publicly demanded the closure of Germany’s border to asylum-seekers. He declared: “I would advise us all to prepare a Plan B.”
A poll carried out last Friday for the TV company ARD indicated that 48 per cent of respondents are afraid of refugees. In a separate poll by the public broadcasting organisation ZDF, seven in 10 respondents indicated they believe the influx of migrants will lead to the escalation of crime and 42 per cent — up from 33 per cent last October — claimed that Germany’s cultural values are under threat.
It is not surprising that Merkel’s popularity has fallen. And the polling organisation INSA found the anti-Muslim Alternative fur Deutschland Party had gained from the crisis, achieving a record high of 12.5 per cent. With three important regional elections in March, Merkel will be scrutinised and her handling of the refugee crisis is likely to have a major impact on the outcome.
The measures announced in response to this month’s violence carry little weight. It is widely acknowledged that changes to the law will not necessarily lead to the deportation of those found guilty of a crime. Prevailing conventions explicitly forbid deporting individuals to a country where they might be harmed. That rules out the majority of the countries from which the million new migrants originate.
German policymakers appear to be in a state of shock. They realise that the Cologne event haunts the public imagination. The complicity of the police and the media in the failed attempt to cover up the disturbances has fostered mistrust. Small towns such as Rheinberg have cancelled carnival celebrations. Other towns have taken to distributing leaflets asking migrants to behave and respect German women. After reports of new arrivals harassing women who were swimming, the town of Bornheim has banned male migrants from using the public facilities. What all these sad and confused local attempts to manage the situation reveal is that Germany has no Plan B. Moreover, despite Alexander Dobrindt’s plea for the preparation of a Plan B, policymakers are far too risk-averse to embark on elaborating an alternative strategy.
Paradoxically, the mood of stasis and confusion that afflicts German public life has, at least for the moment, limited the political damage to Merkel’s authority. Yes she has suffered a dip in popularity but according to the ARD poll 37 per cent of the electorate would still re-elect her government and 44 per cent of the respondents believe or hope her “we can manage” approach may work. Germany is confused, scared, disoriented and reluctant to upset the apple cart. At least for now Merkel remains in the saddle. Whether her policies of damage limitation and impression management have a positive effect is yet to be seen.
Frank Furedi is an author, commentator, and professor of sociology at the University of Kent, United Kingdom.
Read NextNextdoor website fosters racial profiling, group says
Oakland resident Audrey Esquivel speaks out against racial profiling happening in her neighborhood on NextDoor and other social media networks as she passes through the Martin Luther King fountain in San Francisco, California, on Friday, January 22, 2016. less Oakland resident Audrey Esquivel speaks out against racial profiling happening in her neighborhood on NextDoor and other social media networks as she passes through the Martin Luther King fountain in San... more Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Nextdoor website fosters racial profiling, group says 1 / 13 Back to Gallery
Nextdoor, the popular neighborhood social networking site that people use to share neighborly news too often reflects the racial biases and prejudices of its users, says a watchdog group that wants the racial profiling on the site to end.
The group, Neighbors for Racial Justice, prompted an Oakland City Council committee to meet with Nextdoor representatives and the company will present changes on Tuesday that it plans to make to help eliminate the problem.
“We are currently in the process of exploring feature options to improve the crime and safety section,” said company spokeswoman Kelsey Grady, who declined to elaborate on the proposed improvements. She said the company is aware that racial profiling is a problem on its networks and is “actively working” with the city of Oakland and neighborhood groups to eliminate it.
One of the Neighbors for Racial Justice members is Monica Bien, who recalled the first time she signed into the meet-your-neighbors website hoping to learn more about her Dimond District neighborhood in Oakland. Her jaw dropped.
The post that immediately repelled her, she said, was: “My boyfriend just saw two suspicious African-American men in a car. They drove their car up the street, made a U-turn, and parked.”
As far as Bien could tell, the only thing suspicious about the men was their skin color. And because the description was so vague, it could have applied to any black man in the Dimond.
“You say, ‘two black guys,’ then everyone in the neighborhood is afraid of every black guy who walks down the street,” Bien said.
To read the full story, go to http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Profiling-in-Oakland-prevalent-on-Nextdoor-com-6778158.phpMario Balotelli has hit out at England, claiming the only good things were the Manchester City fans, his team mates and the coach.
The Italian international joined AC Milan in January for a fee of €20 million, plus bonuses and was quick to express his relief at being back in Italy.
“At Inter I won playing and not playing, I came here [to Milan] because I want to win as a leading player,” he told the press.
He was also questioned about Rossoneri president Silvio Berlusconi calling him a ‘rotten apple’, “In England I didn’t even know about it, I only heard it later and so I have nothing to say,” he replied.
“If I have to be honest English football is beautiful. It’s ahead of Italian calcio. But I had this dream to play for Milan.
“In England they talk about my personal life and exaggerate. Here in Italy you report their reports. I’m focused on calcio.
“I spoke to [Italy coach Cesare] Prandelli and he told me he’s happy I’m back in Italy and I can get back to playing football.
“I have to say thanks to all City fans for always supporting me. I have to thank my teammates and my manager.
“The only good things in England were when I was at Carrington training. Everything else in England was bad things.”
When asked what he didn’t like about England he replied, “The press, the weather, the food, the way I like to drive, are all bad things about England.”
Balotelli also refused to answer a question from a Sun journalist, stating, “Your newspaper always wrote bad things about me, so I don’t want to answer any of your questions.”More than 700 mammals and birds currently threatened with extinction already appear to have been adversely affected by climate change, according to a major review of scientific studies.
Primates and marsupials are believed to have the most individual species suffering as a result of global warming, according to a paper in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Only two groups of mammals, rodents and insect-eaters, are thought to have benefited. This is partly because they have fast breeding rates, tend not to be specialists suited to a particular habitat, and often live in burrows which provide insulation against changes in the weather.
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The figures are much higher than previously thought, making up 47 per cent of land mammals and 23 per cent of the birds on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of species threatened with extinction.
According to the list itself, just seven per cent of the mammals and four per cent of the birds are described as being threatened by “climate change and severe weather”.
The researchers developed a model to compare the animals’ weight and other characteristics with changes in the climate, such as the temperature.
“Using this model, we estimated that 47 per cent of terrestrial [non-flying] threatened mammals (out of 873 species) and 23.4 per cent of threatened birds (out of 1,272 species) may have already been negatively impacted by climate change in at least part of their distribution,” the article in Nature Climate Change said.
“Our results suggest that populations of large numbers of threatened species are likely to be already affected by climate change, and that conservation managers, planners and policy makers must take this into account in efforts to safeguard the future of biodiversity.”
Primates and marsupials are more at risk than other animals partly because they have lived mostly in tropical parts of the world which have had a stable climate for thousands of years.
“Many of these [animals] have evolved to live within restricted environmental tolerances and are likely to be most affected by rapid changes and extreme events,” the paper added.
“In addition, primates and elephants are characterised by very slow reproductive rates that reduce their ability to adapt to rapid changes in environmental conditions.”
One reason why climate change is causing a problem for animals is changes in the distribution of plants.
“In areas with reduced precipitation and/or temperature seasonality, it is likely that plant species may have narrower climatic tolerances, and therefore that these areas may have already experienced vegetation changes with consequential loss of habitat for animals living there,” the paper said.
Shape Created with Sketch. Animals in decline Show all 8 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Animals in decline 1/8 Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) Where: Orkney Islands. What: Between 2001-2006, numbers in Orkney declined by 40 per cent. Why: epidemics of the phocine distemper virus are thought to have caused major declines, but the killing of seals in the Moray Firth to protect salmon farms may have an impact. Alamy 2/8 African lion (Panthera leo) Where: Ghana. What: In Ghana’s Mole National Park, lion numbers have declined by more than 90 per cent in 40 years. Why: local conflicts are thought to have contributed to the slaughter of lions and are a worrying example of the status of the animal in Western and Central Africa. 3/8 Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Where: Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Costa Rica. What: Numbers are down in both the Atlantic and Pacific. It declined by 95 per cent between 1989-2002 in Costa Rica. Why: mainly due to them being caught as bycatch, but they’ve also been affected by local developments. Alamy 4/8 Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) Where: South Atlantic. What: A rapid decline. One population, from Bird Island, South Georgia, declined by 50 per cent between 1972-2010, according to the British Antarctic Survey. Why: being caught in various commercial longline fisheries. Alamy 5/8 Saiga Antelope (Saiga tatarica) Where: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. What: fall in populations has been dramatic. In the early 1990s numbers were over a million, but are now estimated to be around 50,000. Why: the break up of the former USSR led to uncontrolled hunting. Increased rural poverty means the species is hunted for its meat 6/8 Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Where: found worldwide in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas. Why: at risk from overfishing and as a target in recreational fishing. A significant number of swordfish are also caught by illegal driftnet fisheries in the Mediterranean 7/8 Argali Sheep (Ovis mammon) Where: Central and Southern Asian mountains,usually at 3,000-5,000 metres altitude. Why: domesticated herds of sheep competing for grazing grounds. Over-hunting and poaching. 8/8 Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) Where: the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to South Africa and to the Tuamoto Islands (Polynesia), north to the Ryukyu Islands (south-west Japan), and south to New Caledonia. Why: Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and trading of the species 1/8 Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) Where: Orkney Islands. What: Between 2001-2006, numbers in Orkney declined by 40 per cent. Why: epidemics of the phocine distemper virus are thought to have caused major declines, but the killing of seals in the Moray Firth to protect salmon farms may have an impact. Alamy 2/8 African lion (Panthera leo) Where: Ghana. What: In Ghana’s Mole National Park, lion numbers have declined by more than 90 per cent in 40 years. Why: local conflicts are thought to have contributed to the slaughter of lions and are a worrying example of the status of the animal in Western and Central Africa. 3/8 Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Where: Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Costa Rica. What: Numbers are down in both the Atlantic and Pacific. It declined by 95 per cent between 1989-2002 in Costa Rica. Why: mainly due to them being caught as bycatch, but they’ve also been affected by local developments. Alamy 4/8 Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) Where: South Atlantic. What: A rapid decline. One population, from Bird Island, South Georgia, declined by 50 per cent between 1972-2010, according to the British Antarctic Survey. Why: being caught in various commercial longline fisheries. Alamy 5/8 Saiga |
の家を訪ねる。ドアをノックすると、中からドアを引っ掻く音と、犬（ファング）の吠え声が聞こえてくるシーン。 原書の文章（p.104）
When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks.
本来はこう訳すべき
ハリーがノックすると中からせわしなくドアを引っかく音がして、犬のほえる声が何度も 響き渡った 。 boom は「（大砲・雷・人の声などが）とどろく」といった意味の動詞。 しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
ノックすると、中からメチャクチャに戸を引っ掻く音と、 ブーンとうなる ようなほえ声が数回聞こえてきた。 boom には、「（ハチなどが）ブーンとうなる」という意味もある。 これをこのまま犬に当てはめている。犬はブーンなどと吠えない。
several を数回と訳しているのも気になる。 several には少ない感じの「いくつか」と、多い感じの「いくつもの」という意味がある。 ハグリッドがこの直後にファングを諫めているので、ファングは何度も吠えているものと思われる。
「メチャクチャ」という言葉も幼稚。せめて「めちゃくちゃ」とひらがなにするだけでも文学的になるのに。ハリポタ日本語版は幼稚なカタカナオノマトペが地の文に大量に含まれているのも特徴だ。
まるでファングがVIPPERみたいです。 ▲
スネイプの歩き方 1巻第13章 日本語版：p.328 スネイプが審判をしたクィディッチの試合後。放棄置き場にいるハリーが、フードをかぶり人目を避けながら禁じられた森へ向かう人物をみつける。その人物をスネイプと確信するシーン。 原書の文章（p.165）
He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, （後略）
本来はこう訳すべき
あの 足音を忍ばせた歩き方 は間違いない。スネイプだ。 prowl は「動物が餌を求めてこそこそうろつく」といった意味の動詞。
prowling walk はそのような歩き方を指している。 しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
あの ヒョコヒョコ歩き が誰なのかハリーにはわかる。スネイプだ。 prowling walk をどう頑張ってもヒョコヒョコ歩きに訳せるとは思えない。
11章でスネイプが足を負傷したことが発覚しているので、その後遺症で足をひきずっている、という思いこみからこう訳したと見られている。
しかしそのシーンから既に三ヶ月経っている上に、後遺症があるといった記述は一切ない。
優秀な魔法医もいるし、第一、魔法薬学の教授が自分で治療できないとも思えない（実際、11章に自分で治療しているらしきシーンがある）。 ▲
ゴキゲンなスネイプ 1巻第16章 日本語版：p.393 スネイプが賢者の石を今夜奪うに違いないと、主人公三人組が玄関ホールで話し合っていると、後ろにいきなりスネイプが現われ、わざとらしく声をかけるシーン。 原書の文章（p.195）
‘ Good afternoon,’ he said smoothly.
本来はこう訳すべき
「 ごきげんよう、諸君 」彼は 抑揚なく 言った。 smoothly は「なめらかに」、「すらすらと」、「円滑に」、「流暢に」、「口先うまく」、「穏やかに」といった意味の副詞。
こそこそ話し合いをしている怪しい三人組にも、感情や抑揚を込めずに挨拶をしたのとだと思われる。 しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
「 やあ、こんにちは 」スネイプが いやに愛想よく 挨拶をした。 good afternoon を直訳しすぎてスネイプのキャラクターに全くそぐわない。
smoothly を何故「いやに愛想よく」と訳すのか、わけがわからない。
主語をスネイプに置き換える必要もないのでは。
愛想良く挨拶をするスネイプ、かなり気持ち悪いです。 ▲
第3巻 ハリー・ポッターとアズカバンの囚人
ルーピンの髪の色 3巻第5章 日本語版：p.99 ホグワーツ特急のコンパートメントで眠っている男、ルーピンの外見を説明するシーン。 原書の文章
Though he seemed quite young, his light-brown hair was flecked with grey.
本来はこう訳すべき
まだかなり若いのに、 ライトブラウン の髪は白髪交じりだ。 light brown は「明るい茶色」、「薄茶色」だが、そのまま「ライトブラウン」でかまわないだろう。
（個人的に、カタカナでも理解できる髪色に無理に和名色をつかうと、天然色ではなく染めた髪の毛のような印象をうけます。） しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
まだかなり若いのに、 鳶色 の髪は白髪混じりだった。 鳶色はライトブラウンではない。濃い赤褐色。
そして「白髪混じり」ではなく「白髪交じり」が正しい。
また、3巻10章 日本語版P.242で、教室でハリーと二人きりになり、ディメンターについて話しているシーンでは、 原書の文章（p.140）
A ray of wintry sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating Lupin's grey hairs and the lines on his young face.
本来はこう訳すべき
冬の陽光が教室を横切り、ルーピンの 白髪 ( しらが ) とまだ若い顔に刻まれた皺を照らした。
日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
冬の陽光が教室を横切り、ルーピンの 白髪 ( はくはつ ) とまだ若い顔に刻まれた皺を照らした。 「しらが」ならまだしも、「はくはつ」ではまるでルーピンの髪の毛すべてが白いようだ。
冬の弱い日差しに、ルーピンのライトブラウンの髪の中でさほど目立たない白髪がきらきらと光っている繊細なイメージだ。髪色が鳶色では、このイメージも全く違ったものになってしまう。 ▲
スネイプの唇 3巻第9章 日本語版：p.223 病欠のルーピンの代わりに、スネイプが「闇の魔術に対する防衛術」の授業を受け持った。学生がまだ習っていないという狼人間についての質問をするが、ハーマイオニーしか手を上げない。狼人間と狼の違いをまだ教えていないルーピンを馬鹿にするスネイプに、パーバティが「まだ習っていないと言ったはず」と口答えをする。そこでスネイプが一喝するシーン。 原書の文章（p.129）
‘Silence! ’ snarled Snape.
本来はこう訳すべき
「口を閉じたまえ！」
スネイプが 怒鳴った 。 snarl は「（人が）…にがみがみいう、どなる」といった意味の動詞。 じつにシンプルな文章である。 しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
「だまれ！」スネイプの 唇がめくれ上がった 。 snarl には「（イヌなどが）（…に）歯をむいてうなる」という意味もある が、「唇がめくれ上がる」はひどすぎる。だいたい、「唇」とは関係のない単語だ。それに、「唇」は「めくり上げる」ものである。これでは唇自体に意志があるようだ。（携帯版では「めくり上げた」に修正されているらしいが、修正する際に何でまたこの文のおかしな点に気づかないのか。）
また、3巻第7章 日本語版p.174で、ネビルを対して軽蔑の表情を浮かべるシーンでは、 原書の文章（p.100）
Snape's lip curled,
本来はこう訳すべき
スネイプの 唇が軽蔑の形に歪んだ 。
日本語版の文章のこうなっている！
スネイプの 唇がめくれ上がった 。 curl one's lip は「唇を歪める」の意。 主に軽蔑や馬鹿にする時の表情である。
翻訳者の誤訳かと思いきや、1巻第8章 日本語版p.204では 原書の文章（p.102）
Snape's lips curled into a sneer.（UK版）
本来はこう訳すべき
スネイプは 口元を歪めてせせら笑った 。
日本語版の文章のこうなっている！
スネイプは 口元でせせら笑った 。 とまあ、「口元でせせら笑う」という不思議な日本語だが、わりとまともに訳している。
3巻で curl one's lip を「唇がめくり上がる」と訳してから味を占めたのか、それ以降もこの珍訳を何度か披露するようになるのだ。
「唇をめくり上げる」＝「チンパンジーの動作」を思い浮かべてしまう読者多数。 ▲
第4巻 ハリー・ポッターと炎のゴブレット
ルシウスの口元 4巻第8章 日本語版：上p.158 クディッチワールドカップの客席で、ハリー一行はマルフォイ一家に出くわす。自身を睨み返すマグル生まれのハーマイオニーに対し、ルシウスが嘲りの表情を浮かべるシーン。 原書の文章（p.92）
Harry knew exactly what was making Mr. Malfoy's lip curl.
本来はこう訳すべき
マルフォイ氏が 嘲るように口元をゆがめた 理由を、ハリーはよく知っていた。 curl one's lip …スネイプの唇参考 しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
マルフォイ氏の 口元がニヤリとめくれ上がった のはなぜなのか、 ハリーにははっきりわかっていた。 スネイプの唇と全く珍訳をしている。
「口元がニヤリとめくれ上がる」という表現もきつい。
さすがに唇ではなく口周りごとめくれるのはグロすぎて描けませんでした。 ▲
ヴォルデモートの口 4巻第33章 日本語版：下p.451 リドルの墓前にて、復活したヴォルデモートがデスイーター達にハリーを紹介しようとするシーン。 原書の文章（p.92）
‘Yes,’ said Voldemort, a grin curling his lipless mouth,（後略）
本来はこう訳すべき
「そう」ヴォルデモートは 唇のない口をにやりと歪ませ 、（後略） curl one's lip …スネイプの唇参考 しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
「そーれ」ヴォルデモートの 唇のない口がニヤリとめくれ上がり 、（後略） スネイプの唇と全く同じ珍訳をしている。
日本語版のキャラクターはやたらと「唇がめくり上がる」が、いったいどういう意図があるのだろう…。
「そーれ」にも緊張感がない。ハリーが絶体絶命の状態だというのに、このセリフでは読み手が脱力してしまう。 ▲
第5巻 ハリー・ポッターと不死鳥の騎士団
トンクスの容姿 5巻第13章 日本語版：上p.79 ハリーを迎えにきた闇払い達。その面々を描写しているシーンにて、トンクスの容姿についての文。 原書の文章（p.47）
she had a pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short spiky hair that was a violent shade of violet.
本来はこう訳すべき
しっかりとした額にふくよかな頬、すらりと通った顎を持つ 色白の 丸顔 だ。瞳はきらきらと黒く輝いている。つんつんと突っ立たせたショートヘアは、強烈な紫色をしていた。 heart-shaped face は馴染みのない言葉だが、「丸顔で、わりとしっかりしたおでこにぷくぷくとした頬、でも顎はほっそり」という、キュート系の顔立ちのことのようだ。 しかし…… 日本語版の文章はこうなっている！
色白の ハート型の顔 、キラキラ光る黒い瞳、髪は短く、強烈な紫で、つんつん突っ立っている。 いくらなんでも heart-shaped face を「ハート型の顔」とは強引すぎる直訳だ。キャラクターの外見の描写は、物語文学において読み手のイメージをふくらませる重要なもの。「ハート型の顔」では、どういった容姿なのか全くわからない。
そして、無理に一文で容姿を説明しようとしているために、読点がやたらと続く読みにくい文となっている。「キラキラ」がカタカナなのに、同じオノマトペの「つんつん」がひらがなである。文章に統一性がないのがよく分かる。
ハート型の顔…ベジータのような額の女性だと思いこんでいた読者多数。こんな誤解をさせるような訳は、いくら直訳だとしても誤訳と変わらないでしょう。 ▲click image Via Flickr user Keary O.
From Luby's to H-E-B, the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America's list of businesses prohibiting open carry has grown to more than 400.“We applaud all these Texas businesses that are doing the right thing and providing a safe environment for their customers and employees,” Anna Kehde, lead volunteer with the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action, says in a press release. “Despite the gun lobby’s best efforts to allow guns to be openly carried in private businesses—and despite burdensome signage requirements for businesses that choose to prohibit open carry—the message is clear that Texans don’t want to be confronted by armed activists everywhere they shop.”There's a bunch of San Antonio businesses on the list, including the Alamo Quarry Market, Crossroads Mall, the Hotel Emma, Mi Tierra and many more. You can peruse the full list here. The Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action is part of the national Everytown for Gun Safety coalition — a movement seeking "common-sense reforms to reduce gun violence."Moms Demand Action volunteers have been going door-to-door since November to educated business owners on the new open carry law while creating an online resource center to help business owners navigate signage requirements for prohibiting open carry.Watching Michael Steele in action is simply fascinating. This guy seems to be exactly what some Democrats feared Obama might be like (and never turned out to be), a guy that seems to be trying way too hard to try to change the packaging on the party, and not so interested in actually presenting a coherent platform that one can feel comfortable voting for. I think during the nomination process in 2008 what Democrats were most afraid of when considering supporting Obama was the thought of nominating a dud that would turn out to be all flash and no substance, so watching Steele in action is kind of like watching an alternate universe where Barack Obama was actually the candidate that everyone feared he might be. Just take a look at some of his recent statements. Here's one:
RNC chair Michael Steele says he is "open to that baby" when it comes to supporting primary challengers against the three GOP senators who voted in favor of the stimulus package.
"Oh, yes, I'm always open to everything, baby, absolutely" Steele said yesterday on Fox News' 'Your World with Neil Cavuto'.
“We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-surburban hip-hop settings.”
He added, jokingly, that “we need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets...I don't do 'cutting-edge,’” he said. “That's what Democrats are doing. We're going beyond cutting-edge.”
beyond
“Tonight, we tell America: we know the past, we know we did wrong. My bad. But we go forward in appreciation of the values that brought us to this point.”
Uptick the image with one-armed midgets - that'scutting-edge!and another one today even Michelle Bachman is getting into the spirit:
As Steele concluded his remarks, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann — the event's moderator — told Steele he was “da man.” “Michael Steele! You be da man! You be da man,” she said.
Michael Steele seemed a lot like something I had seen on tv before, and then I realized what it was - Michael Steele is Poochie from the Simpsons. In case you're one of the few people that doesn't watch Simpsons, Poochie was a character created for one episode when executives decided that Itchy and Scratchy needed some pizazz, and that the way to do that would be with a rapping dog with sunglasses and a surfboard. Needless to say, his appearance didn't do anything for the show's popularity, everybody hated the new character and they got rid of him as soon as possible. Here's the audio of him making his first appearance:
(BTW let me know if you're able to upload a video showing the actual Poochie in action during this scene and I'll change it)
way
Some readers seem to think my description of Obama as boring is meant as a criticism. Subjectively, maybe it doesn't give me a Lowry. But objectively, it's brilliant. The first black president will only get there by boring a lot of white people. And haven't we had enough drama in the last eight years? Boring is fucking awesome after Bush.
Michael Steele Poochie
Michael Steele is tryingtoo hard to be cool, before even working on a reason for people to even vote GOP in the next election. I'm reminded of a great quote from last year by Andrew Sullivan where he wrote:This is true with everybody - all people want a bit of boring out of their politicians. Unplanned coolness here and there is great of course ("Barack Obama is a fan of The Wire?" "Hey, he collects comic books!" "He uses a Blackberry all the time!" etc.), but people want to discover this on their own, and they don't want to see a kind of unholy meshing of politics and individual coolness. If Barack Obama had run as a super cool "I-understand-young-people-'cos-I-like-The-Wire-and-comic-books-and-technology-y'all" candidate he would have lost. The situation at the moment is too serious and people just aren't in the mood for games.Edit: Stephen Colbert seems to be thinking much the same thing (except for the actual reference to Poochie). Here's a video from the Colbert Report today:Edit a few hours later: wow, I just did a search forand it looks like I'm not the first to notice the connection - here here, and here. Looks like a few other people have noticed the similarity.Whenever something bad happens to Gordon Ramsay, there are plenty of people who wave flags around. The foul-mouthed chef, as journos love to call him, just can't suffer enough to please his impassioned detractors.
So they are presumably raising a toast at the news that Gordon Ramsay at the London, the chef's flagship restaurant in a swanky Manhattan hotel, has lost its two Michelin stars. In a report on Bloomberg.com, Michelin guide director Michael Ellis spoke of getting "some very erratic meals" and having "issues with consistency, and consistency is a huge thing for us." As it should be for ordinary diners too, who are paying their own money for an expensive meal.
Regular diners will know that it doesn't matter whether the famous chef is actually in the kitchen. What matters is whether they have trained their staff to deliver the goods. One famous chef quotes another as saying: "If your kitchen doesn't run as well without you as with you, you're not the man for the job." The chef doing the quoting is Jason Atherton, of Pollen Street Social (and a growing clutch of other restaurants). And the chef he's quoting – no prizes for guessing – is his original mentor, Gordon Ramsay.
This disparity between what Ramsay knows and what he does strikes me as being at the core of his slightly tragic story. He just can't stop trying to build a massive empire even when well-reported business and family travails suggest that slowing down might be a good idea. In certain parts of his empire, everything runs beautifully. Ramsay's flagship London restaurant retains its three Michelin stars year after year, and the lunches I have had there have been consistently flawless in every respect. But move away from the jewel in the crown, and things don't look so sparkly. At one of his other London restaurants, earlier this year I was shocked by the huge prices being charged for woefully inconsistent food and terrible service. If Ramsay had gone in to inspect the place for one of his TV shows, the air would have turned blue.
Those TV outings may cause Ramsay his public-image problems. It's not just the effing and blinding. It's the open invitation to uncover his own failings. If you go on TV as the self-proclaimed upholder of high standards in catering, you'd better make sure that your own restaurants uphold them too. No one loves someone who preaches one thing while practising another.
Ramsay doesn't let this kind of thing go on in his own restaurants because he's a hypocrite. It happens because he has too much to do – too many restaurants and bars, too many TV series and spinoff books. There seems to be something in his character that makes it impossible to focus on relatively modest goals.
In this sense, we should grant Ramsay something closer to pity than to scorn. Don't forget that he is one of the greatest chefs this country has produced, and someone who has nurtured many of the finest culinary talents of the younger generation – not just Jason Atherton but Angela Hartnett, Marcus Wareing, and Mark Sergeant. He is one of the most important figures in the elevation of Britain to world-class standards of gastronomy.
Being stripped of two Michelin stars in a single swoop is not just relegation, it's humiliation. Chefs work bloody hard to get those stars, and having them taken away – being thrown down into the vast generality of places that merit no special distinction – is galling. It follows the closure last June of his restaurant in Claridge's, and the less than rapturous reception given to his newest venture, the Union Street Cafe in Southwark.
So, even if the anti-Ramsay brigade will be cheering, I am not. This is a man of prodigious talent and energy who lets his ambitions overreach his capacity for running his huge operation. But it won't necessarily spell ruination for him. He still has a couple of dozen restaurants, with seven Michelin stars between them. That's not as many as there were a couple of days ago, but with a little more command and control, and a little less attention given to the TV studios, he can turn things around. And I hope he does.The The Republican National Committee paid a low-profile firm started by an ex-CIA officer for what it claimed was building security at the RNC’s Capitol Hill headquarters. Now the RNC acknowledges that most of its payments to the firm went to intelligence-style reports that tried to connect Hillary Clinton to any conflicts of interest from her days serving as Secretary of State, Politico reported Friday.
The RNC paid a Virginia-based firm, Hamilton Trading Group, $41,500 over the course of the campaign. The RNC is now reporting that most of the money, $34,100, went to opposition research on the Democratic presidential nominee and the Clinton Foundation.
Ben Wickham, an ex-CIA officer who started the firm, told Politico that his work was initially limited to building security. He said he could not discuss other work because he was subject to a non-disclosure agreement.It is “completely unacceptable” for the provincial government to leave potash miners in the dark by taking more than a year to investigate the underground accident that killed 29-year-old Chad Wiklun last summer, according to the president of the union representing workers at Agrium Inc.’s Vanscoy mine.
The Calgary-based company and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7552 completed a joint investigation of the Aug. 8, 2016 accident “in a few weeks” but the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety has refused even to say when its probe will be completed, Darrin Kruger said Wednesday in an interview.
“It impacted many of us in a very profound way, and we don’t know what we don’t know,” said the union president, a 22-year veteran of the potash industry who raced to the mine west of Saskatoon after learning about the accident.
“So that breeds — I won’t say fear, but uncertainty. What’s going on? What’s the outcome? We want closure.”
The circumstances of the accident remain murky — neither Agrium nor LRWS will discuss specifics of what happened in the mine west of Saskatoon that morning — but it is clear that Wiklun, who had spent six years working for the company, suffered catastrophic injuries when he was pinned between two pieces of mining equipment.
John Sundquist, the Vanscoy mine’s operations manager, said in an email this week that multiple changes have been made since the accident, including new mobile equipment proximity procedures and training, changes to the company’s hazard identification process and additional supervision for production crews.
“Agrium has worked with the regulator to implement improvements to our policies and procedures,” Todd Coakwell, the company’s director of investor relations, said in an email on Wednesday. “We view safety as a topic for ongoing discussion, and Agrium continues to cooperate with the investigations fully.”
Kruger said while the union may not always agree with conclusions drawn in the aftermath of an accident, it has been “kept a lot more in the loop” regarding previous fatal accidents at the mine. He said it’s not clear why the union is being “stonewalled” by the government this time.
LRWS instructed Agrium to address workplace “deficiencies” in the aftermath of the accident, but more information about what caused Wiklun’s death would make it easier for the mine’s employees to identify hazards, as well as give Wiklun’s partner, Celina Danis, and their daughters closure, Kruger added.
“It’s unacceptable for them to take this long.”
A government spokeswoman said in an emailed statement on Wednesday that LRWS “does not discuss the details of what is involved in a review for privacy reasons,” and that “in general terms, reviews can take up to two years (which could vary) depending on the complexities of each incident.”
“Once OHS has completed a review it is sent to Justice to determine how to proceed. Any charges must be laid within two years of the incident,” the statement said.
Saskatchewan’s rate of time lost due to injury has plummeted by more than 60 per cent since 2002, but the average number of on-the-job fatalities recorded each year — a number that includes deaths caused by exposure to asbestos and other chemicals as well as traumatic accidents — has fallen by only 14 per cent over the same period.
The Saskatchewan Workers Compensation Board (WCB), which insures workplaces across the province, reported earlier this year that it “accepted” 31 reports of fatalities last year — compared to 32 in 2015, 39 in 2014, 35 in 2013 and 60 in 2012. WCB chief executive Peter Federko said Wednesday that it’s not clear why people are still dying on job sites.
“I wish we had a definite answer to that,” he said, adding that while he believes all injuries are predictable and preventable, it’s probably true that the province has a culture in which “folks simply don’t recognize the level of hazard or risk around them.”
amacpherson@postmedia.com
twitter.com/macphersonaUntil recently, few Americans—even in Reformed circles—had heard of the Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck (1854-1921). With the publication of a beautiful translation of his masterpiece four-volume Reformed Dogmatics a few years ago, this colossal theologian is finally beginning to garner a greater reputation and increased attention in English-speaking theology. (A brief biography can be found here.)
This past January I embarked on a Saturday reading plan of the Dogmatics. Now roughly halfway through the fourth volume and on track to complete the set by the end of December, I can safely say this is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my theological life. Bavinck’s accomplishment in the Dogmatics is nothing short of jaw-dropping. The expansive, nuanced, and deeply trinitarian theological vision is both intellectually challenging and spiritually nourishing. I anticipate turning to these volumes regularly in the years to come.
I’d like to offer up six reasons you ought to consider picking up the Dogmatics and working through them yourself.
1. Eminently Biblical. Obviously, the pre-eminent mark of any work of dogmatics that aspires to the name “Christian” is its biblical character. Bavinck is second to none in this regard. Each and every subject is first developed according to the relevant biblical materials. Bavinck doesn’t restrict himself to mere proof-texting, but enters into complex philological debates, issues of historical context, and the redemptive-historical development of an idea as it unfolds across the testaments. In many cases, I was amazed at his nuanced discussions of subjects much-debated in current scholarship, such as nature of the “righteousness of God” or the eschatological nature of the kingdom of God. He anticipated such 20th-century developments by at least 75 years.
2. Historically Grounded. Bavinck appreciated the importance of addressing the history of theology when formulating doctrine for the present age. As a result, each section functions as a crash-course in the history of the development of the doctrine. After a discussion of the biblical material, Bavinck proceeds to examine patristic developments both East and West, medieval sources, Reformation debates (both Protestant and Catholic), and modern Protestant liberalism. All of the major debates are covered, and detailed arguments for various historical positions are developed at length. While there have been some correctives in late 20th-century historical theology, the Dogmatics are still going to be worth consulting for students interested in more than contemporary perspectives.
3. Broadly Catholic. Despite its clear Reformed emphasis, Bavinck’s theology is broadly catholic in the best sense of the term. He’s well-attuned to the riches to be discovered across the wider Christian heritage. Indeed, Augustine and Aquinas appear to get more play in his doctrine of God than Calvin, Luther, or even later post-Reformation sources.
4. Irenically Polemic. Bavinck’s method involves lengthy, charitable expositions of viewpoints he wishes to dispute—Roman, Lutheran, Remonstrant, Socinian—so that he might, by contrast, better develop the unique strength and nuance of the Reformed position. Bavinck writes with a generous spirit that makes him slow to cast anathemas.
5. Philosophically Sophisticated. In the Dogmatics Bavinck engages philosophical views on every level on a wide range of subjects. In this respect he’s like Barth but about 30 years ahead of the curve. The first volume of prolegomena deals extensively with epistemological issues, in a number of places anticipating contemporary developments. And Bavinck’s development of the relationship between nature and grace along covenantal lines (in contrast to the Roman Catholic donum superadditum) is a largely untapped reservoir for those tempted toward Radical Orthodoxy or the 20th-century Nouvelle Theologie.
6. Reformed Theology as Tradition. Bavinck was keenly aware of his position as a theologian situated within a particular tradition. As such, reading his expositions of the Reformed approach to a given problem begins to give the Reformed theological student, especially a novice like myself, greater appreciation for the tradition as a tradition. It is a conversation between theologians with shared basic convictions and questions, but with differences, nuances, and important variations. One of the most memorable instances comes when Bavinck quite clearly, but gently, accuses Jonathan Edwards of inadvertently giving aid to the Pelagian revisionists in his own theological controversies.
Worth the Time and Effort
Because of the time commitment required to read these volumes, I’d recommend putting a reading plan in place. I made a plan at the beginning of the year to read at least 30 pages every Saturday, or up to a chapter a week. You many want to break it up into chunks of five pages a day. In any case, reading plans help turn large books into collections of smaller books.
Finally, you might be worried that it’s theologically above your pay grade; even the brief descriptions of his strengths may strike you as intimidating. I’ll admit, Bavinck isn’t for the beginner. But for all who consider themselves students of theology—certainly seminarians and Bible students—you should be prepared to challenge yourself regularly. Straining to read above your current level of understanding is one of the only ways to grow. And Bavinck is a wise, thorough, surprisingly accessible teacher even if he does engage at the highest levels.
For the still unconvinced, pick up this abridged, one-volume edition of the Dogmatics that is far more approachable.
For those looking for more resources, hermanbavinck.org is a treasure trove of links to free articles by Bavinck and helpful secondary literature.I spend a lot of time online. Too much time, truth be told. I’m considering taking a serious social media hiatus this summer, with a house full of children and a backyard filled with wading pools.
And maybe this time I won’t come back.
I don’t mean I’d stop blogging. Just that I’d stop with the other stuff. The posting and cultivating an online presence. The consuming of news culled from anonymous “relationships” on Twitter, the ingestion of a never-ending stream of content and beauty, captivating though it may be, from a thousand different sources on Instagram. And the everything on Facebook, that deepest-seated enemy of human productivity. (At least for this early adapter.)
I don’t think the human mind was much designed for endless scrolling. And it’s making me stupid.
Stupid, and discontented.
I know that’s a crazy thing to say given that I am, in fact, a writer who depends upon the internet to promulgate her work. The irony is not lost on me.
But the internet, increasing, is becoming less of a tool for me and more of a master. I’m stuck in Q1 with inboxes from multiple platforms overflowing, demanding daily attention, and then, tired from so much reacting, I sit and I scroll, mindlessly consuming and consuming and consuming until suddenly, it’s 10 pm and I’ve read some fascinating things about artisanal cheese-making and travel tips for the summer season but I’ve also seen a lot of pictures of weird celebrity awards show couture and pictures of Scandinavian living room furniture groupings. And bohemian paint colors.
So poor me, I work online and the online world is working me over. Boo hoo, right?
Here’s the thing; I believe that God has called me to the work I’m doing now in this little space, telling truths and distilling teachings and connecting cultural dots…and I also believe He is calling me to something bigger and, for me, much, much more challenging.
And it’s my neighborhood.
It’s the real world.
It’s my friend across the street who has given me bags and bags of adorable girl’s clothing and sippy cups over the years, and has never heard a word from me about Jesus.
It’s the guy at Costco who compliments me on my kids’ behavior, despite the number of them, and who gets a vague half smile and a half answer when he presses, wanting to know if we’re “done” now.
It’s the girl in my mom’s group at church who is really hurting, who doesn’t have a dozen girlfriends and sisters at her beck and call and is hungry for real fellowship with a living, breathing human person.
Those are all areas where I’m so much more comfortable hiding behind |
2009. The panel had made several recommendations to parents through its newsletter, including a recommendation to monitor children's cell-phones and computers, so that they can be better prepared to fight the phenomenon and resist charming young Muslim men involved in the scheme'.
The Kerala high court had also taken note of the matter and asked the police to investigate the cases of two college-going girls, who were allegedly forced to convert to Islam after marrying Muslim men. Some police officials, political leaders and prominent members of both Hindu and Christian communities continue to suspect that 'forced conversions', backed by foreign funds, was rampant in the state.
The cable, as disclosed by WikiLeaks, said that Sajan George was convinced that 'there was a concerted effort in south India by some Muslim men to get Christian women to fall in love with them in order to convert them'.Adam Carolla‘s “News Girl” Alison Rosen was fired by the prolific podcaster roughly a week before the news made headlines Monday, and the host of “Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend” told TheWrap exclusively that she is as puzzled as most.
Also Read: 11 TV Shows Canceled by Controversy — From ‘Honey Boo Boo’ to ‘Politically Incorrect’ (Photos)
“I am as confused as the fans are,” Rosen told TheWrap via a Monday night telephone interview, her only conversation on the matter with the media. “I think there’s this sense that there’s all this stuff happening behind the scenes, but I wasn’t privy to it.”
She continued, “For whatever reason, he made this decision and decided it would be in the best interest in the show — and I have to respect that.”
Also Read: Alison Rosen Out as ‘Adam Carolla Show’s’ News Girl, Sidekick
But fan-favorite Rosen found out the news in a very unceremonious — if not frigid — manner: She and her husband Daniel were in New York for the holidays when she received an email from Adam firing her.
“I don’t actually know who wrote it. It was punctuated and it had whole sentences, so perhaps he had some help writing it,” she joked. For those not in on the quip, the multiple New York Times Best Selling-author Carolla often acknowledges how poor of a typist he is — he doesn’t even hunt and peck out his own books, he dictates them verbally to a writing partner.
“I literally had to sit down, which I don’t think has ever happened to me — where I’m standing, reading something and I literally had to sit down and let everything sink in — it was surreal,” Rosen explained of the moment. “I was really surprised. I just didn’t see it coming.”
Also Read: Adam Carolla’s ‘Catch a Contractor’ Renewed for Season 3 by Spike TV
The natural question to ask is if the parting of ways was monetarily motivated, which Rosen and her agent both denied.
Representatives for Carolla have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for an interview.
“No. That’s the weird thing. I’ve read that stuff too,” she said about a possible money conversation. “There wasn’t contract negotiations. I didn’t ask for more money — there was nothing like that.”
Digging a little deeper for a reason, TheWrap asked Rosen a few questions posted to us in the comments section of yesterday’s story. We posed whether the employment termination could have had anything to do with recent difficulties Rosen has endured in her personal life: The too-young passing of her beloved dog Oliver, or her much-discussed difficulties to conceive. Some readers questioned whether Rosen had expressed hesitation over the travel required for road shows, a big part of the podcast’s promotion. Rosen denied either playing a role.
Also Read: Adam Carolla on Gay Mafia: It Runs Hollywood and Makes Comedians’ Lives Suck
Here’s her best guess: “I think he wants it to be more like a morning radio show.”
“I wish he had talked to me,” Rosen added, suggesting that if Carolla’s chemistry explanation was truly an issue, perhaps adjustments could have been made. But that conversation never happened, she maintained.
“I don’t understand,” she continued. “I sat next to him for four years, we traveled together. I felt so comfortable and that we really hit a good stride … I really tried — I really felt like I was in his corner and tried to make the show better.”
Also Read: Adam Carolla Movie Sets Comedian Crowdfunding Record With $1.4M (Video)
Perhaps Carolla wanted more of her on the microphone, or perhaps less of her, she wondered aloud during our lengthy conversation. While hired to do the news, Rosen says she was often introduced by show producers as “Adam’s co-host,” and listeners know that her and fellow show personality “Bald” Bryan Bishop can be counted on to insert witty opinions throughout the podcast.Story highlights Rapper Killer Mike urges supporters to make sure everyone has "felt the bern"
Photos of Sanders eating and posing with Killer Mike go viral, inspire fan art
(CNN) Bernie Sanders' rally in Atlanta got off to a flying start Monday when hometown rapper Killer Mike took the stage to offer a passionate welcome to the Vermont senator.
"I'm talking about a revolutionary," the hip hop star and activist told supporters. "In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that Sen. Bernie Sanders is the right man to lead this country."
Killer Mike, who headlines "Run the Jewels" along with rapper and producer El-P, has backed Sanders for months, first offering the candidate his blessing in late June.
"Make sure that wherever you go, you take the name, the ideas, the philosophies and the ideology of Bernie Sanders and you make sure when you leave they are on fire, because they have 'felt the bern,'" he said on Monday, channeling the campaign catchphrase.
Then, quoting from his own song "Untitled," Killer Mike, whose given name is Michael Render, delivered a rousing introduction.Cactuses are spiky and rough; foreboding and strange; gnarled, Seussian, and sometimes toxic. They remind us of nature’s irreverent brutality, and of its occasional inexplicability. They evoke places where people can’t survive. But when removed from those places—their native habitats—individually potted, and sold as decoration for a house, a garden, or an office, they are among the easiest plants a person can have, requiring little or no care and still looking good. More unusual species can be novelties, or prizes for collectors, or even significant investments. But many people never consider where their potted cactus or succulent originated, and what purpose its bizarre characteristics served. The magnificent landscapes and ecosystems in which the plant evolved are forgotten.
This bothered three cactus-crazed young men in Los Angeles—Jeff Kaplon, Max Martin, and Carlos Morera—who in 2014 opened the Cactus Store, a boutique featuring a large collection of unusual, interesting, and, in some cases, rare species of cactuses and succulents. (Cactuses are a family within the taxonomy of succulents.) Since California was well into a severe drought, many residents were switching to drought-resilient landscapes, and the timing of the opening, although coincidental, was fortunate. The store was a hit. Selling plants was not, however, its only goal. Kaplon, Martin, and Morera wanted to guide cactus and succulent neophytes beyond a simple aesthetic appreciation of each cactus in its pot. If a customer was admiring an Oreocereus celsianus (commonly known as the old man of the mountain), she would learn before leaving the store that it comes from the high Andes, and that its fluffy mop of white hair evolved to defend it from the sun and the snow.
Pachycereus pringlei. Cataviña, Baja California, Mexico, 1998. Photograph by Jon Rebman
As the three men expanded their cactus collection and their depth of knowledge, they became increasingly captivated by historic, documentary-style photographs of cactuses and succulents in the wild, most of which were the output of previous generations of devoted cactus hunters. These older obsessives had travelled the world, sometimes taking considerable physical risks, just to see certain species in their native habitats, or to see them in bloom, or to search for others more rare. Over decades, evidence of what these explorers discovered, and of the extreme journeys they took, has been stashed away in bargain bins at cactus shows, in shoe boxes in collectors’ garages, and in dusty old slide carousels that reside with the region’s many cactus-and-succulent clubs. Kaplon, Martin, and Morera gathered as much of this archival material as they could, and eventually decided to put several hundred pictures, drawn from twenty-two explorers’ archives and spanning eighty years, into a new book. They researched and edited the images, conducted interviews with some of the photographer-explorers, and now are preparing to publish the result, titled “Xerophile: Cactus Photographs from Expeditions of the Obsessed.”
In the same way that a bouquet of wildflowers is lovely but banal while an alpine meadow of blooming wildflowers is astonishing and sublime, these pictures demonstrate how arresting the sight of ancient, alien cactuses in the places they grow wild can be. What is immediately striking in the photos is the unimaginable sizes and shapes of various species, whether gigantic or minuscule, phallic or globose. In one image, several Ferocactus diguetii (giant barrel cactus), photographed in Baja California, Mexico, rise from a clearing, resembling the Jolly Green Giant’s extremities if he were standing underground and all you could see above ground were his fat fingertips (or perhaps another appendage) sticking up from the dry, rocky soil. Another shot of the same species shows a woman with a backpack staring up at a Ferocactus diguetii in disbelief. She is less than half its height and a fraction of its girth. In Chile, a species known as Copiapoa columna-alba is similarly huge, erect, and barrelled—if much harder and denser than Ferocactus. One plant in the book is estimated to be at least five hundred years old, “making it a juvenile at the time of Columbus,” the caption reads. Other clumps of Copiapoa depicted could be more than a thousand years old. One of my favorite photos, shot in Quebrada del Toro, in Argentina, shows many tall Trichocereus (sometimes called torch cactus) growing like menhirs among old gravestones in an abandoned cemetery.
While all of those large cactuses are most commonly seen in nurseries and plant shops as tiny nubs in petite terra-cotta pots, there are many rare, sought-after, mostly unknown species that never grow bigger than a nickel. The so-called belly plant, which lives on mudflats in Mexico, requires a searcher to be on her belly to find it. Rebutia schatzliana, in Bolivia, is smaller than a fingernail (as seen in a picture comparing the two) and grows a glorious miniature red flower. Then, there is the most lovable (and possibly the tiniest) tiny cactus in the world: Blossfeldia liliputana. Its mature size is ten millimetres, and its species name derives from the fictional country of Lilliput, created by Jonathan Swift, in “Gulliver’s Travels.” Native to northern Argentina and southern Bolivia, it often grows on sheer mudstone cliffs or tree bark, usually close to a waterfall. When it blooms, its nearly microscopic white-and-pink flowers are best seen with a magnifying glass.
Fouquieria columnaris. Baja California, Mexico. Photograph by George Lindsay
“Xerophile” is, in sum, a catalogue of wonders that most of us will never get to see in person. Even if we knew where to find these plants in the wild, only a small number of people have enough interest, or obsession, to actually seek them out. Meanwhile, though, potted cactuses and succulents have become the “it” plants—hip, exotic, and, increasingly, ubiquitous. In London, a young woman recently opened a cactus boutique called Prick, inspired in part by the Cactus Store in Los Angeles. And in June, Kaplon, Martin, and Morera opened a pop-up store in a makeshift greenhouse in New York City’s Chinatown. But perhaps it’s fitting that cactuses and succulents are today’s botanical vogue. They represent what people crave and aspire to, as climate change advances and democratic institutions retreat: they can survive the harshest weather and the bleakest landscapes. They are both irreverent and dignified. They are strong and resilient, and will endure for centuries, even millennia.
Still, most people will never want to own a plant like Welwitschia mirabilis—one of the most bizarre succulents in the world, and the rarest plant for sale at the pop-up Cactus Store in Chinatown. It grows wild in the Namib, an ancient, stark desert along the Namibian coast, and it has only two leaves, which keep slowly growing—wrapping, curling, and ripping—into giant, six-foot-long tangles. Some are estimated to be two thousand years old. The Welwitscia in the store is an ugly little two-leaved weed. To the obsessed, however, it’s a work of art.
“Xerophile: Cactus Photographs from Expeditions of the Obsessed” will be published on August 29th, by Hat & Beard Press.As Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel walked across the stage in New York City to collect the 2012 Heisman Trophy, coaches from around the country descended upon Texas' infamous "Convert To DB" landfill to search for scraps in their quest to find game-breaking offensive players. Redshirt freshman Manziel settled on the Aggies after a brief commitment to Oregon because Texas, his childhood favorite team, recruited him only as a defensive back. The coaches were quick to notice that Johnny Football's win comes on the heels of Texas defensive back recruit and Baylor QB Robert Griffin III winning the Heisman trophy last year, and UT DB recruit and Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree's back to back Biletnikoff awards in 2007 and 2008.
The success of players in the Longhorn "Convert To DB" landfill has even led recruiting services to add another category to their rankings. Rivals.com's Jason Brusewitz announced that TDBR, Texas Defensive Back Recruit, would be listed on the website immediately. Currently, it looks like the Oklahoma State Cowboys are in line to land 2014's #1 TDBR, Jamal Wilkinson. Wilkinson's stat line of 4,127 yards passing and 72 total TDs (48 rushing) in 2012 was not well received by Longhorn coaches, with one position coach noting that Wilkinson's 1 to 2 passing TD to rushing TD ratio is a clear sign of poor development potential.
Iowa State's Paul Rhoads reacted to the Rivals news by issuing a statement that he has created an additional spot on his staff for a TDBR consultant. This staff member's sole responsibility is browsing Texas message boards to find out which high school offensive players in the state of Texas have been offered a scholarship by Mack Brown as a defensive back. The TDBR consultant would then quickly notify top recruiter Shane Burnham and Rhoads for an immediate in-house visit with the recruit.
New Tennessee coach Butch Jones decided to join the fray and use this logic to appeal to Volunteer fans: "I know I was the 5th choice for Tennessee, but Manziel was like, Texas' 287th choice for QB, and look how well he's doing."
Time will heal the sting of having to watch another throwaway recruit win a Heisman Trophy, but the one question that will always haunt Mack Brown is: "Would Blake Gideon have been the greatest QB of all time?"KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has arrested six foreigners and one Malaysian for suspected links to militant groups including Islamic State, the police chief said on Sunday.
The Southeast Asian nation has been on high alert since suicide bombers and gunmen linked to Islamic State launched multiple attacks in Jakarta, the capital of neighboring Indonesia, in January 2016.
A grenade attack on a bar on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, in June last year wounded eight people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, the first of such attacks on Malaysian soil.
Malaysia has arrested hundreds over the last few years for suspected links to militant groups.
In the latest arrests made between Feb. 21 and Feb. 26, one Malaysian and one Indonesian were detained for planning to launch a large-scale car bomb attack using a “vehicle borne improvised explosive device,” before leaving to join IS in Syria, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement.
The two were part of an Islamic State cell that received instructions from Muhammad Wanndy Muhammad Jedi - a known Malaysian IS fighter in Syria.
One East Asian, with a fake student visa, had connections to an East Asian militant group that sends its members to Malaysia before heading to Syria to join Islamic State, Khalid said.
Four Yemenis arrested were suspected of being part of a Yemeni insurgent group. They were also part of a syndicate forging travel documents.
Police seized multiple international passports and 270,000 ringgit ($60,650) in cash in different currencies from the four.Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
Jennifer Lyn Morone has turned herself into a corporation and collection of marketable goods and services. Everything she is biologically and intellectually, everything she does, learns or creates has the potential to be turned into profits. Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc is a graduation project in Design Interactions but as Jennifer underlines, this is not a speculative project.
JLM Inc is a new business established to determine the value of an individual. The corporation derives value from three sources and legally protects and bestows rights upon the total output of Jennifer Lyn Morone:
1. Past experiences and present capabilities. These are offered as biological, physical and mental services such as genes, labour, creativity, blood, sweat and tears.
2. Selling future potential in the form of shares.
3. Accumulation, categorisation and evaluation of data that is generated as a result of Jennifer Lyn Morone’s life.
JLM Inc is not only an audacious long term performance, it is also an thought-provoking exploration into personal data exploitation by corporations and governments. The projects is an extreme form of capitalism which might ironically enable an individual to regain some ownership of and power over their own data. Jennifer Lyn Morone Inc is obviously a very personal venture but the designer is also beta testing on herself an app, the Database of ME or DOME, that will ensure that your identity and data can be collected and stored for you and only you.
Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
Jennifer Lyn Morone, Inc. Video of the project. Film: director- Ilona Gaynor
A few questions (amongst the dozens i wanted to ask) to Jennifer:
Hi Jennifer! I obviously laughed when i read the sentence ‘This is not a Speculative Project’ in the gallery. So you really managed to become an Incorporated Person? How did you do that? Is this a standard, banal process?
It’s nice to know that the sign worked as it was intended. I feel that there’s a limit to the impact that speculative work can have as it can’t be directly compared to a current reality. This was my way of addressing the audience just to make it clear that the project is real and actively negotiating several problems that we are faced with today and that need to be addressed.
So, yes, I really have become an Incorporated Person. The process has not been standard or banal at all but that’s probably because I am not in business school setting up a business to sell something. Rather, I was on a critical design course reappropriating capitalist and corporate strategy to make being a person a business.
In November 2013 I starting looking into the details to incorporate, which seemed deceptively simple: choose the business name; decide what kind legal entity you want your business to be (I became a C-corporation); figure out where to incorporate (I did it in Delaware); find a registered agent; fill out some forms; and then pay. All of this, however, required a significant amount of research for me to even understand what the legal and financial implications of my decisions would be. For example: what being a C-corp versus an S-corp entails, how valuation of companies works, what are the benefits to incorporating in Delaware compared to other States, how shares work and how the price per share is determined (which I find completely illogical).
#01 Share Certificate of Jennifer Lyn Morone, Inc, a Delaware Corporation. Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
Delaware Apostille Certificate. Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
I used the research, combined it with my intention and fused it into a business plan where I had to define what my mission is, what I stand for, and what my vision is and how I plan to achieve these by being the business (person) I will be. Repurposing the corporate mentality even further required me to stop thinking like an individual about what I want and need but what other people want and what can I offer to meet their needs. This helped me to determine my services.
What I found interesting is that it is quite common for people to incorporate before they even know what they want to do. They can do this because, in Delaware where the majority of major corporations are located, all you need to state in the articles is that “The purpose of the corporation is to engage in any lawful activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of Delaware”. This is also the common way of describing what the company will do so as not to limit the ways in which it can make money.
Now that I have incorporated myself, I have legally created another person with my name in the eyes of the law. In the USA my corporate self now has not only the same but even more rights and benefits than I do as an individual. My corporate self takes on any responsibility and I am not liable for its actions or debt, only my initial investments. This is why we see companies able to go bankrupt, get bailouts or get away with ruthlessness without anyone being charged or responsible for what happens.
As the founder of my corporation I turn over my skills, capital, possessions and intellectual property to it and these become its assets and increase its value. My identity (name, appearance and IP addresses) become the brand and are trademarked; my mental abilities (knowledge) as processes and strategies; my physical abilities as equipment; my biological functions as products, my data is the corporations property and the shares are my potential. These all become assets that I can now capitalise on. My debt is turned into the corporations liability, which actually increases the company’s value if it were to be sold.
By issuing shares I can raise capital, based purely on my potential success. In exchange the shareholder has partial ownership of my corporation. I wanted to do this to expose that shares in no way reflect the true value of a company, only its perceived value based on popularity and that stock markets are pure gambling.
As the founder I can set the price of the shares extremely low, the usual amount advised in 10,000,000 shares at $0.001 or $0.0001 per share, I opted for the latter. After that I applied for a tax number (EIN), which takes about an hour to receive. Then you have to set up a bank account after which you can buy your shares, usually at least a third of the shares, and reserve about 10-15% for stock equity to pay for any services needed. Then you look at what the corporation’s assets are, what’s your inventory, and include the work that has gone in so far and put a number to it. A valuation has to be done to then determine what the new price per share will be and this can be done by someone who is an experienced investor or a venture capitalist, but they basically just take that number that you have got and multiply it by 10 and then divide that by the number of shares.
Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
How do you put value on things such as Education RCA and Live and work in Germany? And why is living and working in Germany proportionally more valuable than living and working in France?
Those prices actually have no reflection of how valuable the experiences have been. What the numbers represent are of what my life has cost so far divided up into periods of time based and how much I either earned or what was paid for me to live and learn. These become my base values, the initial investment, on top of which I can begin adding the intangible (knowledge, personality, skills which are very hard to put a price on) I gained from these experiences and tangible assets (possessions/inventory, both internally – i.e. blood and externally – i.e. computer) that I acquired or continually produce. This gives me a starting point to know what my production costs are so I can determine an honest price for my services.
The cost of my education, how much I received after my father passed and how much I earned in France and Germany (to answer your question: France was significantly less since I worked for an ex-partner and didn’t receive a salary but also didn’t pay rent) I knew already. What I didn’t know and never thought to ask before was how much I cost my parents, purely financially, from conception to the age of 18. I asked my mother and she came back to me with this number with inflation figured in. I’ve since set aside shares for her.
It is an interesting perspective to now have. Often we think about what we don’t have or aren’t receiving. By calculating how much money has gone into my existence as input I then took a look at what my output has been, what I’ve actually done with that, and I wasn’t terribly impressed. In capitalism individuals are meant to consume as much input as possible, while corporations can’t survive unless their output is both useful and greater than their input, which needs to be relevant and not wasteful of time or money.
Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
Could you explain us the purpose of the DOME app? How does it insure that your own information remains your property?
The philosopher John Locke stated that a person’s natural and inalienable rights are “life, liberty, and property”: that “everyone is entitled to live once they are created”, that “everyone is entitled to do anything they want to so long as it doesn’t conflict with the first right” and that “everyone is entitled to own all they create or gain so long as it doesn’t conflict with the first two rights”. Today, I believe that the data a person creates should be considered their property: it has a monetary value in the economic system that our lives are structured around. So I see data as a resource that people create and that is currently being exploited.
Governments were created to protect people and their rights but as we are living in a time of crony capitalism, where economic success is dependent on close relationships between business people and government officials, I think it will be a long time before any policy or solutions will be established. Instead what we are seeing are efforts made to better track and monitor our actions to get a clearer picture of how to better target our consumptive behaviour. This is what I consider data slavery.
Right now, as a hyper-connected network society, each person creates a trail of data that is being used and profited on mostly for advertising purposes. People are now referred to as consumers and statistics and government and Industry pay substantial sums for our information.
So as a form of protest and in an effort to revolt against this, I am using subversive tactics to reclaim what I feel should be a person’s rights by incorporating my identity and creating DOME (Database of Me) as a way to take ownership and control of my property. Now that I am a corporation any data that I create that is linked to my name, IP address and appearance is copyrighted or trademarked and therefore subject to litigation if used without my permission…think of how Getty gets the rights to images and if you use it without their permission or having paid you get a fine. So any photo I take, any email I write, any call, text, web search, cctv footage of me that is stored on someone else’s, company’s or government’s sever does not have the right to be there or to be used, sold, leased or traded.
DOME’s function, in its simplest form, is an app that acts as a firewall between you and other servers. You use all of the same services, apps and interfaces you do today but you also have your own server and the app operates quietly in the background of any device you use, making two copies of the data you transmit. One hard copy goes to your database, the other is encrypted and goes to its intended destination but can’t be used beyond that. In DOME’s complete form it is a customisable app that still does what the simpler form does but with its own applications so that a person can communicate, share photos, socialise, navigate, search for information, and record external sensors such as biosignals. So people would need to have their own server or a data locker on a shared server and download the app on their computers and phones.
For the purpose of this project all of my personal data collected with DOME is being displayed on the tracking page. This is to show and make a clear distinction that there are real lives behind the data, which is something that I think is critically missed in this data discussion. Right now there is only a portion of my information compared to what will eventually be there. It will being streamed in real-time to mimic how the NSA, GCHQ, Google, and others view our information now and it is public because I want to draw attention to how exposed we currently are.
I am also using it to measure my “operations” to monitor and track productivity and efficiency in the same way that corporations normally do. Spy software and keyloggers are becoming very commonplace mostly used by companies on their employees, jealous partners to their loved ones and parents to their children.
Currently, I am the first and only beta tester. I am using myself as the case study to capture as much data about myself as possible, store it all in one place to see how much a person can actually generate, and then correlate it to see which combinations are valuable.
Given the growing market for information if people have ownership and control of their data they should be the ones compensated for it, not other companies. So beyond any success with DOME I have the intention to build a Platform, or try to work with others who are heading in this direction as well, as a cooperative Data Broker. People would use DOME and have an overview of their information as a data portfolio from which they could choose, if they want, to send as packaged data sets to the Platform as an investment for a known purpose. The Platform would then combine different people’s information, as this increases the value of the data, and then sell it to the approved markets. Those that contribute their information would then get a return on their investment. This is not necessarily the best solution, it is only a fairer alternative to the system that is in place now.
Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
Do you think that an individual has more to lose or more to gain from this extension of capitalism to their own person? Because on the one hand, they regain some power. On the other hand, the idea seems a bit perverse.
What I am doing is quite outside the realm of ordinary behaviour but we are made to behave in what I consider quite a perverse way because of the economic system in place. Which I am in awe of as it is not really what I would have expected after millennia of evolution.
But here we are and it is obvious that Capitalism works best for Capitalists. So, I am experimenting, with myself as the subject, to push the limits to the extreme to provoke change. The way in which I am doing it is merely reflecting how things are and where they seem to be heading. Systems and governments have been adjusted and overthrown before, the problem with this one is that it works too well for the ones running it but not well enough for the rest…and the disparity is growing wider.
Theoretically, I think a person would have more to gain as a corporation as long as capitalism is in place. In practice you might have to ask me that in a year, five or even 10 years time. People change, adapt, and continue to learn throughout their lives which is much more sustainable and scalable than the way companies operate. Together we are very diverse and alone unique because of the experiences we go through which create our most valuable asset, our individual perspectives. We all have assets and potential, but for many only a small percentage is even used and rarely for one’s own benefit. If my friends and family became corporations I know exactly who I would use and for what and I know who I would invest in, not only because of what they can do but because of who they are.
If people were to write a business plan like I did they would most likely benefit in some way and definitely gain a greater perspective. But unless they take on the legal and financial implications like I have they won’t truly change the way they live and how they engage with others. Technically speaking, all becoming a corporation really comes down to is looking at what you do and what you want to do and applying the same terminology, strategy and framework that corporations use to make money. I think that there will always be perversion as long we need to gain or earn money, or some form of currency, to meet our basic needs.
Image courtesy of Jennifer Lyn Morone™ Inc
Could you describe to us the kind of services you are offering for free or those you are offering in exchange of money?
It really depends on who is asking and what they are asking for and is also affected by supply and demand. My services are categorised under mental, physical or biological, under which are combinations of features such as problem solving, compassion, strength, coordination, heat, and bodily functions. So when I offer something for free it’s because I produce it anyway and have no use for it myself and there is no demand, so it’s waste. If there starts to be a demand then it’s no longer waste but a byproduct which I can sell. If there’s something that is going to require depleting a resource, which would be measured by time, money and energy spent, in order to do it; such as consoling a friend and trying to help him through his problems for a few hours, then it will either be an exchange or invoiced. For example if this friend who often asks to meet to talk about his relationship problems is also there for me when I need consoling or help then it’s an exchange. But if he is never there for me when I need it, then I would send him an invoice.
Another example compared to how we are used to working now would be if a firm or company wants me for some mental services, say creativity and knowledge, then it would be similar to acquiring a consultant, but I would calculate my price based on what the knowledge cost to produce (education and experience) and calculate in my overhead costs, what I lost in time and energy against what I may have gained in value such as enjoyment or if I learned something new. If I there was value I gained I would deduct that from the price.
This may seem ridiculous but in an extreme form of capitalism each person would need to have a complete way to measure the value of their life and the quality of their knowledge, skills, health and relationships to increase efficiency.
Oh! i just saw you’re offering free urine! Is it ironic or would the urine be of any use to the buyer?
It’s both! There’s irony in the whole project, I’ve just dealt with it very pragmatically. We are bound to our bodies, some ways it’s an extension of our mind, in other ways it operates without us even having to think about it, in either case you are in it for as long as you live, or as long as it keeps up. It is 100% yours but there are external factors such as laws and taboos that condition you to use your bodies and the valuable things they do in very specific and deemed acceptable ways. Companies on the other hand don’t work this way. As I described above in how a waste might turn into a profitable byproduct, it depends on supply and demand.
So if you look at the body as equipment with quite mechanical operations, it produces things like urine systematically. As I am just starting I don’t have any customers. So I am copying how businesses give free promotions to attract potential buyers. In my research I came across people that were looking to buy urine for drug tests. There is also the potential to sell to labs of companies that are developing bio-fuel cells to power phones. Who knows who else might want it.
As there’s a pretty steady supply, which can be increased to an extent, if there started to be a demand that was more than I could supply then I could increase the price. If the demand is equal to the supply then I would price it based on what I saw people would pay and keep it competitive to bottled synthetic urine, yes there is such a thing. I could also increase my profit margin by only drinking tap water.
So, there’s irony on several levels: to illustrate the exploitative aspect of capitalism on resources and what this looks like at the extreme level of and by the individual; the ways in which we are conditioned to use our bodies and what we are ‘allowed’ to do with them; and the fact that you can potentially sell anything as long as there’s a willing buyer.
There is also another level of sincerity, in that the more manual your work is the less you are paid. When times are really tough, women in particular have had to resort to selling their bodies for money, with sex, pulling teeth, hair. I saw many people online looking to sell their kidney to help a friend in financial need. I also went to start a clinical drug trial and found that there are many healthy and educated young people who are now doing this for additional income. In face of an increasingly specialised workforce and automation of manual jobs people have to be resourceful and will have to look at what they have and what they can offer to live from.
Do you have a marketing plan that will ensure that people are eager to get those services and that you will make a profit rapidly?
I do have a marketing strategy as it was part of the business plan. My initial customers or users of my services will be everyone I engage with and know now. For example, if you wanted to interview me after the launch you would have to go through my website, check my calendar and block my time with the type service you want. You can then check my progress with the tracking page to make sure I’m doing what you asked of me |
despite injuries that won't go away. They are expected to play against the Canucks without six of their top 12 forwards (Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin, Cedric Paquette, J.T. Brown and Brian Boyle).
But the Lightning have a chance to get 10 wins in a 15-game stretch before heading into the NHL holiday break.
"We could have gone south and it would have been trouble for us, but if we jump back into a playoff spot, you will look at this little stretch here as the one that kept us in it," Cooper said.
"Our mentality as a group, for the first time this season, is to look through the windshield instead of the rearview mirror. That's a good thing for us."
Cooper talked more about the adversity the Lightning have faced this season and why he thinks they're figuring out a way to overcome it.
Here are five questions with … Jon Cooper:
The injuries have piled up, and continue to do so, even with players getting hurt in the first minute of games. Steven Stamkos just the other night mentioned that it's almost scary to walk into the trainer's room now and see so many guys lined up on the tables getting treatment for injuries that are keeping them out. It's a legitimate excuse for being inconsistent. Is this finally the time that a team can use injuries as an excuse for not being in a playoff position?
"That's the thing, you can't. It's funny how it works though. When we had what we consider our regular lineup in, we were just trying to find our identity again after having a long playoff run. I don't know, we were just kind of spinning our wheels a little bit. And then all the injuries happened. I've gotta give our team a ton of credit because they could have turned the corner and said, 'You know what, we've got a lot of guys out, and that's why this hasn't been working.' But instead, we got this infusion of players from Syracuse -- and the joke around here is that we're Tampacuse -- and they are just a bunch of guys that have come up here, work their tail off, follow the system to try to win hockey games. The guys, our regulars that are here, I think they've fed off of that. I think both groups have fed off of each other, to be honest. We've had to change our lines, put guys in different positions, guys on the power play and penalty kill, and everybody is just finding a way. They're scoring big goals. [Mike] Angelidis got a game-winner for us against Ottawa. [Mike] Blunden got the goal that got us going against Toronto. It just goes down the list. Especially when you're studs like Stammer (Stamkos) go 10 games without scoring, somebody has to keep you afloat in the goal scoring-department and these guys have done part of it. Now Stammer has three goals in his last two, but those other guys haven't stopped contributing."
What is the difference between Stamkos in the past two games, when he has scored three goals, and in the previous 10, when he was shut out? Is it simply the shots on goal -- 12 in the past two games, 17 in the previous 10 -- or is it more than that?
"Don't even just look at his shots on goal; also look at his shot attempts, there's another 10 in there. He had five shots against Washington, but 13 attempts. He had seven shots against Ottawa, nine attempts. I bet you if I went through the previous six or so games, he's not near those numbers. I'm not sitting here saying, 'Well, he just needed to shoot the puck more.' Part of it is a mindset for him and any goal-scorer. I think when it's not going in for you, there's a little bit of an inclination to say, 'OK, it's not going in for me, I'm going to pass.' I think that's a human-nature thing. He had to get that shooter's mentality back. Now, his lifetime shooting percentage is around 15 percent or better (17.2 percent). His shooting percentage this season is also around 15 percent (15.9 percent). It's simple mathematics, really. That's what it is. The more a player of his shooting ability puts pucks at the net, there is a better chance that they'll go in. Eventually, if you continue to have a shooting mentality, especially with his shot, pucks are going to start going in for him. And now they are."
Have you noticed other areas of his game pick up as well because the puck has started going in for him?
"When he got his goal against Washington, it was like he got 20 percent faster on the ice. He had pop in his legs. He had jump. You could just tell. It's like the weight off of his shoulders. Stammer is a team guy and he wants to win, but for all these players, and I don't care who it is, they want to contribute too. They want to feel like they're helping the team win. Everybody wants that, especially guys like Stammer, who are used to scoring 40-plus goals a year. So when you're not scoring, there's just an undo weight that's put on you. It's put on you by the media, by everybody. It's, 'Well, why isn't he scoring?' Part of the reason, too, is he's played with [Vladislav] Namestnikov and [Nikita] Kucherov here for a little bit, and I think they're starting to get a little vibe with each other. I think that's helping. When guys start getting some familiarity, now you know where guys are going to be and I think that's worked in his favor a little bit. But, really, I truly believe that Stammer was putting a lot of pressure on himself. It was like a horse race for him, when the horses line up in the starting gate, and as soon as he got that goal it was like when they open the gates and the horses take off. The gate is open for him."
Everywhere you've been, be it coaching high school hockey up to the American Hockey League, you have experienced enough success that it allowed you to advance in your career, take the next step, go to the next level. There is no next level. You're in the NHL. And now you're dealing with adversity after having success. What, if anything, has prepared you for this?
"I think you look at the big picture. You're saying, 'Oh, you had all this success, you got to 50 wins last year, got to the Stanley Cup Final,' but I think there is something to be said for the new guy coming in, putting in his system, finding the players, their roles. In a lot of situations with coaches, that's how it goes: The new guy comes in and it's about how long can you sustain that. You're basically judged by your end result, not how you got there. In all the other years [before I got to the NHL], every year didn't go without struggles. There was always some sort of adversity or something that went on during the year that you had to fight your way through and rise yourself, try to find a way to get yourself to the top. I think for us, I think we're going through a lot of adversity, especially with the short summer, where we went last season, the mentality of our team, a young team trying to deal with what happened. The one thing that I know, that is not on our minds now, that probably was in October and November, is last season. When all our injuries happened, it kind of changed our mentality a little bit. We've forgotten about last year, and I think that has helped us. Now we are officially into this season, and it's a grind. We know that. There's no cushion. We don't have the cushion that the Montreal Canadiens, the Rangers, Dallas gave themselves in the beginning. They can go through some mini slumps here and not really have to worry about their position because they had such a cushion because of their fast start. We don't have that, so this is different for us. And for me, it's a different challenge, there's no question. It opens doors that you've never really had to walk through before as a coach. In a weird way, you kind of grow as a coach in situations like this."
Do you feel that it has turned, that this last little stretch has turned things around for you guys?
"It's a little too soon to say things have turned, but if I was going to pick a point in this season that our mindset very much the mindset we had last season, it's right now. And that's with almost half our forward group being from the American Hockey League, from Syracuse. Our mentality has changed. We're not the team that was hanging on to the aura of going to the Cup Final last season. That's gone. Now we're a team of survivors, of guys looking around, seeing who is out of the lineup, and challenging themselves by saying, 'You know what, let's go win a hockey game.' But, as you go through the list of guys that are out of the lineup, guys like Johnson and Palat and Paquette, it's so weird to say, but this is almost a break for them. We may have a rejuvenated group of guys come in like it's the opening day of training camp. You can only say that if your team didn't nosedive, but we've held our ground in the standings. You look at when these guys come back, that's a definite possibility."
---One of the big advances we’ve seen in moving towards a renewable future is in the field of biofuels. And one of the sources of biofuels currently being studied is algae. It grows on your pond, or at the lake near your house, but it might also one day keep your car running and your plane in the air.
And a joint venture between Rose Ann Cattolico at University of Washington and investment company Recently Allied Minds might soon see a different type of algae for different types of situations.
"People don’t realize how many types of algae there are – from single cells to large kelp – and each one develops differently," Cattolico said. "What we’re trying to do is choose the best of the best, the ones that produce the right lipids for a particular type of fuel."
When I first read about this, I was absolutely fascinated. So often we just read that “algae biofuels” is going to be an option for us down the track. Now I find out that different types of algae will be better suited to power different types of things.
Corn has recently gone out of favor as a possible mass-produced biofuel, due to the massive amount of pollution that its growth will make, and the corn that it will take away from people’s mouths. And where corn produces starch as a result of photosynthesis, algae make lipids, a naturally occurring molecule such as fats, waxes, and oils.
Some oils created by algae might be appropriate for fueling a motor vehicle; another might be more suited for home heating oil; and yet another might be the right type to power an airplane. While we’re at it, some algae oils might also provide useful for other products, in the same vein that omega 3 fatty acids make fish such a popular and healthy product.
In fact algae’s are quickly turning into the star of the biofuel world. It does not require masses of farmland to produce, and can use wastewater instead of diverting freshwater. And with fuel prices skyrocketing, water availability a real and present issue, and the loss of farmland for these products a concern, algae comes out on top in all categories.
And though it could take 10 to 25 years before algae-based biofuel is readily available to the public, the possibilities are huge. Erick Rabins, vice president of Allied Minds, based in Quincy, Mass, and interim manager of the startup company between Allied Minds and UW, says that "The most optimistic assessment that I’ve heard is that it could be six to eight years before there’s something that’s useable, but the tools and techniques to make it possible are being created right now.”
Cattolico knows that algae can be a real answer to many prayers in this day and age of high fuel prices. But she also doesn’t believe it is the only answer. She wants to see a wide sweeping commitment by government and industry to ensure a quick development of alternate energy sources.
"What we need is a Manhattan Project for fuel," Cattolico said. "If we can get a Manhattan Project for fuel, it won’t take 25 years."
credit: jurvetson at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
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CARS and Micro-Algae Turn Hydrocarbons into Fuels, Fertilizers and FoodIn the midst of the sprawling Los Angeles basin, halfway between Downtown Los Angeles and the beach, lies Culver City, home to movie studios, startups, Obama's former campaign headquarters, and, by Los Angeles standards, relatively cheap rents. Just across from Culver City's redeveloped downtown lies Hayden Tract, a former industrial zone that was once the region's infamous and literal "other side of the tracks," increasingly a haven for decaying aerospace warehouses and drug dealing, jammed between a former rail line and Ballona Creek.
In the eighties, coinciding with the planned renewal of its downtown, the Culver City Redevelopment Agency made Hayden Tract a pet project, focusing resources and attention onto the area to spruce it up. This was the beginning of Hayden as it is known today: an ongoing architectural experiment and real estate proposition called Conjunctive Points. It is the product of a near three decade-long exchange of ideas between local architect Eric Owen Moss, director of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and his clients, the husband and wife developer team of Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith. They began buying up the area's decaying warehouses and handing them over to Moss, who was at the time becoming known for his idiosyncratic, intellectual approach, for radical re-dos.
Ask architects about Hayden Tract and they can tell you all about it. Owing to its abundance of eclectic buildings designed by Moss, it has long been regarded as a mecca for architectural pilgrimages, that one special place in the citypossibly the countrywhere architectural adventurousness can seemingly run free. Today, Moss is still engaged in creating singular buildings for the Samitaur Smiths, like the recently-completed Samitaur Tower and the Waffle, an undulating, egg-crate structured conference center currently under construction. Hayden occupies a central position in the history of contemporary architecture, specifically that rough industrial brand that emerges from the creative synergies of Los Angeles.
[View of Stealth, another Eric Owen Moss design within Hayden Tract. Photo via Flickr/Scott Moore.]
But ask non-architects if they know what and where Hayden Tract is and you are bound to get puzzled looks. This one special place is so special, it turns out, that many people don't know about it. Perhaps this is because for most of its life it has been more a scattered collection of secretive buildings than a cohesive neighborhood. It is the quintessential industrial park, not designed to flirt with the surrounding public realm and perhaps by nature resistant to it. No Water Garden is this. Nor is it anything like nearby Blackwelder, a collection of renovated industrial sheds turned into creative office space that, well, still look like industrial sheds.
But it may soon become easier for the greater public to come to the gates of Hayden, thanks to the extension of the Expo Line to Santa Monica. As Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne put it, Hayden "promises to set the stage for a fascinating clash of philosophies: the private, market-driven approach of the Samitaur Smiths coming face-to-face with L.A.'s newly expanding public realm." Can Hayden Tract come to hold greater meaning for the city?
[The first point is the GPS marker for Conjunctive Points, which actually spreads throughout Hayden Tract. The rest are new projects being built in the neighborhood.]
Architects are already beginning to bridge the gap between Hayden's architectural curiosity and public use. In addition to the Expo Line extension, the area is getting new mixed-use developments like the Runyon Group's Platform, which Abramson Teiger Architects has designed for a site right at the edge of the Hayden zone.
[The Platform project. Courtesy Runyon Group.]
"We looked at a lot of places on the Westside," says Alex Lin, cofounder and principal of the architecture firm Hopscape, which opened its offices in Hayden last year. "We wanted to be in a place that has a good creative vibe and a very casual environment." In essence, Hayden Tract is a series of nodes where people work. Metro even calls it "job rich" on its website. What it is not, however, is rich in amenities. "It needs a public realmrestaurants, retail shops, public spaces, green spaces, as well as some basic infrastructureto really come alive," says Lin. "When we do large mixed-use developments we look at them like small cities, as communities. The things in-between, all the public things, are vital." Hopscape cofounder Ken Ho adds. " It's not a nice place to be when you work late … and as architects we tend to do this a lot!"
Bryson Reaume, president of City Constructors, Inc., a construction firm with expertise in adaptive reuse, knows a lot about converting industrial spaces and re-energizing former industrial areas. He's been witnessing it firsthand in Downtown's Arts District, where their offices are located. In Hayden, they worked with RAC Design Build to convert a former aircraft facility into creative offices for the media company Framestore. "It took years for restaurants and shops to start appearing in the Arts District, but now there is a dog park and even a large community park going in," Reaume says. "It's starting to feel like a neighborhood. It's just waiting to happen in Hayden Tract."
[Another view of the Platform project. Courtesy Runyon Group.]
That the collective force of the Moss-Samitaur Smith partnership has the lockdown on the design of the area is more urban myth than reality, perhaps the result of the sheer number of buildings they have done together over the years31 buildings built or planned at a total of one million square feet. But the Samitaur Smiths don't own all the buildings and they certainly don't own what lies between them. "There is room for anybody to come in and do something," says Moss. "A park, a skate park, anything."
In fact, other architects have been inserting their visions and building upon Moss's armature in different ways and at different scales. Often, out of necessity, they are responding to Moss's vision of architecture, and they must figure out how to explore their own designs in such a symbolically-charged environment. "It was important to us that we recognized Eric Owen Moss, but it was also important that we make a building that is relevant for our clients," says Sherry Hoffman, cofounder and partner of (M)Arch., a Santa Monica firm that recently completed the build-out of one of the iconic Moss buildings.
[The Blur Studio office space. Photograph by Tom Bonner.]
For (M)Arch., working within the Moss-Samitaur Smith paradigm inspired creative approaches. Their project, a 20,000-square-foot creative office space for Blur Studio in the Paramount Laundry building, is a playful commentary on the original design. "Having a project here means starting with a building that already has a strong position, both aesthetically and culturally. You feel a responsibility to preserve the building's original relevance" while also creating a new set of meanings, says Todd Erlandson, cofounder and partner of (M)Arch. "We started by contrasting the comfortable and casual culture of Blur with Moss's post-modern industrial languageexpressing the Blur vibe in contrast to an intentional, highly-wrought shell. The next step was about creating immersive moments, those individual and holistic experiences that are uniquely related to the client's culture."
[Framestore. Photographs by Art Gray.]
Projects like Framestore have designed in elements to make up for the lack of them on the outside. Its islands-within-commons plan, with faceted and angled partitions, makes it behave more like a landscape. It also features a three-story tower with an observation deck to provide more outdoor space, all within the building's footprint. And the Cuningham Group's new office space is laid out like a town square with a central park, with sunken landscaping cut into the polished concrete floor, surrounded by work spaces.
[Another look at the Blur space. Photograph by Tom Bonner.]
(M)Arch's Blur is another case in point. Says Erlandson, "Blur is fortunate because it is located in an edge condition, adjacent to downtown Culver City. Additionally, we are working with them to create a shared outdoor space between them and a like-minded neighbor. Even though parking is at a premium, there are opportunities for small amenities to happen in these in-between spaces."
So if the public infrastructure doesn't yet exist on the outside, that hasn't stopped tenants and their architects from building them on the inside. At some point, more work like this could begin to fill in the gaps. As Hayden gradually opens to the public, it could be not just a lab for architecture, but also for urban design and city making.
· Hayden Tract [Curbed LA]
· Curbed Features [Curbed LA]Audio:
Tamiflu Resistant Pandemic H1N1 Cases in Texas
Recombinomics Commentary 03:14
August 4, 2009
"We have found resistance to Tamiflu on the border. We have observed some cases, few to be sure, in El Paso and close to McAllen, Texas," said Maria Teresa Cerqueira, head of the local PAHO office.
Cerquiera said one patient diagnosed with a Tamiflu-resistant strain had been treated with Zanamivir -- an anti-viral made by GlaxoSmithKline -- and another was given no alternative medication. Both survived.
The above comments describe at least two oseltamivir resistant patients along the Texas / Mexico border. The cases are at opposite ends of the border (see map ) and raise concerns that the resistance developed in the absence of Tamiflu treatment. One patient had "diagnosed" resistance and was treated with Zanamivir, while the other wasn't treated with Zanamivir, leaving open the possibility that neither were treated with oseltamivir. Moreover, the wording left open the possibility that there were more than two patients, suggesting fit swine H1N1 with H274Y was circulating over a wide area.The emergence of fit swine H1N1 with H274Y is not a surprise. A case has already been reported in Hong Kong in a traveler from San Francisco. The precursor for this strain has been reported worldwide, although the only case reported in the US was in April in New Jersey, raising concerns that the fit strain was circulating silently, in part because the cases were mild and not being tested. The patient in Hong Kong, like one of the patients recovered without treatment with Relenza, indicating the cases were relatively mild.The fact that these cases were reported simultaneously also raises concerns that a fit H274Y is circulating in the area.Details on the number of cases, and release of sequences, would be useful.Before President Obama even landed at Andrews Air Force Base, returning from his mission to Copenhagen to win the 2016 Olympic Games, Chicago had been voted off the island.
Many shared the lamentation of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, “What has become of America, when Chicago can’t steal an election?”
A second and more serious battle of Copenhagen is shaping up, in mid-December, when a world conference gathers to impose limits on greenhouse gases to stop “global warming.” Primary purpose: Rope in the Americans who refused to submit to the Kyoto Protocols that Al Gore brought home in the Clinton era.
The long campaign to bring the United States under another global regime — the newest piece in the architecture of world government — has been flagging since 2008. Then, it seemed a lock with the election of Obama and a veto-proof Democratic Senate.
Green Hell: How Enviro... Steven Milloy Best Price: $1.00 Buy New $5.00 (as of 07:55 EST - Details)
Why has the campaign stalled? Because global warming has stalled. The hottest year of modern times, 1998, came and went a decade ago.
As BBC climate correspondent Paul Hudson writes: “For the last 11 years, we have not observed any increase in global temperatures. And our climate models did not forecast it, even though manmade carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.”
What this powerfully suggests is that what man does and does not do is far less responsible for climate change, if it is responsible at all, than other factors over which he has no control.
Consider. Though the emissions of carbon dioxide rose constantly throughout the 20th century — with the industrialization of the West, Japan, Southeast Asia and, finally, China and India — global temperatures have not risen steadily at all. They have fluctuated.
John Sununu, writing in the St. Croix Review, says the Earth underwent “cooling in the 1920s, heating in the 1930s and 1940s, cooling in the 1950s and 1960s and 1970s, warming in the 1980s and 1990s, and cooling in the past decade.”
But if there is no crisis, why are we even going to Copenhagen? And if there is no causal connection between carbon dioxide and global warming, what is the true cause of climate change?
Some scientists say that 98 percent of the Earth’s temperature can be explained by the sun. When the sun’s energy increases, a matter over which man has zero control, the Earth’s temperature rises. When the sun’s energy diminishes, the Earth’s temperature falls.
One solar scientist, Piers Corbyn, claims to have found a link between solar charged particles hitting the Earth and global warming and cooling.
Others, like professor Don Easterbrook of Western Washington University, contend that the oceans explain climate change. As they heat and cool cyclically, the Earth heats and cools. And where the oceans were cooling for 40 years before the 1990s, they have lately been heating up. Easterbrook says these cycles tend to last for 30 years.
As Hudson notes, there are scientists who claim they have taken all these factors into consideration and insist that the Earth, over the long haul, is warming. But Hudson cites Mojib Latif of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who says we are in the fist stage of a long-term cooling trend that will last another 10 to 20 years.
The anecdotal evidence almost daily contradicts Al Gore and the end-of-times environmentalists. Lately, there have been record-breaking cold spells in the Midwest and West. Snow came to Colorado this October, postponing a baseball playoff game. The hurricane season turned out to be among the mildest on record. Contrary to predictions, the polar bear population seems to be doing fine.
While the ice cap at the North Pole is receding, the Antarctic ice cap, which contains 90 percent of the world’s ice, is expanding.
Moreover, receding ice in the Arctic is opening up a northwest passage from Europe to Asia. The Russians believe the immense mineral resources of the Arctic may soon be accessible. While we wring our hands, they are rushing to get them.
The mounting evidence that global warming has halted and man is not responsible for climate change has thrown the Kyoto II lobby into something of a panic. Barbara Boxer and John Kerry are re-branding the Senate cap-and-trade bill as a national security measure.
If, however, cap-and-trade, which the Congressional Budget Office says will be another blow to economic growth, can be stopped before the Copenhagen summit in December, the republic may have dodged another bullet. And the goal of the globalists — an end to the independence and sovereignty of the United States, and the creation of a world government — will have sustained yet another welcome postponement.
The Best of Patrick J. BuchananFormer Sky head of non-scripted Celia Taylor has joined Tinopolis Group-owned UK factual prodco Mentorn Media.
Taylor left UK satcaster Sky last year as Phil Edgar-Jones took over all non-scripted programming.
She has now been named managing director of Robot Wars producer Mentorn, replacing Jonathan Hewes, who will now solely focus on another Tinopolis prodco, Pioneer Productions.
While at Sky, Taylor commissioned shows such as A League of Their Own, Wild Things and Ross Kemp’s Extreme World, as well as the Mentorn-produced comedy-travelogue An Idiot Abroad.
Before that, she was director of programmes at Virgin Media, overseeing four digital channels, and was also a factual commissioning editor at UK pubcaster the BBC and a freelance producer.
She is now in control of shows such as BBC politics debate series Question Time and mechanised battle bot format Robot Wars, which is being remade in various new territories.
Her hire follows that of former BBC Worldwide, Fever Media and NBCUniversal unscripted exec David Mortimer, who joined Tinopolis as its first director of content in January.
Taylor will report to Mortimer, who said she was “one of the most talented and well-liked TV executives”.
Her appointment follows what Tinopolis claimed was Mentorn’s “busiest year in a while”.
Former chief Hewes, who previously worked at Wall to Wall, joined Tinopolis in July last year as chief executive of Mentorn and How the Universe Works producer Pioneer, a move that preceded the exit of long-time Mentorn MD Kirstie McLure.
Last week, Tinopolis’ management bought out private equity firm Vitruvian, which had owned a 50% stake in the group.NT has been my favorite faction pairing for the current draft format. Here's a draft showing what sort of strategies I look for and how that influences my picks.
Drafting
Pack 1
This is not a close pick. Borean Windweaver has the best combination of power and flexibility of any heroic in draft. It doesn't require any specific archetype or deck construction to be useful and can be potent as both a leveled threat or an underleveled utility creature. And it leaves us open to follow whatever faction or archetype the packs lead us to.
Crypt Conjurer, Aether Root and Ice Grasp are not cards that you can successfully build around in draft. Firefist Uranti is ok paired with Uterra where you can pump it into a serious threat, but otherwise is easily shut down by common debuff spells like Bitterfrost Totem and Metatransfer. I like Frostspeaker Shaman a little bit better that Firefist because it is harder to deal with, but there are still a lot of situations where it won't do enough control the board.
Pick: Borean Windweaver
Borean Windweaver Borean Windweaver
Frostspeaker Shaman Frostspeaker Shaman
Crypt Conjurer Crypt Conjurer
Aether Root Aether Root
Firefist Uranti Firefist Uranti
Ice Grasp Ice Grasp Catacomb Spider feels like the best card in the pack and I really like playing NT. If we're lucky enough to pick up a Zarox, the Raging
Pick: Catacomb Spider
Catacomb Spider Catacomb Spider
Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus
Contagion Surge Contagion Surge
Aetherguard Aetherguard
Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger For me, the pick is between Aethertap Shaman and Bitterfrost Totem. Shaman is a solid creature with a relavent ability but I feel like the creature quality is high enough in NT that I don't have to worry about picking enough playable bodies. Bitterfrost Totem is a premium spell and is incredibly useful as an underdrop play in decks that are trying to be aggressive. I'll take Totem but Shaman would be fine as well.
Pick: Bitterfrost Totem
Blood Boil Blood Boil
Aethertap Shaman Aethertap Shaman
Bitterfrost Totem Bitterfrost Totem
Conflagrate Conflagrate Spider is the only good card in the pack so it's the clear pick.
Pick: Catacomb Spider
Catacomb Spider Catacomb Spider
Stormspear Stormspear
Contagion Surge Contagion Surge This is a nice place to pick up a Sparkstone Elemental. I've played NT defender decks in the past and they've worked pretty well. It doesn't necessarily put us into that archetype but it will give us the option if the picks are there.
Pick: Sparkstone Elemental
Sparkstone Elemental Sparkstone Elemental
Rot Wanderer Rot Wanderer
Pack 2
There are three reasonable cards in this pack; Blood Bindings, Shatterbolt and Flamestoke Shaman. Shaman actually has some decent targets that I could pick up like Ashurian Brawler Razortooth Stalker Bitterfrost Totem
Pick: Flamestoke Shaman
Vigor Leech Vigor Leech
Blood Bindings Blood Bindings
Shatterbolt Shatterbolt
Chant of Dragonwatch Chant of Dragonwatch
Umbruk Icecrusher Umbruk Icecrusher
Flamestoke Shaman Flamestoke Shaman Glad I didn't take a spell in the last pack. I'll pass all of the average creatures and take more debuff.
Pick: Bitterfrost Totem
Rimehorn Charger Rimehorn Charger
Scavenger Scorpion Scavenger Scorpion
Demonweb Watcher Demonweb Watcher
Zombie Infantry Zombie Infantry
Bitterfrost Totem Bitterfrost Totem Frostshatter Strike is another premium trick in NT and I'm ok taking it over an average creature like Zombie Infantry.
Pick: Frostshatter Strike
Blood Boil Blood Boil
Rot Wanderer Rot Wanderer
Frostshatter Strike Frostshatter Strike
Zombie Infantry Zombie Infantry Here's a pick that is influenced or enabled by our earlier Sparkstone Elemental. Without the animator, Flame Jet is the best card in the pack, but I would be getting pretty spell heavy in my card selection. Sparkstone makes Cinder Colossus a legitimate pick as a late game win condition and potentially pushes me towards a more focused plan, rather than a generic good-stuff deck.
Pick: Cinder Colossus
Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus
Spirit Torrent Spirit Torrent
Flame Jet Flame Jet Windcaller Shaman lines up with the defender plan since I can use it to move damaged walls around for additional blocks. It's also just a great utility card to have in your deck.
Pick: Windcaller Shaman
Spirit Torrent Spirit Torrent
Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman
Pack 3
I could pick another Cinder Colossus to really commit to the defender deck, but I'm not ready to do that yet. I'm still thinking of it as my plan B if I don't get the aggressive NT cards that I want and Kadrasian Stoneback is too good of a card to pass for plan B. It's a little bit of a nonbo with the defender strategy because your walls clog up the board but also a little bit of a combo because of surprise attacks with Sparkstone
Pick: Kadrasian Stoneback
Witherfrost Banshee Witherfrost Banshee
Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus
Necrotic Wurm Necrotic Wurm
Kadrasian Stoneback Kadrasian Stoneback
Duskspire Zombie Duskspire Zombie
Conflagrate Conflagrate I took the Steam Sentinel here to lean a bit more towards the late game defender deck, but it's still a fine underdrop/high attack creature in non-defender decks. It's not that committing of a pick. Plunder Imp would edge out Zombie Titan for the more neutral pick.
Pick: Steam Sentinel
Plunder Imp Plunder Imp
Zombie Titan Zombie Titan
Necrotic Wurm Necrotic Wurm
Grimgaunt Spectre Grimgaunt Spectre
Steam Sentinel Steam Sentinel Another Windcaller Shaman will be great for a defender deck. So far I have Borean Windweaver Sparkstone Elemental
A side note. Dirge Banshee plus Windcaller Shaman is my favorite gimmicky combo in draft so I'm sad that I don't get to pick both of these cards.
Pick: Windcaller Shaman
Windcaller Shaman Windcaller Shaman
Dirge Banshee Dirge Banshee
Demonweb Watcher Demonweb Watcher
Flowstone Primordial Flowstone Primordial Not. Close.
Pick: Death Current
Death Current Death Current
Contagion Surge Contagion Surge
Conflagrate Conflagrate I'm getting some pretty nice fifth picks in this draft. I'll take the Cloudcleaver Titan because it diversifies my win condiditons. In my Oratek primer I talk about how having high mobility finishers is a good compliment to a defender strategy and that's the reasoning that underlies this pick.
Pick: Cloudcleaver Titan
Cinder Colossus Cinder Colossus
Cloudcleaver Titan Cloudcleaver Titan
Pack 4
Avalanche Guardian is a nice card for defender decks because it does work without relying any support cards. With beefy stats and mobility, the card can often get 2-for-1's all by itself.
Pick: Avalanche Guardian
Blood Boil Blood Boil
Witherfrost Banshee Witherfrost Banshee
Ashurian Mystic Ashurian Mystic
Avalanche Guardian Avalanche Guardian
Grave Ghast Grave Ghast
Unrelenting Dead Unrelenting Dead This Stoneback is a little bit riskier than the first but it's just so much better than all the other cards in the pack.
Pick: Kadrasian Stoneback
Demonweb Watcher Demonweb Watcher
Contagion Surge Contagion Surge
Zombie Titan Zombie Titan
Kadrasian Stoneback Kadrasian Stoneback
Grave Ghast Grave Ghast I already have two Bitterfrost Totems and a Frostshatter Strike so I'll take the Nargath Bruiser.
Pick: Nargath Bruiser
Ashurian Brawler Ashurian Brawler
Nargath Bruiser Nargath Bruiser
Bitterfrost Totem Bitterfrost Totem
Frostshatter Strike Frostshatter Strike I'll take this Frostshatter Strike. It puts me at five total spells after four packs, but I'm ok going a little spell heavy if they are all top |
array, or one that appears to be in disarray," can't challenge Democratic supremacy.Ontario Taking Steps to Improve Mining Safety
Province Acts on Initial Findings from Mining Safety Review
September 10, 2014 8:45 A.M. Ministry of Labour
Ontario is improving the health and well-being of workers in the province's underground mines by acting on its advisory group's early work.
Led by the province's Chief Prevention Officer, the advisory group's comprehensive mining safety review has prepared a progress report including a number of key initiatives.
In response to the preliminary work of the advisory group, Ontario will:
Improve the visibility of workers through increased promotion of high visibility apparel
Develop a mining health database that will serve as a valuable tool to track incidents of illness, exposure to a number of carcinogenic substances, helping to prevent miners from being exposed to unsafe levels and assist in the development of improved health and safety rules
Create a sharper focus on hazards to improve health and well-being in the new training standards for joint health and safety committees, which are made up of workers and management
Fund a study to be completed by Laurentian University that will look for ways to reduce loss of feeling in the feet triggered by continuous use of vibrating machinery, which puts workers at greater risk for slips and falls injuries, especially on high work platforms
The mining safety review final report will be provided to the province early next year.
Protecting the health and safety of miners and all of the province's workers is part of the government's plan to build Ontario up by investing in people, building modern infrastructure and supporting a dynamic and innovative business climate.
Quick Facts The progress report draws on advice from labour, industry, academic, health and safety experts, as well as members of the public. Twelve public sessions were held across the province and over 60 written submissions were received.
Mining in Ontario is diverse, covering a wide range of mineral commodities, including gold, nickel, copper, salt, diamonds, and a number of structural building materials.
Ministry of Labour inspectors made over 1,500 proactive visits to mining workplaces in 2012-13.
The province’s mining sector employs 27,000 people, with another 50,000 jobs in processing.
Ontario is the top destination for mining investment and production in all of Canada with a total value of mineral production reaching $10.7 billion in 2011.
Background Information Mining Health and Safety ReviewI’m so overwhelmed by the amount of love I’ve received from you guys over the last two days and I want to thank you all so much! I’m so glad that you’re loving these posts! As the “photography week” continues, today I will talk about few ways of creating beautiful backgrounds for your product shots.
Background ideas for product photography
Creating a nice, clean and interesting background can be challenging. Here are few ways to make it easier:
Cardboards
I have a whole bunch of cardboards that I bought at Michael’s Arts & Crafts store for only a few bucks and they have served me so well! I already showed you how I use my white one right here:
My other favorite has got to be this black one that I often use to photograph my recipes. I honestly feel that it took my food photography to a whole different level. This is how I use it:
So sorry for the crappy picture but it’s been raining here for the last couple of hours and I couldn’t get a good shot, but still wanted to show you what it looks like “behind the scenes”.
I use these tiny clips to keep the board in place. Can’t tell you how many times it fell over on the food I was photographing :).
End result:
I place my food (or product) on a small wood palette that my husband helped me make and I put this huge piece of black cardboard behind my subject. When my lens focuses on the presented food, the background is softened and loses a bit of focus, which makes it look like I’m taking my photos against a black wall. Cool thing about this is that I can use any color that I want, making it different and interesting each time. For some reason, I really like black; I think that it creates a nice contrast between the food and the background.
Computer wallpaper
This is yet another easy and essentially free way for creating unique setting. Just change your wallpaper on your computer to anything that you want, place it behind your products (stacking them up on books or something else that you find handy) and take your pictures. I love using this technique for my nail swatches. I can literally pick anything I want for my background. For instance, when I was taking pictures of the “Taboo” polish by Chanel, I used galaxy wallpaper.
Few of my nail swatches using my desktop wallpaper:
This is my set up when taking pictures using a desktop wallpaper (you could do the same thing with a laptop). I place my products in front of the monitor, I have my tripod and my ring light in front and I snap away. Again, I’d prefer natural light, but just see how dark my room is.
End result:
Placemats
I have tons of different placemats (not gonna lie, I’m a bit obsessed with them) and sometimes I use them for non-food photography as well. Here I was taking a picture of a hair product that came in white/pink packaging. At first I took it against white background and just “wasn’t feeling it”. I looked around the kitchen thinking of something to use and then I noticed my pink placemats. I leaned one against my laptop, placed my products in front of it, added some flowers in the back and it looked 10 times better.
The day when these were taken was a very gloomy one and I really struggled with these photos. It was so difficult to get my background to look pure white or even close to white. I really don’t like the dull, sad gray color that I kept getting. I can’t tell you how many times I’d spend hours trying to get a nice picture only to find that once imported into my computer they all look like crap. At the beginning of my blogging adventure I didn’t let that bother me too much and I thought that as long as I have a picture to go with the post, I’m good. After a while that started to bother me a little bit and I decided to put more effort into it and go for quality over quantity. That was when my love for photography was born. I can spend hours taking pictures, but if I’m not completely satisfied with the finished product, I won’t publish them and try to do it all over again the next day. I realize that some may think “it’s just a blog, it’s just a picture, who cares?” The truth is, right now my blog is a huge part of my life. I never had a hobby, never had passion in my life. Once you find that thing that you love doing so much, you only want to do your best and this is exactly what I’m trying to do.
White backdrop
Last year I came across Rae’s blog when searching for inspiration for photography. She had this cool tutorial for an “infinity effect” backdrop. To create one all you need is a stapler, a fairly large box and a piece of white paper. This set up is great for product photography; it creates crease-less, uniform background and looks clean and bright. I do have to mention, however, that this works the best with natural light.
This was taken using my white “backdrop” box.
This was taken using the same method, but I also edited it in Photoshop Elements using the “dodge” tool to create that flawless, white background.
Also, make sure to check out my tutorial for a white/grey marble photography background right here.
This is it for backgrounds. If you guys have any other ideas please share them with me! Once again thank you so, so much for all the kind comments, it’s still a bit surreal but my first photography post is already my most viewed post ever, and it’s only been up for two days! How crazy is that? You guys inspired me so much that I decided to make “Photography” a permanent category on the blog. That way, as I learn more and more about photography, I can share it all with you.
For more updated Photography tips click here.
Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see what I’m up to on daily basis.Story highlights A new poll shows Hillary Clinton with a 16-point lead over Donald Trump in Virginia
Recent polling suggests the battleground state is falling further out of reach for Trump
(CNN) Hillary Clinton has a big lead over Donald Trump in Virginia, according to a new poll released Tuesday, which shows the Democratic nominee with a 16-point advantage in the state.
The Roanoke College poll found Clinton leading Trump 48% to 32% among likely Virginia voters in a four-way race. Libertarian Gary Johnson gets 8% support, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein is backed by 3%. In a two-way race, Clinton leads Trump 55% to 36%.
That's in line with other recent polling of Virginia conducted over a similar time frame (August 7-17 for the Roanoke poll). A Quinnipiac poll taken within the same stretch found Clinton leading by 12 points, 50%-38%, while Washington Post poll showed Clinton up 51% to 43%.
Clinton performs better with her base than Trump in Virginia, as 91% of Democrats say they will vote for her, compared to 78% of Republicans who say they'll vote for Trump. Clinton's numbers have improved since May, while Trump's have declined over the same period. The former Secretary of State is winning Independents 43% to 25%.
Clinton has also seen her favorable rating increase, though she still remains underwater -- 39% now say they have a favorable opinion of the Democratic nominee, and 45% say they view her unfavorably (up from 35%-50% in May). Trump, on the other hand, has seen his favorable rating remain at 23%, while the percentage of those saying they view him unfavorably grew from 56% in May to 63%.
Read MoreUPDATE #3: War Machine’s brother, Michael Koppenhaver, has posted another blog dealing with this situation. You can check that out via the following MMANews.com article: Michael Koppenhaver Posts Another Blog Touching On War Machine’s Suicide Attempt
UPDATE #2: War Machine’s official Twitter account continues to be active while the former UFC and Bellator fighter remains in jail. The day before the news of his suicide attempt in jail was reported, an interesting poem and a famous quote was tweeted on his official Twitter account. You can read that via the following MMANews.com article: Interesting Poem, Famous Quote Posted On War Machine’s Twitter Account
UPDATE: War Machine’s brother — Michael Koppenhaver — posted a detailed blog about his brothers suicide attempt in jail this week. You can read that via the following MMANews.com article: War Machine’s Brother Blogs About His Attempted Suicide In Jail
ORIGINAL STORY:
TMZ is reporting that former UFC and Bellator fighter Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver tried to commit suicide in jail this week. The report notes that War Machine’s attempt was foiled by a corrections officer.
At around 9:30am, an officer was walking by War Machine’s cell in Clark County Jail when he saw the former MMA fighter with his feet up on the bunk bed. When the officer tried to call his name, he was reportedly unresponsive.
The report claims that the officer then entered War Machine’s cell, where he found that he had a piece of linen around his neck that was tied to the leg of his bed. His face was said to be purple as a result.
The officer then cut the linen from around his neck and his breathing became less strained.
War Machine is reportedly in medical isolation at this point and is on suicide watch.
Additionally, officers reportedly found what appeared to be a suicide note in the cell.
Talk about this on our official FACEBOOK page, or on our official TWITTER page. You can also talk about it in our popular FORUMS.Caroline Kennedy
I can’t imagine Caroline Kennedy campaigning for the job of U.S. senator through traditional methods: shaking hands outside factory gates on a cold winter morning, granting interviews to reporters other than sycophantic morning-show hosts, explaining and defending her positions on the issues of the day. Just as she’s never shown any enthusiasm for public office, so Kennedy has never shown much interest in the things candidates have to do to get elected.
Which is why Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat may be perfect for Kennedy. Under the most widely discussed scenario, New York Gov. David Paterson would name Kennedy to replace Clinton, who is resigning to become secretary of state. Kennedy would become senator simply by doing something at which she has long excelled: working the phones with powerful people who take her calls because of her last name. And though such talents aren’t irrelevant to a senator’s job—and though Kennedy has long experience fulfilling ceremonial obligations, another senatorial duty—they are far from sufficient. Sometimes a senator has to get her hands dirty.
Disclosure: My view of Kennedy is shaped by personal experience. Before my book American Son, about working with John Kennedy Jr. at George magazine, was published in 2002, surrogates of Caroline tried to prevent its publication. They failed, but it was ugly stuff. If Caroline Kennedy didn’t know the specifics of their efforts—which ranged from threatening my original publisher to planting negative stories about me in the media—she certainly knew of their existence. How do I know? Because I told her, in letters to which she never responded. (By contrast, I corresponded with Sen. Ted Kennedy’s office several times, with his aides informing him of the book’s progress, and before it was published they asked for advance copies.)
Still, my lack of enthusiasm at the prospect of Sen. Caroline Kennedy is more than personal. (In fact, the toughness I encountered would probably serve her well on Capitol Hill.) In several important ways, she’s also considerably less suited for public office than the two senators who currently represent New York, Clinton and Charles Schumer.
Unlike Clinton and Schumer, Kennedy has always seemed more interested in avoiding public issues than engaging them. As an adult, she has tended to work at jobs that didn’t require her to work all that hard and didn’t require her to mingle with ordinary people. She has a law degree but does not practice law, instead co-writing two books about important Supreme Court cases. The books were typical of Kennedy: high-minded, earnest, but distant, as if she never really wanted to take a position on something relevant to the events and debates of the day. More recently she has published books on more domestic matters, such as A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children and The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
In a recent column, Michael Wolff tells a story about Kennedy catching wind of a New York Post inquiry about the alleged misbehavior of one of her children. So, Wolff writes, Kennedy called an aide to Rupert Murdoch, and the Post’s owner had the story killed. In turn, Kennedy wrote a letter of recommendation for Murdoch’s daughter to Brearley, an exclusive private school in Manhattan. Of course, Kennedy is the caretaker of the family legacy and a mother. So in that sense her actions are understandable. But would she ever risk damaging her image on behalf of the public?
She received lavish praise when, in 2002, she joined New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein in his efforts to improve the city’s public schools. Yet her work with the city’s schools was limited to part-time fundraising. No one has said anything bad about her participation—there’s not much upside to criticizing Caroline Kennedy—but then, if you work at a hedge fund and Kennedy calls you in the middle of a bull market to ask for money, are you really going to say no?
As a Kennedy, Caroline can hardly shirk public service. But her commitment to it has always seemed essentially ceremonial. When she was 9, she broke a bottle to help christen the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy. As an adult, she was the honorary chair of the American Ballet Theater and founder of the Profiles in Courage Award, given out by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She balanced New York society parties with a devotion to preserving the family memory. Otherwise, she has largely hid herself from public life.
You can’t blame her for her reticence—it’s her life, after all. But the truth is that Kennedy has ventured into the public arena as little as possible, and when she has, she has endeavored to dictate the terms. Perhaps now, with her brother dead and her Uncle Ted extremely ill—and her children of college age—Kennedy is changing her mind. But can she change her patterns of behavior?
Again I should disclose a personal bias. Of the two children of John F. Kennedy, John Jr. always struck me as the one destined to run for office. He had an affinity for it. John enjoyed meeting regular people far more than he liked palling around with the rich and famous. Caroline is a Democrat, but not a democrat. John lived in Tribeca when Tribeca was still counterculture; Caroline lives on Park Avenue. John rode the subway frequently and happily. Caroline, not so much. John started a magazine whose intention was to popularize politics. Caroline was about the only one of John’s relatives who didn’t at some point appear in its pages. I could see John having a beer with those factory workers. Caroline would look for some hand sanitizer.
She’ll probably have the same response to this column—which is one reason that, despite all the buzz, I find it hard to believe that Caroline Kennedy actually wants to become a senator. (I’m not exactly Walter Winchell.) Maybe Uncle Ted is pressuring her to continue the family place in the Senate. Maybe she’s convinced herself that she does want the job. Regardless, she wouldn’t be good at it, and she shouldn’t get it.THREE Cork teenagers have bagged the top prize at the Google Science Fair 2014 in California.
THREE Cork teenagers have bagged the top prize at the Google Science Fair 2014 in California.
Kinsale Community School was overjoyed after its team of Ciara Judge (16), Emer Hickey (16) and Sophie Healy-Thow (16) beat entries from 17 other American and world schools to take the top prize which is sponsored by IT giants, Google.
The 18 finalists were selected from over 5,000 entries in 90 different countries.
It marks a remarkable 12 months for Ciara Judge, Sophie Healy-Thow and Emer Hickey who have literally conquered the world of science competitions.
The Cork trio won the BT Young Scientist title in January 2013 before heading to the Czech Republic last September and winning the €7,000 top prize in the EU Young Scientist competition.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, last September Ciara scored a whopping 12As in her Junior Cert.
In a remarkable twist, Ciara’s older sister, Ashling, was the 2006 Young Scientist champion.
Ciara’s proud parents, Eamon and Maureen, admitted that it has been an astonishing 18 months for the girls and their school.
The girls’ project on seed germination has already received worldwide plaudits.
It revolves around their discovery that bacteria which occur naturally in the soil can help kick-start the germination of some crops by as much as 50pc.
The Cork girls’ winning project examined how a particular bacteria, a diazotroph, can increase germination rates and crop yields.
Experts believe the commercial applications of their discovery are absolutely enormous.
“It has been an absolutely fantastic couple of months,” Ciara admitted.
Their top prize for winning the US title in California is a €30,000 scholarship from Google and an all-expenses paid field study trip to the Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin formulated his theory of evolution.
They will also get the chance to sample astronaut training with NASA.
Ciara has already set her sights on studying veterinary science in university after her Leaving Cert.
Former EU Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn said she was very impressed by the Kinsale girls and their project.
“The future is bright if this is the level of talent we are producing in Europe. It is particularly great to see the mix of curiosity-driven research and more applied projects,” she said.
The Kinsale Community School triumph continues a remarkable Irish success story in the EU Young Scientist competition with Irish entries having won the overall prize 15 times in 25 years.
Ciara’s parents, Eamon and Maureen, said their daughter, who is now in Fifth Year, is ultimately hoping to study veterinary in university.
KCS principal Fergal McCarthy said they were absolutely delighted by the girls’ latest triumph.
It was the third time in seven years that the Cork school won the overall national title.
The school proudly held the joint record this year for the greatest number of entries and had a remarkable total of 38 students participating.
Online EditorsNote: This story has been updated to clarify that Mark Sosso's brother, who controlled the Florida realty company that advertised the house, was never charged in relation to the conspiracy.
Dive Brief:
Mark Sosso, owner of Sosso Homes in Sarasota, FL, pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy in federal court Friday in connection with a $2.4 million bank fraud scheme.
The scheme also reportedly involved Sosso's childhood friend J oseph Nocito Jr. — president of Castle Mortgage in McCandless, PA.
oseph Nocito Jr. — president of Castle Mortgage in McCandless, PA. Nocito, who already pleaded guilty in March to bank fraud conspiracy and filing a false tax return in relation to the scheme, will be sentenced in October. Sentencing for Sosso has been set for January.
Dive Insight:
According to prosecutors, Sosso had purchased a partially built property in Florida in 2005 and completed the home with a loan worth $1.6 million from Liberty Savings Bank. After he was unable to sell the house for several years, however, he asked Nocito to help him crawl out of debt.
Nocito then sent paperwork claiming he would buy the property to a different bank, Washington Mutual, to secure an even larger loan. The home was then advertised for sale by the realty company owned by Mark Sosso's brother, Scott Sosso, according to TribLive. That bigger loan was used to pay back the original $1.6 million loan owed to Liberty Savings. In return, Sosso gave nearly $460,000 to Nocito in kickbacks, and Nocito failed to report that money to the IRS.
The scheme resulted in a loss of $1.8 million for Washington Mutual Bank after Nocito defaulted on the loan.
Nocito is the son of Joseph Nocito Sr., a developer who is also under investigation by the IRS and other government agencies. Joseph Nocito allegedly used revenue from his companies to build himself a 28,000-square-foot mansion in Bell Acres, PA, but deducted the cost of construction as business expenses.
Officials have recently been cracking down on corrupt developers and construction executives who use illegal business practices for their own gain. Last month, the Manhattan DA launched a task force to identify and prosecute corruption in New York City's construction industry.What will you do when transgender equality comes to your workplace?
To understand why I ask that, consider some recent news.
The National Football League released a statement that stirred up some dust in Texas.
It read, in part: "The NFL embraces inclusiveness."
That may not sound dust-stirring on its own, but the statement was directed at Texas lawmakers considering a "bathroom bill," one that would allow private businesses in the state to deny transgender people access to bathrooms that match their gender identity.
The NFL had just held Super Bowl LI in Houston, and the league made clear a bill restricting the rights of transgender people might make a return there unlikely.
The statement said: "We want all fans to feel welcomed at our events and NFL policies prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard. If a proposal that is discriminatory or inconsistent with our values were to become law there, that would certainly be a factor considered when thinking about awarding future events."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded in a radio interview: "We don't care what the NFL thinks and certainly what their political policies are because they are not a political arm of the state of Texas or the United States of America."
Correct, the NFL is not a political group. But it is a business, and businesses hold considerable sway. They determine who has jobs, which states get tax revenue and which Texas governors get Super Bowls.
The NFL's stance on transgender inclusion echoes what we saw unfold in North Carolina over a similar bathroom bill. Businesses protested and threatened to leave the state. The NBA relocated its All-Star game from Charlotte to New Orleans.
And in Texas, the state's largest chamber of commerce said it opposes the bathroom bill.
I applaud these decisions. Many don't understand what it means to be transgender, but a lack of understanding — often coupled with an unwillingness to learn — is no reason to deny rights that strike at the core of a person's identity.
I don't know if the NFL or NBA or tech companies or other corporations are making their voices heard on this issue for altruistic reasons or for the purposes of their bottom lines. But the reality is, as Bob Dylan wrote, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."
And the wind is blowing toward equality.
These lawmakers pushing legislation that targets transgender people and disregards the very idea that gender identity can differ from a person's anatomy at birth take up the cause to please certain constituents. And I have to assume many of those constituents have jobs.
So I return to the initial question: What will you do when transgender equality comes to your workplace? Because if it isn't there yet, it will be soon.
What will you do?
It's one thing to speak out against a group of people and demand laws that protect your view of how the world should appear. It's another thing altogether when your company decides on a worldview different from your own and you have to decide between your convictions and a paycheck.
My money's on the paycheck.
And that's where businesses large and small, the ones that agree transgender people have the same rights as anyone else, do a service to society at large.
Maybe there's a worker who has never met a transgender person and supports laws that dictate who can and can't use a bathroom. A company changes its policies, and a transgender person is hired.
That worker, who's squeamish about the unknown, isn't likely to quit, so now he or she is going to learn that transgender people are people, and everyone at work is busy and trying to get things done and the last thing anybody needs to worry about is who goes to which bathroom.
It's a bathroom, folks, you get in, you go and you get back to work.
This is how society adapts. It happened with black workers and gay workers and workers with disabilities. And it will happen with transgender workers.
Equality will come, and when it does, most will find that work doesn't change and the world doesn't stop spinning.
We earn a living. Together.
And we're made better if we learn about each other along the way.
TALK TO REX: Ask workplace questions — anonymously or by name — and share stories with Rex Huppke at rhuppke@chicagotribune.com, like Rex on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rexworkshere and find more at www.chicagotribune.com/ijustworkhere.Spain's new Cardinal Fernando Sebastian Aguilar, chosen by Pope Francis a week ago, has quickly made it known how he feels about homosexuality, calling it a "defect" which can be corrected, AFP reports:
"A lot of people complain and don't tolerate it but with all respect I say that homosexuality is a defective way of manifesting sexuality, because that has a structure and a purpose, which is procreation," Sebastian told Malaga newspaper Sur…
"We have a lot of defects in our bodies. I have high blood pressure. Am I going to get angry because they tell me that? It is a defect I have that I have to correct as far as I can," said Sebastian, who is the archbishop emeritus of the northern city of Pamplona.
"Pointing out a defect to a homosexual is not an offence, it is a help because many cases of homosexuality can be recovered and normalised with adequate treatment. It is not an offence, it is esteem. When someone has a defect, the good friend is the one who tells him."
Aguilar also said that Pope Francis wasn't accepting homosexuality when he said "who am I to judge?"
Said Aguilar: "It is one thing to show welcome and affection to a homosexual person and another to morally justify the exercise of homosexuality."BEIJING/DETROIT (Reuters) - Chinese auto parts producer Wanxiang Group, which bought stylish electric car pioneer Fisker Automotive from bankruptcy, is accelerating the relaunch of Fisker’s Karma hybrid luxury car by using a design from the company’s last year of production, people close to the companies said.
A Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car is seen at the sixth annual Alternative Transportation Expo and Conference (AltCar) in Santa Monica, California in this September 29, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Files
Wanxiang aims to reintroduce by next year Fisker’s electric cars, which enjoyed a cult following for their streamlined design among early fans including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop star Justin Bieber before the company’s demise in 2013.
The “new” Karma that California-based Fisker, acquired by Wanxiang earlier this year, is rushing to finish is based largely on the 2012 model, said the people, who asked not to be identified. Wanxiang’s top U.S. executive said in February the Karma would be reintroduced within a year.
“It will have to be nearly identical to the 2012 model, or it would need to go through (safety) testing and certification again,” a person close to Fisker’s suppliers said. “I don’t think they want to put a lot of engineering into it either, as well as probably use up some of the old parts that are in inventory.”
Co-founded by Danish designer Henrik Fisker in 2007, Fisker had a mission to build a beautiful, “green” car that could rival exclusive European brands like Maserati and Aston Martin.
The company was an early rival of Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) but their fortunes went in opposite directions. A series of missteps and recalls led to disappointing sales for Fisker and eventually the company’s bankruptcy filing. Wanxiang acquired Fisker’s assets for $149.2 million in a U.S. bankruptcy auction in February.
OLD SUPPLIERS ANGRY
In Wanxiang’s effort to revive the brand, the timeline could be at risk. Some of Fisker’s old suppliers, which the Chinese company has contacted, remain angry because of losses suffered due to Fisker’s failure, the sources said.
“They lost money and had dedicated facilities that were severely underutilized,” a second person with knowledge of the matter said. “Many scrapped their tools or took them out of their facilities.”
Fisker does not plan to simply reintroduce the 2012 Karma, a source close to Fisker said. “Not 100 percent identical,” the person said. “The new Karma will be different in many key areas. It will have noticeable upgrades.” He declined to provide details.
Using the 2012 Karma design could present problems given it has older features and technologies. “You’re not buying something that’s considered ‘state of the art’ necessarily,” the supplier source said. “It’s a big hurdle to overcome.”
A Wanxiang spokesman in China declined to comment on Thursday. People at Fisker’s Costa Mesa, California, headquarters, where about 90 people work, said on Thursday they were not authorized to speak to the media.
A third source said Fisker has the necessary funding thanks to Wanxiang’s backing. The source close to Fisker said the company was hiring people in the United States but declined to provide further details.
However, several sources were skeptical Fisker can meet the timeline laid out in February by Pin Ni, the head of Wanxiang’s U.S. unit. The source close to Fisker said the automaker needs to resolve issues related to suppliers and production location. He declined to elaborate but said Fisker was “not there yet.”
Ni told Reuters in February that Fisker planned to restart Karma production in Finland, where Valmet Automotive previously built the cars under contract, and start selling them again in the United States and Europe. The supplier source said Finland remains the starting point for production.
Once sales gained steam, Ni said Fisker could quickly commence U.S. production.
Slideshow (2 Images)
Ni also has said Wanxiang wants Fisker to complete the development of a second model called the Atlantic, a mid-size gasoline-electric hybrid sedan meant to be a more affordable “volume model” under Fisker’s previous management. A red version of the car was on display in the lobby of the U.S. headquarters outside Los Angeles on Thursday.
The Karma, a hybrid-electric vehicle equipped with a small gasoline engine that kicks in when its on-board battery is depleted, previously had a starting price of around $100,000.
About 1,800 Karma cars were sold, far short of initial projections of 11,000.President Trump on Thursday urged the UCLA basketball players who were arrested in China for shoplifting to thank President Xi Jinping for their release, and gave the three men advice on life.
"To the three UCLA basketball players I say: You're welcome, go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made... your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life!" Trump tweeted.
To the three UCLA basketball players I say: You're welcome, go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2017
....your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2017
The three freshmen players — LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley — were detained by police for stealing sunglasses from a designer store in Hangzhou, China.
Trump spoke with Xi during his visit to Beijing last week about their release. The three were allowed to return to the U.S. late Tuesday.
Then on Wednesday, Trump asked the young men if they were grateful for the work he did to get them back. Hours later, they issued statements thanking the president.
“To President Trump and the U.S. government: Thank you for taking the time to intervene on our behalf,” Riley said. "We really appreciate you helping us out."Con-drag-ulations Jerry O’Connell!
The 43-year-old actor got an extreme drag makeover at RuPaul’s Drag Con in Los Angeles, on Saturday, giving rise to his new drag alter ego — Anya Mann!
WATCH: RuPaul Dishes On ‘Drag Race’ Season 9 — How They Landed Lady Gaga And The Move To VH1
O’Connell looked like he had the best time having his face made up by season seven “RuPaul’s Drag Race” finalist, Ginger Minj. The two, who hadn’t met previously, bantered about “Drag Race” trivia and O’Connell’s “Stand By Me” co-star, Wil Wheaton, who was last year’s Drag Con celebrity makeover.
ET Online
ET Online
ET Online
During the panel, O’Connell revealed he and his wife, actress Rebecca Romijn, are big fans of “Drag Race” and watch the show together with their daughters, 8-year-old twins Dolly and Charlie.
O’Connell also spoke about growing up in New York’s West Village around drag culture. “I grew up on 17th Street in Chelsea, just a few blocks from a restaurant called Florent,” he recalled. “For those who don’t remember, [it] was one of the first drag restaurants, really. It’s so funny, I grew up really surrounded by drag.”
Another “Drag Race” queen, Season two’s Morgan McMichaels, helped O’Connell complete the look, channelling some of his wife’s realness with a flowing blonde wig and a sleek black mini-dress and coat outfit.
NEWS: Eureka O’Hara Drops Epic Music Video Featuring Farrah Abraham After Shocking ‘Drag Race’ Episode
But no drag debut is complete without a lip sync, and Anya Mann lip synced for her life! O’Connell turned it out to RuPaul’s hit song, “Sissy That Walk” in front of surprised and enthusiastic fans.
ET Online
ET caught up with the newly minted, still breathless, drag superstar after his lip sync to ask him about the experience — and the show-stopping death drop at the end of his performance.
“I’m a very big fan of ‘Drag Race’ and I know that death drops typically go over very well with the judges so I wanted to do a death drop,” O’Connell said.
“I have a new respect for all contestants on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’,” he added later. “That lip sync for your life was maybe the most exhausting thing I’ve done. I ran a half marathon about nine years ago, so it’s been nine years since I’ve done something that strenuous.”
Strenuous or not, O’Connell has a lot of enthusiasm to do the whole thing again. “I would be the first to sign up,” he says of a hypothetical celebrity “Drag Race” spinoff. “I don’t want to make bold predictions or anything, but I would most likely win the whole thing.”
RuPaul — make it happen!
So, any words of advice to his fellow celebs who might follow in O’Connell’s Drag Con footsteps?
“I think everybody should come down and do this,” he says. “And it’s so fun to come out here. It didn’t hurt at all. Except I think I have a hammer toe or something now.”
Shantay, you stay!
NEWS: J.J. Abrams Set To Produce A Dramedy Series About RuPaul’s Life
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on VH1.
Check out season nine queen Eureka O’Hara’s new music video in the clip below!
More From ET:“I just want to say one word to you,” character Mr. McGuire said to young Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin, in the 1967 film, The Graduate. “Just one word. Plastics.”
The demand for US bioplastics |
on the vest so you can have light while you shoot. But buried in the press release, there's one line in particular that's worth paying attention to: the game will include new support for 3D TVs and head mounted displays. This shouldn't be surprising to those who follow John Carmack on Twitter — he's had a recent obsession over the last six months with head mounted displays. We flew down to Dallas to check out the culmination of this newfound passion: a modified "Oculus Rift" head mounted display (Carmack gave his own first impressions back in May). This week, we were invited into the self-described "mad scientist lair" — video cables all of the place, an old Sony CRT monitor in active use next to his full PC rig, and even some used rocketry components — to test out this early prototype.
Essentially, the Oculus Rift contains a 1280 x 800 screen split in two — 640 x 800 for each eye — with an image that really needs to be seen to be believed. While the images themselves are relatively low-resolution, the immersion factor is pretty fantastic. That's due to the Rift's 90 degree field-of-view, something you won't find in most other HMD's (including Sony's recently-launched 3D head mounted display, which Carmack praised for its high quality and relatively low price point). As you can see in the video, the sides of the round eyepieces have been literally taped off to hide some of the end-of-screen effect that might take away from the experience (reminder: early prototype). The Rift also helps by being surprisingly thin and light, even in this prototype form. The framerate was also a smooth 60fps — something that Carmack focused on almost as much as the latency issue itself.
The gyroscope and accelerometers track your movement — minor adjustments to your field of view as well as precision aiming — while the controller still handles the broad strokes of moving and strafing. The gun can be raised and lowered independently from your view to avoid excessive tilting the head up and down. For 3D — both with traditional glasses or a HMD — the crosshairs on screen have been replaced with a red laser sight, something that Studio Director Tim Willits chose to do for the 3D version (HMD and traditional 3D) after extensive research.
The main knock against Rift at this stage is the aforementioned low resolution screen. We played without our prescription glasses, so our vision was blurry enough that it didn't affect our gameplay. However, one of our video production members with better vision noticed the low resolution and felt it took away from the experience. That's something that we think will improve with time, and the other factors — ergonomics, low latency, smooth framerate, wide field of view — make it a step above most of the headsets we've tried over the years.
So why bring Doom 3 back now? Carmack said virtual reality has been pitched since the Wolfenstein 3D days, but now it's finally hitting a reasonable price point with technology capable of lowering latency to the point where it's a viable option. Carmack's big contribution has been the algorithms used to optimize the code for HMDs and lower latency, some specially designed for Rift, but he acknowledges it's the early days. His hope is that the Rift eventually becomes available as some $500 build-it-yourself kit that sets the bar for casual hobbyists — a less mainstream group, but one that's still forgiving of the quirks of early design. There's even the possibility of a special HMD bundle to go along with Doom 3 BFG Edition. That's just Carmack's guess though — a ZeniMax (Id's owner) representative said they're still "assessing options". Even if the Oculus Rift isn't ready for prime time by this fall, Doom 3 BFG Edition will support a standard 3D mode with glasses and a compatible display as well as other 3D HMDs (like the aforementioned Sony model).
As for the game itself, Doom 3 BFG Edition will be available this fall for the Xbox 360, Windows PCs, and the PlayStation 3 — the first time a Doom game has been available for Sony's console. It'll include Doom 3 and the Resurrection of Evil add-on, both completely optimized for 3D, with 5.1 surround sound, Xbox 360 achievements and PS3 trophies as well. There's also seven new levels that Id's calling "The Lost Mission"; this new content is also getting the full remaster treatment. To round out the package, Id is throwing in the original Doom and Doom 2 — making Doom 3 BFG Edition a comprehensive look at the franchise. There's no release date or pricing yet, aside from a planned fall launch.
Nathan Ingraham contributed to this report.Woman cut her own throat with razor blade at South Side McDonald's, police say
San Antonio police investigate an alleged stabbing between two women at the McDonald's in the 2100 block of S.W. Military Drive on Monday, April 10, 2017. San Antonio police investigate an alleged stabbing between two women at the McDonald's in the 2100 block of S.W. Military Drive on Monday, April 10, 2017. Photo: Caleb Downs / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Caleb Downs / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Woman cut her own throat with razor blade at South Side McDonald's, police say 1 / 17 Back to Gallery
SAN ANTONIO — A woman was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Monday after she cut her own throat with a razor blade at a South Side McDonald's, according to witnesses and police.
Officers responded around 2:30 p.m. to the 2100 block of Southwest Military Drive, where they found the victim bleeding from a cut in her neck. First responders transported her to San Antonio Military Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
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"She was bleeding quite a bit," said Belinda Lugo, who witnessed the injured woman and another woman arguing before the first responders arrived. "They said it was pretty deep."
Lugo said the women were arguing and pushing each other at a Jack in the Box, which may have then spilled over to the McDonald's where police say the woman was injured.
"We're not sure if they were strangers to each other or they knew each other or anything like that," said SAPD Sgt. Daniel Contreras.
Police said they were initially unsure whether the victim had been stabbed by the other woman, but the victim told police at the hospital that she had cut herself.
RELATED: NWS: San Antonio under flood watch until Tuesday morning with tonight's storms
Police plan on reviewing the security camera tapes at the McDonald's and speaking with several witnesses who saw the women fighting to gain a better understanding of the events leading up to the woman cutting herself.
Officers investigating the incident said they found a shaving razor and handle in a trash bin at the McDonald's, which the woman apparently used.
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Twitter: @calebjdownsGov. Rick Scott (Andrew Innerarity/Reuters)
The state of Florida is proving to be just as bad as James O'Keefe in determining who is and isn't eligible to vote. The frightening part, though, is that Florida actually has power to take votes away from people. Which is precisely what it is doing under Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who signed some of the most restrictive voter registration and voter ID laws in the nation. Most recently, the state has been purging the voting rolls, using often out-of-date motor vehicle information to target voters they contend might be non-citizens, most of whom are Hispanic, Democratic and independent-minded.
Think Progress profiles one of those voters, Maureen Russo, who was born in Akron, Ohio and has lived—and voted—in Florida for the past 40 years. Earlier this month, she got a letter from the state, telling her that she would have to prove that she was a U.S. citizen in order to keep her voter registration because it had "received information that she was not born in this country." Where this information came from remains a mystery.
She was given an option to request “an administrative hearing to present evidence” disputing the determination of the State of Florida that she was ineligible to vote. Unless Maureen returned a form requesting such a hearing within 30 days, she was told, it would result in “the removal of your name from the voter registration rolls.”
Immediately, Russo requested the hearing by registered letter, sending a copy of her passport with it. She hasn't heard back from the state yet. Her congressman, Ted Deutch (D-FL), has weighed in on her behalf and others he says he's heard from who are in a similar situation and has asked Scott to suspend the purge. There are plenty more stories like Russo's we'll be hearing in the coming months, because Florida's 29 electoral votes are too important for the Republicans to let go to President Obama. We know from history that they'll do anything to keep that from happening.Greetings Rocksmith 2014 fans! If you follow us on twitter you may have noticed that last week Paul Cross (@CrossieRS) accidentally gave us a hint for this week’s DLC, last week. We of course were confused by it due to it’s overly Brit nature:
@SovietDuck it’s not arctic monkeys :(. In fact, this week’s dlc is not British… Unlike Vic Reeves and his mate… — Paul Cross (@crossieRS) February 14, 2014
We of course assumed this was related to Vic Reeves mate, Bob Mortimer. This led us to think that perhaps the forthcoming DLC was either from Bob Dylan or Bob Marley. Getting a Bob Dylan Pack would have been kind of a huge deal, seeing as how there had never been DLC from the prolific folk artist across both major music games (Guitar Hero and Rock Band).
Another theory was The Monkees seeing as how I’m a Believer was covered by them and EMF.
Ok, whatever could you mean Paul?? We started really reaching, and found out Vic Reeves had a robot named Dylan, ok so it has to be Bob Dylan right? Nope.
People have been clamoring for DLC artists who are new to Rocksmith 2014. They’ll just have to wait a couple more days. — Christopher Woo (@squirrellyninja) February 21, 2014
Well that takes care of Bob Dylan, as Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door is already on disc for Rocksmith 2014.
At this point we had absolutely nothing, until @VicSpaventa noticed that Vic Reeve’s real name, James Roderick Moir (Jim Moir) sounds an awful lot like Jim Morrison. Ok, a bit of a stretch right? Well, thanks to @pcgamingisted actually living in the UK, we finally had a strong link.
02:30 <pcgamingisted> the doors would be welcome
02:33 <pcgamingisted> on their show Shooting Stars, they had a guy called George Dawes
02:33 <pcgamingisted> and would often shout
02:33 <pcgamingisted> what’s the score George Dawes?
Suddenly we remembered something else on twitter…
http://t.co/WZPR7lo2Nt Pretty interesting AMA that reps some classic Rock — Christopher Woo (@squirrellyninja) February 21, 2014
That would be @SquirrellyNinja linking to John Densmore’s AMA on Reddit, who you may know as the drummer of The Doors.
Nailed it! As usual we are hoping for a 5 Pack from The Doors so these are the top 5 songs that we’d like to see:
Bonus arrangements on keyboard? Guess we’ll find out on Tuesday!
Confirmed:Spring is here, but that doesn’t mean any of us want to do anything but binge watch TV. Netflix is bringing a bunch of its original TV shows back this month in the United States alongside tons of other new movies.
The Highlights
Netflix has been really into itself recently, dumping more and more original stuff into the queue every month. It’s no different in May. There are a couple new movies, including the French thriller, In the Shadow of Iris, Tarantino’s parody-comedy-statement war movie starring Brad Pitt, Inglorious Basterds, the 12 Monkeys-inspired southernish accent, War Machine, and the mystery-comedy Handsome.
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Netflix TV shows are in the spotlight once again, with tons of stuff coming back. That includes the next seasons of House of Cards, Sense8, Master of None, Bloodline, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Documentary nerds like me will also be stoked for the variety of new documentaries coming in, like space documentary The Mars Generation, the always fun political film about a sleezeball manipulator, Get Me Roger Stone, and Netflix’s true crime series about a murdered nun, The Keepers.
As for non-Netflix content, it’s a little slow this month, but we do get a few heavy-hitters, including Doctor Strange and Southpaw. Some good TV is coming too, like the new Sherlock series, the first series of Riverdale (yes that Riverdale), and Queen of the South.
As always, there is some solid stuff leaving too. The saddest departure is probably the first three Jurassic Park movies. Also out the way is the entirety of Scrubs, Bob’s Burgers season two, American Dad seasons seven through 10, and the entirety of Anthony Bourdain’s street food signal boaster, Parts Unknown.
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Leaving Netflix
May 1
11 Blocks
Alfie
Bang Bang!
Black Mamba: Kiss of Death
Cujo
Doomsdays
Fantastic Four
FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue
Flicka: Country Pride
Garfield’s Fun Fest
Invincible
Jetsons: The Movie
Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Paulie
Samurai Headhunters
Stephen King’s Thinner
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
The Doors
The Real Beauty and the Beast
The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz
The Sons of Katie Elder
The Wedding Planner
Things We Lost in the Fire
To Catch a Thief
Treblinka: Hitler’s Killing Machine
Truly Strange
Turf War: Lions and Hippos
Van Wilder: Freshman Year
Venom Islands
World War II Spy School
May 2
Good Luck Charlie: Season 1 – 4
Kickin’ It: Season 1 – 3
Scrubs: Season 1 – 9
Leaving 5/5/17
Amapola
Flubber
Grosse Pointe Blank
The Recruit
What About Bob?
May 7
American Dad! Season 7
Bob’s Burgers: Season 2
May 11
American Dad! Season 8
May 15
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Season 1 – 5
May 17
American Dad! Season 9 & 10
May 19
Step Up
May 26
Graceland: Season 1 – 3
Arriving This Month
May 1
American Experience: The Big Burn (2014)
American Experience: The Boys of ‘36 (2017)
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
Blood on the Mountain (2016)
Chaahat (1996)
Chocolat (2000)
Decanted (2016)
Don’t Think Twice (2016)
Drifter (2017)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Happy Feet (2006)
In the Shadow of Iris—NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Love (2015)
Losing Sight of Shore (2017)
Malibu’s Most Wanted (2003)
Nerdland (2016)
Raja Hindustani (1996)
Richard Pryor: Icon (2014)
Under Arrest: Season 5 (2016)
May 2
Bodyguards: Secret Lives from the Watchtower (2016)
Hija De La Laguna (2015)
Maria Bamford: Old Baby—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Two Lovers and a Bear (2016)
May 5
Chelsea: Season 2 (streaming every Friday)—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie—NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Kazoops!: Season 3—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Sense8: Season 2—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Simplemente Manu NNa—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Spirit: Riding Free: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Last Kingdom: Season 2—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Mars Generation—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 6
Cold War 2 (2016)
When the Bough Breaks (2017)
May 7
LoveTrue (2016)
Stake Land II (2016)
The Host (2013)
May 8
Beyond the Gates (2016)
Hunter Gatherer (2016)
May 9
Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Queen of the South: Season 1 (2016)
All We Had (2016)
May 10
El apóstata (2015)
The Adventure Club (2016)
May 11
Switched at Birth: Season 5 (2017)
The Fosters: Season 4 (2016)
May 12
All Hail King Julien: Exiled: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Anne with an E: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Get Me Roger Stone—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Master of None: Season 2—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Mindhorn—NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Sahara—NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
May 15
Command and Control (2016)
Cave (2016)
Lovesong (2016)
Sherlock: Series 4 (2016)
The Intent (2016)
May 16
Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Break-Up (2006)
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
May 18
Royal Pains: Season 8 (2016)
Riverdale: Season 1 (2016)
May 19
BLAME!—NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Laerte-se—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Keepers: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
May 21
What’s With Wheat (2017)
May 22
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
They Call Us Monsters (2017)
May 23
Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Dig Two Graves (2014)
May 24
Southpaw (2015)
May 26
Believe (2016)
Bloodline: Season 3—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
I am Jane Doe (2017)
Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
War Machine—NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
May 28
Bunk’d: Season 2 (2016)
May 29
Forever Pure (2016)
A New High (2015)
May 30
F is for Family: Season 2—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
House of Cards: Season 5—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Marvel’s Doctor Strange (2016)
Masterminds
Sarah Silverman A Speck of Dust—NETFLIX ORIGINALPAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) — Following months of debate, the Paw Paw Public Schools Board of Education voted Wednesday to keep the district's Redskins mascot.
It was a tight 4-3 vote to stay with the name. Under the motion that was approved, the matter cannot be revisited unless government funding is withheld.
Though the board had asked people to refrain from cheering, supporters starting doing so after the meeting was adjourned.
There had been heated debates at public meetings about the mascot since the beginning of the school year. Those who wanted to keep it say it's tradition and not malicious. Those who wanted to see it changed say it's a racial slur.
Tensions remained high during more than an hour and a half of public comment at Wednesday's meeting, with at least two opponents of the name escorted out. The board threatened to recess the meeting if attendees didn't remain civil.
A man who supported the mascot said that people needed to "mind their own business" and that opponents had been bullying those who like the name.
Generally, it seemed that people who live in Paw Paw don't have a problem with the name, while those who opposed it are from elsewhere.
"To those who have called the Paw Paw community — including myself — racists, bigots, white supremacists for far too long. This idea that we have institutional racism within Paw Paw Public Schools is absolutely ridiculous," board Vice President Aaron Mitchell said.
2 Photos Copyright by WOODTV - All rights reserved A supporter of the Redskins mascot in Paw Paw holds up a sign during a school board meeting on Feb. 8, 2017.
Paw Paw schools will stay with Redskins mascot Gallery 1 A supporter of the Redskins mascot in Paw Paw holds up a sign during a school board meeting on Feb. 8, 2017. Opponents of the Redskins mascot in Paw Paw hold up signs during a school board meeting on Feb. 8, 2017.
How the board voted:
Trustee Jody Williford: Yes
Trustee Brent McNitt: Yes
Trustee Amy Craddock: Yes
President Karen Ayres: No
Secretary Patrick Lynch: No
Trustee Renee Richardson: No
Vice President Aaron Mitchell: Yes
Copyright by WOODTV - All rights reserved Police outside Paw Paw High School before a meeting to discuss whether to keep the school's Redskins mascot. (Feb. 8, 2017)
Copyright by WOODTV - All rights reserved Police outside Paw Paw High School before a meeting to discuss whether to keep the school's Redskins mascot. (Feb. 8, 2017)
There was a much larger police presence at Wednesday's meeting than there was at previous public forums, with officers from the Van Buren Sheriff's Department, Michigan State Police and tribal police on hand.
The Saranac school district voted in 2015 to keep its Redskins mascot. In December 2016, the Belding school board voted to drop the Redskins name. Before that decision, part of the argument to keep the mascot in Paw Paw was that no other districts had changed it.
Wednesday, the Belding High School principal said a list of replacement options will be narrowed from 10 to between three and five by the end of the week. The district hopes to have a new mascot picked by March.After sending out letters to MPs pointing them to the C-32 FAQ, I received the following form letter from the Office of the Leader of the (official) Opposition.
Dear Sir/Madame:
On behalf of Michael Ignatieff, I would like to acknowledge receipt of your recent email regarding Bill C-32, the Copyright Modernization Act.
There is no question that Canada’s Copyright regime needs to be modernized. The Liberal Party believes that Canada needs to implement fair and balanced copyright rules. We must modernize our copyright laws to protect the works of our local artists, writers, poets, film-makers and musicians, and reach a balance between this protection and the needs of consumers.
There are plenty of international examples of copyright modernization that have reached these goals. These tried and tested models can serve as examples for Canada. We also had extensive consultations over the last months in Canada and these provided us with all the information needed to adopt a balanced bill that will address the pitfalls of the previous Bill C-61.
The Harper Conservatives have taken four and a half years to table this legislation, so as a responsible opposition we will take some time to review it. However, we believe that Canadian consumers who have legitimately purchased a CD or a DVD or other product should also have the ability to transfer their purchase onto their iPod or make a personal backup copy on their computer, so long as they are not doing so for the purposes of sale or transfer to others.
Thank you for taking the time to write to the Leader of the Opposition.
Yours sincerely,
C. McKone
Office of the Leader of the OppositionScott Sumner
As we look at the sharp rise in the US stock market following today’s important monetary easing announcement, I think we should all tip the cap in the direction of Scott Sumner whose influence is an amazing blogosphere success story.
Professors at Bentley University who’ve never published a famous book don’t normally shift the public debate. But Sumner’s vigorous and relentless blogging throughout the crisis on the potential of expectations-focused monetary policy really broke through. It all began with some links from Tyler Cowen and perhaps a tiff with Paul Krugman. I became a regular reader and his ideas have done a lot to influence me, and you can clearly see the influence on Ryan Avent at the Economist, Matt O’Brien at the Atlantic, Ramesh Ponnuru at National Review, Josh Barro at Bloomberg, and a few of the Wonkblog contributors. Outside the exciting world of online economics punditry, NGDP targeting hasn’t (yet!) caught fire as rapidly but it gained explicit allegiance from Christina Romer, Krugman, the economics team at Goldman Sachs, and eventually Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans who started out with a different but similar-in-spirit program.
Then it all came together with the NGDP targeting paper Columbia University’s Michael Woodford presented at Jackson Hole. Woodford’s not a household name, even among people who follow the news very closely because he chooses not to play the public intellectual role. But he’s the author of the main graduate textbook on monetary policy, so he brings a level of authority to the table.
The Fed didn’t choose to adopt an NGDP target—neither a growth target nor a level target—today, nor even an Evans-style conditional rule. But the spirit of today’s approach clearly shows the influence of the same set of underlying ideas, most of all the rejection of the narrow focus on “credit easing” that had previously dominated the Fed’s approach to monetary policy at the zero bound. The ideas here aren’t really new per se—Krugman was saying something similar about Japan and the baby-sitting coop back in 1998, and Milton Friedman was known to remark that NGDP expectations are the right gauge of monetary policy—but Sumner was really the guy keeping this torch alive during 2009 and 2010 and forcing it, rather than an endless partisan debate about fiscal policy, back onto the intellectual agenda.Smartphones are unquestionably one of the most useful devices of the 21st century but they continue to have one critical flaw - battery life. We've all been there - you forgot to charge your smartphone and you have 10% battery life left to see you through the day.
You think of ways to charge it, perhaps stopping off at a local coffee shop to hook up to a power adapter, switching the phone off to make an important call later, or maybe you've even purchased a portable power pack to charge it on the go.
The trouble is, few if any manufacturers seem to have cottoned on to just how much each of us uses our smartphone. They, and sadly many consumers as well, have been obsessed with size and weight but they forget that smartphones are no longer just things we use lightly for an hour a day.
Many of us play games, check out Facebook or news apps, navigate using a Sat Nav app or Google Maps, download, read and reply to emails and all manner of other things in addition to make cellular calls and send text messages. We'll do these things on the train, at work, while we're in the bath tub and even in bed.
Sadly, while the processing power and features of modern smartphones is more than up to the task, especially with 4G data speeds coming on tap in many different countries, their batteries simply aren't. In fact they're still using comparatively old technology that pre-dates the smartphone itself. There are two main issues with all current smartphone batteries. They take a long time to charge and they lack capacity.
The former might seem like an odd issue to raise but imagine if you could charge your smartphones to 80 or 90% in less than five minutes? Hook it up while you're having breakfast and by the time you're ready to leave for school or work, it's nearly fully charged. This would drastically improve the situation but as is stands, even connecting your smartphone to a mains socket as opposed to your laptop's USB port, it's still likely to take a at least an hour to fully charge a smartphone from flat.
Capacity is the real crux of the issue, though, and it's what makes smartphone battery cases so popular. These are cases with integrated batteries that you can switch on to charge your phone, basically doubling its battery life. Heavy users likely find the need to charge their phones once a day - a battery case can extend this to two days. But what if a single charge could last for a week of heavy use? Does charging your phone on Sunday night and even with a week of heavy use, not having to charge it till the weekend sound good?
I doubt anyone would answer no to that question but for me, battery life is becoming increasingly irritating. In fact, my next smartphone purchase will likely put battery life near or at the top of my list of priorities.
After all, there are only so many new features you can add to smartphones, which already offer fast cellular and WiFi speeds, GPS, Blutooth, Near Field Communication, touch screens, high resolution cameras with flash and curved screens to name a few, and you can't use any of these with a flat battery.
The latest mobile sales figures show that plenty of people are willing to jump ship from Android to IOS and vice versa and I for one would be the first to do so if one manufacturer introduced a phone with a significantly improved battery life. I'd even go as far as saying I'd accept a modest increase in thickness and weight if only to get better battery life. You can also replace your smartphone's battery - even on an iPhone as I wrote about in a previous article.
Thankfully there is some hope on the horizon too. Several manufacturers have been looking into ways of getting smartphones themselves to generate power, either through small solar cells or movement. There's also new battery technologies that make use of revolutionary materials such as graphene, that have the potential to increase the power density of current battery sizes many-fold.
One thing is for certain though. Whichever manufacturer comes up with the breakthrough first is going to sell smartphones by the bucketload and will likely make its shareholders very happy indeed.
Also on Forbes:Thanks to @geoffmitchell for tweeting this to us.
According to a Fort Worth Star Telegram report, Brandon Carter's charges of marijuana possession have been dropped Tuesday, according to court documents.
Carter was originally arrested on April 22 for possession of marijuana after he and his girlfriend Alexa Harris were pulled over. The patrol car pulled them over because the license plate of the 2010 Lexus, which Harris was driving, had a warrant attached to it.
Harris also had two outstanding warrants at the time of the arrest.
According to the latest article, Carter was dismissed at the discretion of the prosecutor. While we don't yet know what this means for Carter's football career at TCU, it could open the door for him to rejoin the team, as long as he continues to work hard in the classroom to get his grades back up.
Which, leads us to the question: do you want Brandon Carter back on the team? (Keep in mind, his absence does play into TCU's APR, which has been staggeringly low over the past two years).
Vote below, and let us know what you're thinking.Image caption Mario Monti has been leading a technocratic government
The Italian caretaker Prime Minister, Mario Monti, has promised to cut labour taxes in an interview seen as the launch of his election campaign.
Mr Monti, who leads a centrist coalition while not standing as a candidate himself, also attacked conservative rival Silvio Berlusconi.
In office he vowed to restore market confidence in Italy's finances.
Wednesday saw him achieve his aim of halving the difference between Italy's and Germany's bond yields.
These indicate a country's cost of borrowing and reflect how nervous investors feel about lending to them. Germany is used as a benchmark as it is considered the safest bet in the eurozone.
The difference between Italy and Germany's yields dipped below 2.87 percentage points on Wednesday.
When Mr Monti took office as head of a technocratic government in November 2011, the spread had stood at 5.74 percentage points.
Mr Monti's centrist allies are in a three-way race with Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom party on the right and the Democratic Party on the left.
'No comment'
Speaking on radio, Mr Monti pledged to take measures to redistribute wealth in the country.
"We need to reduce taxes on the labour force, both on workers and companies, by cutting spending," he said.
He defended his administration's record, saying that the "light at the end of the tunnel" was "much nearer".
Since withdrawing his party's support for the government in December, Mr Berlusconi has repeatedly launched attacks against the former European commissioner.
"Berlusconi has made improper attacks against me - on areas like family values," Mr Monti said on Wednesday.
"I think I need make no further comment," he added, in an apparent reference to the string of sex scandals involving the veteran billionaire politician.
Mr Monti, a former economics professor, was chosen to impose financial rigour on the economy, after Mr Berlusconi quit the prime minister's job.
In power, Mr Monti made some progress early on, including raising the retirement age and structural reforms.
However ordinary Italians have been hard hit by the combination of tax rises and spending cuts he imposed to repair Italy's public finances.
Italians are due to go to the polls over the weekend of 24-25 February.Chris DeRose is a journalist, software developer, bitcoin evangelist, public speaker and lead developer of Drop Zone.
In this feature, DeRose discusses blockchain-based smart contracts, and why he believes the cost-benefits of this application of the technology are not widely understood.
Lost in our ‘pie-in-the-sky’ projections on the future of blockchains is the most important concern anyone should have on the technology: What are the opportunity costs?
Nowhere is that more pronounced in the current debates then in the case of the “smart contract”.
While I believe that smart contracts will provide a number of efficiencies in our blockchain future, there’s one category of smart contracts that I’m most skeptical of – that of the recently popular “Turing complete” smart contract.
All smart contract platforms in use today fall into roughly two broad categories that are divided along the lines of whether the platform is or isn’t “Turing complete.” So what does this feature enable? Turing completeness is a property of any programming language that allows a computer to simulate anything that our universe contains.
If a language is Turing complete, it can provide all of the logic we’ve grown accustomed to in our computers. Turing completeness enables a computer to ‘loop’ and process its own output in iteratively complex terms. This property is absent in nearly all public blockchains. But with the modern advent of Ethereum, this feature is now available to aspiring blockchain coders.
Though this feature is the innovation that Ethereum has advertised as its competitive advantage, it’s a trivial switch to flip ‘on’. So, why wasn’t this feature included in earlier blockchains?
Bitcoin implemented the world’s first smart contract system, and intentionally switched this feature ‘off’. Bitcoin supports a number of simple contract types ranging from “multisig”, (the transfer of value given approval by a number of parties); “check timelock” (contracts which authorize the spending of value after an amount of time has passed); and a handful of simpler contracts which closely resemble the functions of a paper check in assigning value to a recipient.
With Turing completeness, the possibilities for programming smart contracts are only limited to the amount of creativity and processing time for which a contract designer is willing to pay.
Cost benefits
So, what’s the problem with giving users more options?
Well, off the bat, there’s the size and processing costs that come with allowing users to store more data on the blockchain. With bitcoin, even one megabyte every 10 minutes is controversially large. And with Turing-complete blockchains like Ethereum, the size and processing issues are enormously more pronounced.
This overhead reduces the ability for small computers and nodes to run the blockchain with low energy and bandwidth. This also impacts any node operating in a remote location. Though such low-end overhead support may seem trivial in the context of the aspirations of large banking projects, it’s important to recognize the effects of this trade-off when applied to the primary reason to use blockchains – servicing the underserved.
To understand why blockchains have found an efficiency in servicing the underserved, one must understand why users ‘mine‘, or expend costs in order to secure and process transactions on a blockchain network.
In bitcoin, mining acts as an incentive to reward those who may benefit from the utility of the system. People mine because they wish to convert “registered” value, electricity registered in their name, into “anonymous” value that they can use to transact on the Internet.
They may want to do so due to local currency restrictions or to have better access to an easier way to spend money online.
But the costs to the one providing this service must be supported by a high number of users who want to actually use that service.
Whether such demand exists for a Turing-complete blockchain network remains to be seen. Thus far, this proposition would appear dubious.
Network benefits
Such subsidies would require that an inordinate amount of underserved users are currently looking for Turing completeness, and not building smart contracts because of the lack of this feature.
While there are certainly many users being denied access to basic contract services, the question remains whether the value of the difference in service can pay for the inordinately higher overhead they require.
Put simply, there needs to be a lot more of these users than have been found using just the bitcoin network itself.
To date, all Turing-complete miners today are only mining for the speculative value for ether, the native token on the Ethereum network, and to date no such underserved utility has been found – the proposition would seem extraordinary.
Another finicky proposition in Turing-complete smart contracts is that of the “oracle”.
In a smart contract, data needs to enter the blockchain from an outside source in order to be of use. The source of this information – whether it be the price of a commodity, or the outcome of a sporting event, needs to be broadcast by individuals.
These individuals are called “oracles”.
In non-Turing complete smart contract platforms, these oracles are to be |
aphone)
Listen
Born Israel Rosio in 1897, Cheikh El Afrite dominated the Tunisian record industry from the 1920s through his untimely death in 1939 and is apparently still the subject of conversation as far afield as Algiers. Take a listen to his otherworldly voice and you’ll get a sense of why he earned his nickname, “the Devil.”
Lili Labassi (Algeria)
Ghir Ajini Ajini
(RCA)
Listen / Buy
Born Elie Moyal in Oran at the end of the nineteenth century, Lili Labassi was already attracting media attention by the 1920s. Virtuoso of violin and master of what might be considered the immediate precursor to chaabi, Labassi’s sound continues to resonate.
Botbol (Morocco)
Ba Lahcen
(Koutoubiaphone)
Listen
In addition to Maurice El Medioni, Haim Botbol is the only other artist on this list who is still alive and who still performs. Some claim he introduced the electric guitar to Moroccan chaabi but I credit him with helping me to fall in love with this music.
Blond Blond (Algeria)
Ouahran El Bahia
(Dounia)
Listen
Not just your typical Algerian Albino Jewish ambianceur. Albert Rouimi was equal parts Lili Labassi and Charles Trenet – and incredibly popular at doing both. Here he is covering Lili Labassi’s ode to the city of Oran.
Joseph Kespi and El Moutribia (Algeria)
Selli Houmoumek
(Gramophone)
Listen
This might be the rarest of the rare. Up until about 1930, Algeria’s Andalusian orchestras were almost entirely Jewish and its most popular was El Moutribia. Here, under the direction of Joseph Kespi, El Moutribia performs an Andalusi staple. This was likely recorded across the street from Square Bresson at the National Theater.Search Gallery Renegade Photography [Collab] ChaosCanine 9 Advertisement Advertisement Digital Colored Sketch// Sheradon ChaosCanine 7 Digital Colored Sketch// Krass ChaosCanine 5 Digital Colored Sketch// Kerrah ChaosCanine 6 Monstergade ChaosCanine 6 Nose Negotiations ChaosCanine 1 Gamer Guys [Commission/Animation] ChaosCanine 1 Gamer Guys [Commission] ChaosCanine 4 Valentines ChaosCanine 1 Renegade is a Monster ChaosCanine 10 Pouty Panda [Animated] ChaosCanine 2 Pouty Panda ChaosCanine 1 Dingra Badge ChaosCanine 2 Zeph Badge ChaosCanine 1 Birthday Bros ChaosCanine 1 Hybridmaille Logo ChaosCanine 0 The Black Sheep - Pg 4 [School] ChaosCanine 2 The Black Sheep - Pg 3 [School] ChaosCanine 0 The Black Sheep - Pg 2 [School] ChaosCanine 0 The Black Sheep - Pg 1 [School] ChaosCanine 0 The Black Sheep - Cover [School] ChaosCanine 1 Book Cover Redesigns - Series 3 - Book 3 [School] ChaosCanine 8 Book Cover Redesigns - Series 3 - Book 2 [School] ChaosCanine 7 Book Cover Redesigns - Series 3 - Book 1 [School] ChaosCanine 10Kailen Sheridan isn’t the only goalkeeper eligible for Thursday’s National Women’s Soccer League college draft, but the Whitby native is the only one with an Olympic bronze medal to her name. The 21-year-old Clemson University alum, an alternate for the medal-winning Canadian team in Rio this past August, is hoping that international pedigree will help make her one of the 40 players selected.
Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan makes a save in quarter-final action against Germany at the under-20 World Cup in 2014. ( Todd Korol / GETTY IMAGES file photo )
“I like to think it helps me,” she said recently. “I think it looks really good on my resume, compared to a lot of other ’keepers who entered the draft.” There were 20 goalkeepers on the preliminary list of 148 players eligible for selection. The window to register remains open until Wednesday. Stanford’s Jane Campbell, projected to crack the United States national team roster down the road, is expected to be the first ’keeper off the board. Mock drafts project Sheridan, whose made her only international appearance to date in March, will be next in line.
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Five of the league’s 10 teams have picks in the top 10 — the Boston Breakers, who finished last in 2016, have four. “Not every team needs a goalkeeper, and only a few teams are going to need one that has a chance to compete for a starting spot, and that’s what I’m looking for,” she said. “It’s a big challenge. Some people aren’t going to make it, but I like to think that having been in the national program for a while and having that cap under my belt is going to help me get to a team that I have a chance to compete with.” Sheridan isn’t the only player with international experience among roughly a dozen Canadians in the draft mix: Forward Nichelle Prince of Ajax also played in Rio and has made 21 appearances for Canada since her debut in 2013, with six goals and two assists.
Summer Clarke of Richmond, B.C., also a forward, earned her one cap during the Algarve Cup in March, three days before Sheridan made her international debut. Midfielder Emma Fletcher and forward Valerie Sanderson have represented Canada at the under-20 level.
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Defender Kadeisha Buchanan — just voted player of the year in the NCAA — and midfielder Ashley Lawrence aren’t on the list, with both set to start their professional careers in France. Lawrence officially signed with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, while reports have linked Buchanan with Lyon. The first Canuck chosen on Thursday will be the sixth since the league’s inception in 2013. Last year, striker Janine Beckie was the only Canadian international selected — eighth, by the Houston Dash. Sheridan has also put out feelers in Europe, but is focused on the NWSL for now and happy to see her country making a bigger impact on the American league. The fact that Canada’s world ranking hit an all-time high in 2016 doesn’t hurt, either: “If you say you’re from Canada, people know that we’re No. 4 in the world, that we just got a bronze medal twice in a row now, and you’re going to be look upon a little bit higher.”China’s stock market is on fire this year. It’s up more than 47% in just a few short months; that includes a 7.5% surge in the last week alone, making it a standout in world markets.
That’s the kind of eye-popping performance that invites lots of skepticism, and there’s no shortage of that.
Quartz has noted that:
Chinese stocks are increasingly divorced from the country’s economic reality.
Unsophisticated, less-educated investors are flooding into the market.
Leverage of questionable sustainability is propping up a big portion of the rally for investors and companies alike.
The research firm Capital Economics, in a note to clients, suggests that a big chunk of the action is coming from the People’s Bank of China, which has been cutting benchmark interest rates to spur investment amid an ongoing economic slowdown.
And since things aren’t exactly peachy just yet, the firm said to expect more easing to come. Whether that will translate into a longer rally is another question.There tends to be a lot of muddled thinking when it comes to the national debt. Those on the right tend to worry that someday the Fed will need to “monetize” the debt, and that this will create massive inflation. Those on the left also view deficits as borrowing, and they argue that the money is essentially a free lunch during times of very low interest rates.
Because the dollar is a fiat currency, and the national debt is denominated fully in a currency the government controls, the “debt” is not really debt. It is really equity, shares of stock in USG. A dollar is just a piece of paper backed by the USG. A T-Bill is just a piece of paper backed by the USG. A T-Bill is simply a dollar with a not-valid date. A dollar is analagous to stock in a corporation (except that instead of providing a dividend, it has the feature of extinguishing tax debt). A treasury bill, the “debt”, is therefore analagous to restricted stock, stock that cannot be sold until a future date.
Since T-Bill’s pay interest, and dollars do not, most people who do not need dollars for an immediate transaction tend to hold on to T-Bills instead (directly or via a bank account or money market fund). There is no reason that the debt cannot be rolled over forever.
Think of it another way:
Imagine the Fed printed dollars and bought all the T-bills in the world at market prices. Would this cause inflation? No. No one’s balance sheet has changed a bit (since the t-bills were bought at market prices). Since no private actors financial position has changed, they cannot increase spending and bid up the price of goods. So you get no inflation.
Note that this is not the result under a gold standard. If the U.S. was under a gold standard, its credit rating would be F-. Whenever it issued new bonds, its credit rating would fall further, and the mark-to-market value of the bonds would fall far below face value. If the government somehow built an alchemy device, and “monetized” its debt, that result would cause enormous inflation. The market value of all its debts would zoom back up to face value, everyones balance sheet would bulge, and people could afford to spend more and bid up the prices of goods.
But the U.S. is not under a gold standard. When USG issues new T-Bills, its credit rating does not drop, nor does the market value of existing t-bills drop. Since the U.S.G. can issue an arbitrary number of T-Bills without ruining its credit rating treasuries cause inflation at the time they are issued.
Imagine the Federal Reserve stopped calling “the national debt” the national debt. They simply called it “T-Bills outstanding” and updated their statistics to show T-Bills as a component of the money supply, rather than as debt. All government publications were purged of the word “debt” and replaced by “T-Bill”. T-Bills are interesting paying dollars, when they mature, the T-Bill disappears and you get a dollar. Or you can trade your dollar in for a another T-Bill.
If the Fed did this, absolutely nothing would change. This is already how the monetary function system functions. Thus with a simple change in nomenclature, the national debt disappears!
The overall level of “debt” is not a problem. Once the “debt” is issued, it’s water under the bridge. “Paying off the debt” would be deflationary, and as destructive as contracting the money supply sharply.
However, that does not mean that all is sunshine and unicorns.
Deficits can indeed be a large problem. The deficit to GDP ratio is one component of the overall inflation rate. If that rises too high, bad things will happen. On the plus, side the government’s budget is naturally counter-cyclical. As monetary inflation heats up, tax revenues rise and the deficit falls (as they did in the late 90’s or 2007). When deflation sets in, tax revenues fall, creating a larger deficit which is then reflationary/counter-deflationary. That is the period we are in now. Total net worth of Americans fell by about ~$15 trillion total. Deficits rebuild that net worth $1 trillion a time. Thus I would not expect to return to monetary inflation for a while (although, we may have price inflation in imported goods like oil as U.S. productive output declines and we have less goods to trade).
While too much debt and bankruptcy are not a problem, the U.S. still has huge economic problems.
The trade deficit is a huge problem as it has enables the atrophying of the industrial and technological base.
There is some potential for a currency run. In such a case, the dollar ceases to be the world’s reserve currency, and those holding dollars switch to a new reserve currency - perhaps gold or the Yuan. I don’t think the currency run scenario will happen any time in the next few decades, for several reasons. a) the dollar is already obsolete as a store of value for most people. Equities and real estate is preferred. b) dollars are still used to store value short term, and that will continue since the remote risk of losing 50% in a stock market crash is greater than the sure risk of losing ~5% to dilution of the currency. c) Japan and China have no reason to dump their dollars. They are not holding dollars to make a return, but to control their own currency’s appreciation.
So in reality the real danger is not that the U.S. will go bankrupt. The problem is that every time there is a financial crisis, the productive sectors must cut back. But the government sector does not, because it can print money. Thus the size of the bureaucratic sectors keeps going up, and the bureaucratic sectors swallow up more of the economy. The way the effect of this will manifest is as a slow rise in prices relative to median income, as the U.S. produces less useful goods and services. People have already started to notice this with claims that median income has stagnated over the past 40 years. Unfortunately, they blame the stagnation on inequality, rather than the main culprit which is slowing and declining output. There may never be a final reckoning, as some far-right Samsonite’s seem to hope for. Instead there will be a stagnation or decline in the standard of living and a growing, pervasive feeling of malaise.New York's organic farming has grown over the past several years, led by milk sales, with agricultural land federally certified organic expanding to 934 operating farms last year, according to the state comptroller's office.
The report Friday shows sales of organic farm products rose from 2008 to 2014 statewide by 56 percent to $164 million. Sales jumped another 35 percent last year to $221 million, according to another federal report.
"Organic farming is not a fad, but a robust sector of our economy," Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said. Over the same period, the number of certified organic farms nationally declined slightly to 14,100.
U.S. Department of Agriculture survey data showed $94 million of organic milk produced at 402 farms in New York, ranking second nationally in 2014.
New York sales of organic crops at nearly $53 million were led by vegetables and melons, followed by apples, strawberries and blueberries.
Its $2.7 million of organic maple syrup ranked third behind Vermont and Maine.
The USDA regulations say that in order to get certification to sell or label farm products "organic," they must be produced and handled without synthetic substances and ingredients, ionizing radiation and sewage sludge. It has a limited exception for vaccines.
Certifications are done by entities certified by the USDA.
Organic farming remains a small portion of New York's overall agriculture, which recorded more than $5.4 billion in 2012 sales and occupies 7.2 million acres, almost one-quarter of the state.
"Any time you can see growth in the agricultural economy, that's beneficial to our farmers," said Steve Ammerman of the New York Farm Bureau. "What this demonstrates is there's opportunity to farmers looking to diversify or take advantage of new consumer trends."
The state is also seeing beginning farmers seeking the certification because of their lifestyle values and to be part of a local food movement, he said.Straightforward technology for you and me
An easy, plug and play, USB media player, that works on all screens, and syncs without problems or cables.
the DullTech media player
As artists we often had a hard time installing video presentations for exhibitions. How could we easily loop a video? And sync a video over multiple screens? Simple things that were time consuming while you would think it could have been solved easily...
Fact of the matter was, that if you wanted to play multiple videos in an exhibition or at a fair, it was always a problem! Remote controls that needed to be pressed at the same time, computers that needed to be programmed, professional companies hired to install. Or you always had to go yourself. What if there was to be a box that would just fix that. It would not be exiting, it would not offer anything new, it wouldn't cost days to figure out, it would just make technology work. That's it!
So we found a great engineer in China who helped us make our dream media player! A simple box that would take the first video on a USB key, and loop it. And when you would have two boxes they could sync at the flick of a switch! They even wanted to help us create a small production run! OMG. And it was possible to put on a custom screensaver! Just like the old DVD player screen savers. So we could put our own artwork on there, making it an art piece when it's not used to play your video! A machine that actually works, and is an artwork at the same time! Your getting a limited edition art piece for free!
So we came up with the name for our company. DullTech. Technology that does not need to be exiting. It's boring, you know why? Because it just works.
We had sample models made, and have tested it extensively in the past year. They worked perfectly, surprising technicians at every install. We have learned a lot and made some adjustments, like the support for mac formatted USB keys, and now we're ready! Yep, things just got really real! And right now, we are finally ready to make the first production run! With your help!
The player is ready!
You can help us make the first production run, by pre-ordering the DullTech media player, a custom signed player, or any of our brand new DullTech merchandise, together we can pull this off!
Custom technology to actually help make things easier, no more bizarre capitalist big brands with way too many functions to understand. Just send DullTech video players to the place you want to show your work, and anyone can install it! Its that easy. No difficult kits to program, computers to borrow, or players to rent. If you ever had a problem installing video presentations, be it single or multi channel. Help this art project on its feet, and let technology work for us again. Knowing you are supporting a grass roots tech company, that puts values over profit.
It comes with a USB key for your work, sync's at the flick of switch, will play to HDMI, VGA, and composite video. All standard video files are supported, and guess what?
We made it simple. We made it Dull,
We made it, DullTech!Biographical note
Andrew Lang (March 31 1844 - July 20 1912) was a prolific Scots poet, novelist, and literary critic but is best known as the collector of folk and fairy tales.
His first publication was a volume of metrical experiments, The Ballads and Lyrics of Old France [1872], and this was followed at intervals by other volumes of dainty verse, Ballades in Blue China (1880, enlarged edition, 1888), Ballads and Verses Vain [1884], Rhymes à la Mode [1884], Grass of Parnassus [1888], Ban and Arrière Ban [1894], New Collected Rhymes [1905].
He collaborated with S.H. Butcher in a prose translation [1879] of the Odyssey, and with E Myers and Walter Leaf in a prose version [1883] of the Iliad, both of them remarkable for accurate scholarship and excellence of style. As a Homeric scholar, of conservative views, he took a high rank. His Homer and the Epic appeared in 1893; a new prose translation of The Homeric Hymns in 1899, with essays literary and mythological, in which parallels to the Greek myths are given from the traditions of savage races; and his Homer and his Age in 1906....
To the study of Scottish history Mr Lang brought a scholarly care for detail, a piquant literary style, and a gift for disentangling complicated questions. The Mystery of Mary Stuart (1901, new and revised ed., 1904) was a consideration of the fresh light thrown on Mary's history by the Lennox manuscripts in the University library, Cambridge, strengthening her case by restating the perfidy of her accusers.
He also wrote monographs on The Portraits and Jewels of Mary Stuart [1906] and James VI and the Gowrie Mystery [1902]. The somewhat unfavourable view of John Knox presented in his book John Knox and the Reformation [1905] aroused considerable controversy. He gave new information about the continental career of the Young Pretender in Pickle the Spy [1897], an account of Alastair Ruadh Macdonell, whom he identified with Pickle, a notorious Hanoverian spy. This was followed in 1898 by The Companions of Pickle, and in 1900 by a monograph on Prince Charles Edward. In 1900 he began a History of Scotland from the Roman Occupation, the fourth volume of which [1907] brought Scottish history down to 1746. The Valet's Tragedy [1903], which takes its title from an essay on the "Man with the lron Mask," collects twelve papers on historical mysteries, and A Monk of Fife [1896] is a fictitious narrative purporting to be written by a young Scot in France in 1429-1431.
Mr Lang's versatility was also shown in his valuable works on folk-lore and on primitive religion. The earliest of these works was Custom and Myth [1884]; in Myth, Literature and Religion (2 vols., 1887, French trans., 1896) he explained the irrational elements of mythology as survivals from earlier savagery; in The Making of Religion (an idealization of savage animism) he maintained the existence of high spiritual ideas among savage races, and instituted comparisons between savage practices and the ooccult phenomena among civilized races; he dealt with the origins of totemism in Social Origins, printed [1903] together with JB Atkinson's Primal Law.
His Blue Fairy Tale Book [1889], beautifully produced and illustrated, was followed annually at Christmas by a book of fairy tales and romances drawn from many sources.
He was one of the founders of the study of "Psychical Research," and his other writings on anthropology include The Book of Dreams and Ghosts [1897], Magic and Religion [1901] and The Secret of the Totem [1905]. He carried the humour and sub-acidity of discrimination which marked his criticism of fellow folk-lorists into the discussion of purely literary subjects in his Books and Bookmen [1886], Letters to Dead Authors [1886], Letters on Literature [1889], etc.
He edited The Poems and Songs of Robert Burns [1896], and was responsible for the Life and Letters [1897] of JG Lockhart, and The Life, Letters and Diaries [1890] of Sir Stafford Northcote, first earl of Iddesleigh.NEW YORK — Somalia, Kenya, and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) this week signed an agreement outlining the return to Somalia of nearly half a million refugees from Kenya.
Raising the specter of returns has reignited fear among Somali refugees and intensified a discussion in capitals across the Horn of Africa about the future of an additional half-million Somali refugees living in those countries.
Refugees and aid organizations are worried about so-called induced repatriation, whereby refugees will be pushed to return to Somalia prematurely.
Undeniably, there has been political and economic progress in Somalia, and stability has improved. The country has a new elected government, private investment is on the rise, and the military has made important gains, especially in bringing more security to Mogadishu.
However, the central government’s ability to translate these fragile gains into an inclusive political transition remains uncertain.
Security is still tenuous, particularly in the South-central region, where Al Shabaab maintains command of significant areas. A complicated web of local power holders controls other areas. Many in Somalia remain quite vulnerable to violence, and the vast majority of refugees and governments in the region and across the globe do not believe conditions exist now for the wide-scale, voluntary return of Somali refugees.
On a recent visit to Kenya, I met with refugees in a densely populated urban area in Nairobi and in the Dadaab refugee camp, the largest refugee camp in the world. Many told me they would like to return to Somalia one day, but only when it is peaceful and stable – conditions they do not yet see. Others believe they will never be able to return.
One young woman, who fled Somalia after losing both her parents in the civil war, told me she has no reason to return. Another spoke of friends who have returned to Somalia to find their homes occupied by others. Still others told me of relatives who have been met with violence, rape and sometimes death.
These stories underscore the need to contemplate a range of options for Somali refugees, from returning to Somalia to resettling elsewhere.
The international community should undoubtedly support refugees who decide to voluntarily return to Somalia. Some are already doing so and more will as conditions allow. But we must also support those refugees who do not believe they can return safely and in a dignified manner, now or possibly ever. Our conscience and international law require it.
Such flexibility in policy does not come without a cost. It requires financial support to ease the burden on countries willing to host refugees until conditions in Somalia improve.
Some countries in the region have been generously hosting Somalis for more than 20 years, and the new wave of Somali refugees after the 2011 famine has created additional burdens.
Although the number of refugees has continued to increase, budgets to support them are declining. The international community must reverse this trend. Otherwise, host countries may decide to roll up the welcome mat.
Part of the refugee funding should be invested in enhanced opportunities for education and skills development, which will benefit displaced refugees now and will also be critical tools for Somalia’s long-term success.
The training of health care providers and teachers among refugees, too, will help create a cadre of professionals who can meaningfully contribute to rebuilding Somalia when they do go home.
Ensuring protection and services for refugees now should not come at the cost of planning for the day when conditions will be more conducive for dignified, voluntary returns. To lay the foundation for such returns, the international community should take the following steps:
First, it must continue to support Somalia’s efforts to provide basic physical security for civilians. Unless refugees believe they will be protected from attacks and other forms of violence, they will not go home. The same is true for the more than 1 million Somalis who have been displaced internally by the ongoing conflict.
Second, to make any return feasible and sustainable, the government of Somalia — with the support of the international community — must strengthen basic services.
Third, investment in Somalia must be synchronized with humanitarian objectives. To this end, the UNHCR has identified three areas inside Somalia where voluntary returns of refugees in a phased approach may be possible.
To catalyze investments in these areas, donors should pursue better coordination between humanitarian needs and development dollars. The future of Somalia will depend on the degree to which the government and donor community prioritize the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable in long-term development efforts.
Such planning should not be used as a pretext for premature, unsustainable, and involuntary returns. Planning is prudent, but premature returns would increase the vulnerability of refugees and further destabilize Somalia.
This is an outcome the international community must vigorously seek to avoid.
Sharon Waxman is vice president of public policy and advocacy at the International Rescue Committee. She recently returned from a trip to Kenya.Cosplay Featured Cosplay: Giorgia Cosplay
An article by David Hayler No Comments An article by David Hayler
Seeing as I’m off to Rome with Kat next week (did I forget to mention?) today’s featured cosplayer is quite on topic. Calling her a cosplayer is a bit narrow minded as she’s a multi talented lady who’s known for her acting, modelling, presenting and singing, but in this article I’ll be focusing on her award winning cosplay work.
Some of us have only got into cosplay in the last few years as it’s popularity has really started to take off, but Giorgia has been doing it for 15 years. Through that time she’s created some stunningly beautiful cosplay costumes and pictures that show them off perfectly. Giorgia’s done costumes that include anime, comic book, cartoon and original characters to name but a few. Her portfolio really is a sight to behold and I can’t recommend her website enough. You can visit the site via the link at the end of the article.
Before you head off to pastures new check out Giorgia’s work and learn all about her from our Q&A session.
Giorgia Cosplay Costumes Collection
If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to visit Giorgia’s Deviant Art profile you’ll have found that an hour of your life is stolen away from you without even realising it. I clicked endlessly through the folders to find more and more incredible cosplay costume pictures. What was even more impressive than stealing my grasp of time was the quality of the shots. The costumes are all fantastic, but the locations where they’re shot take them onto another level.
Before I starting barking on about how much I loved the scenery lets get straight into it.
Alcyone – Magic Knight Rayearth
I couldn’t have found a better example to start us off. The reflection in the water adds a level of depth that few shots I’ve seen recently have managed to achieve.
Black Cat Cosplay
I’ve seen a lot of Black Cat cosplay costumes recently but this ranks right up there. I’d love to see a night version of this picture but the daylight defines the costume in all the right places.
Catra
Well well this takes me back a bit. For our younger readers you might not remember He-Man and She-Ra (I’m sure you’ll find a few episodes over on YouTube if you fancy giving it a go) but this is Catra, She-Ra’s enemy. I’ve seen very few Catra cosplay attempts so this is a rare treat.
Elektra
Oh come on, did you really need to remind me of the damn movie?! Well, maybe this shot will replace the memories many of us have of the movie starring Jennifer Garner. I love the hanging tree in the background as it compliments the costume in the foreground.
Flora – Enchantrix Version – Winx
Where do I start? I had a real issue narrowing my picture choice to this one from the many other Flora shots. The costume, the beautiful background and Giorgia as the striking model all add up to it being one of my favourite cosplay pictures ever. Don’t think this is a one off as there are a folder full of similar pictures in her DA profile.
Fujiko Mine – Lupin iii
Did you think this was Black Widow? You’re not alone as this is a common mistake. Just like catwoman she’s a burglar or thief for hire, but this busty character is from Japan. We all love a good catsuit and this is no exception.
Ginrei – Giant Robo
Based on the Japanese manga character Ginrei from old classic Giant Robo, Giorgio has recreated a brilliant character with a series of shots that shouldn’t be missed. Quite simple to recreate, so consider this for your next cosplay maybe.
Karen – Mermaid Melody
Taking on the mermaid form of any character from Mermaid Melody can be a real challenge, which is why taking on the Idol form is preferable for most people. The setting is beautiful, the lighting perfect and the costume a real treat.
Mira
This is an original character made by Giorgia. The character comes from an Italian comic called ‘Project Mira’ and I think it’s fantastic. The multi-coloured vinyl cosplay costume with PVC boots makes for a very futuristic look.
Neko Girl
Well hello kitty
Princess Luna – Sailor Moon
Picturesque isn’t it? This is what sets Giorgia aside from other cosplayers that I’ve seen recently. The scenery is simply stunning the the vivid colours on the dress helps Giorgia stand out from the background. I love everything about this picture and it should encourage cosplayers that they should venture out to interesting locations more often to get more impressive results.
Silene – Devilman
Some cosplay costumes are clever and intricate, but this outfit is the definition of bold and impressive. I hate turning up to conventions when people wear these huge costumes that take up the room four people could fill. On the other hand if I saw Giorgia sauntering towards me wearing this I’d soon forget my previous grievance.
Wonder Woman
This costume needs no introduction. Seeing it on Giorgia though just seems to make it that much more impressive, don’t you agree?
Yuan – Cabal Online
Little is known of Yuan, which means that instead of simply introducing the character I can focus on the cosplay. Honestly, that suits me perfectly! With a serious face on her and two blades at the ready it’s a little difficult to critique Giorgia in this one for fear of retribution. Thankfully I have nothing but positive things to say, so the panic for me is over. Again the backdrop improves the shot and makes it feel more authentic.
Zakuro – Tokyo Mew Mew
Cute and vibrant immediately comes to mind. I don’t know why Giorgia chose to cosplay as Zakuro but it’s easy to speculate because both work as a model and actress in there professional lives. This shot emphasises just how much a cool wig can do for you.
Giorgia Cosplay Videos
Now that you’ve had a chance to check out Giorgia’s stunning collection of cosplay outfits now seems like a good time to introduce you all to her acting talents. The following videos are guest appearances by Giorgia in the Italian online series ‘Gamers’, which is a show based in video game store Game Stop. All of the videos are in Italian, but you won’t need the volume on to appreciate Giorgia at work.
Giorgia wears a Lara Croft costume in this video. Click forward to 1.50 for her entrance.
Giorgia appears twice in this video at 1.20 and 2.31 wearing a different outfit each time. She looks beautiful both times!
Did I leave the best till last? I think so! See Giorgia in a jaw dropping slave Leia costume here. She appears from the beginning, so enjoy the whole video.
Q & A With Giorgia Cosplay
OK, now that you’ve seen a small selection of her work in pictures and on video it’s a good time to sit down with Giorgia and learn a bit about her. We asked the European beauty about her introduction to the world of cosplay, a bit about her interests and what’s in her costume wearing future.
1. What made you get into cosplay?
Oh, it seems so long ago. I started cosplaying in 1997 and it was actually the first day of spring. I wore my Sailor Mars outfit during the spring edition of Lucca Comics & Games, the main Italian comics convention which was, at that time, held twice a year (now it’s just once).
I had been playing with the idea of dressing like an anime character since a couple of years back, when I had seen a few guys wearing outfits from Star Trek or from fantasy role play games. So I told myself: “if they can do this with their favourite characters, why can’t I do the same with mine?”
At the time I didn’t know I was cosplaying: I referred to that by simply saying “getting dressed” or “wearing a costume”. It was only after I had Internet access that I learned about cosplay and how it was world wide spread.
2. How old were you when you started cosplaying?
I was 20 years old.
3. What was your first costume?
Sailor Mars from the series Sailor Moon.
4. Do you make your own costumes?
Yes with the help of my Mum
5. Where do your source your materials or the pieces for your costumes?
When it comes to cosplay the Internet is your best friend both for finding reference images (or action figures) and for materials and pieces.
Wigs are the kind of item I buy the most online, but there are also boots and other kind of footwear. I occasionally buy online fabrics too, but if I find the ones I need in the shops near my place, I prefer those because being able to touch and feel them first hand is very important to get the correct one.
6. How long does the average costume take to make or put together?
It mostly depends on how complex the costume is, but I’d say anything between a couple of weeks and a couple of months.
7. Do you design and make original costumes or do you create replicas of costumes worn by characters?
I prefer to do replicas but I’ve also created an original character called Beautiful Jo who starred in an Italian comic called Kappa Angels.
8. What would be your super power if you could only have one?
Magic
It might sound like cheating because you get more powers at once, but hey Zatanna and Dr. Strange have that too And besides, my favourite characters have always been Majokko like Creamy Mamy, and now I like Harry Potter very much, so what could you expect?
9. Do you attend cosplay conventions or events? If yes how many do you attend in an average year?
Back in the day I used to attend some events, but now that I have less and less free time I had to reduce the number to only Lucca Comics & Games, which as I said before is the main Italian comics related event. This doesn’t mean you can’t find me at other events, since some of them hire me to introduce the cosplay contest or as a testimonial to the event itself.
10. Who’s your favourite cosplayer? (Could be a friend or a famous personality in the cosplay scene)
There’s this Japanese guy, Goldy, who is the best armour/mecha maker I’ve ever met and I really like his work. I’ve met him in the flesh and he is quite a good singer too
11. Who’s your favourite character to cosplay?
I think…Sailor Pluto.
12. Favourite TV show, movie and band?
My present fav TV show is Big Bang Theory while if I look at a few years back I’d say Friends, of which I own the complete DVD series.
As for the movie, being the 80s nostalgic I am |
convincing. Based on the review of the conclusive Y-STR DNA test results and the evidence from the 1998 trial, the court is firmly convinced that no reasonable juror would convict the defendant for the crime of aggravated murder with a firearm." She ordered that Prade be released from prison "forthwith."
Summit County law enforcement officials were dismayed at the decision.
"This is a gross misapplication of the law, and we will be appealing Prade's exoneration," county Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a news release.
"All of the evidence clearly points to Prade as Dr. Margo Prade's killer," Akron Police Chief James Nice said in the same release. "He was proven guilty in front of a jury using a substantial amount of other evidence."
If Ohio's Ninth District Court of Appeals reverses Hunter's ruling, the state will have 30 days to file a motion seeking a new trial, Walsh's office said.
"I feel like my life is in danger and my family's life is in danger now. (Dr. Prade and her mother) are probably turning over in their graves, but God will have the final say," Tony Fowler, Margo Prade's nephew, told CNN affiliate WEWS
"The decision is unfair and unjust, in my opinion," Tammy Fowler, a niece, told the station.As one of the only countries that creates flavors of chocolate that includes wasabi, potatoes, soybeans, macha tea, and any fruit combination imaginable, it is only fitting that Tokyo will host the world’s first and only Kit Kat Chocolatory store.
By Sami Kawahara
The Kit Kat has made its way into the heart of Japanese treats and culture, as it represents both a token of good luck, particularly for students, as well as specific prefectures with special editions of Kit Kats throughout the country.
Kit Kat, pronounced in Japanese as “Kitto Katto,” has in turn been rendered as “Kitto Katsu,” literally translating into a common good luck phrase, “you will surely win.” This is usually said to students before a school exam. Nestle took this idea and ran with it, marketing a multitude of flavors that students could give to each other as a good luck charm.
The Kit Kat craze has led the brand to the Kit Kat Chocolatory, opening today in Seibu department store’s food basement in Ikebukuro. The chocolatory has brought in pastry chef, Yasumasa Takagai, to help develop the seasonal Kit Kats that will be sold amongst the other unique flavors.
From January 17 to 23, the store will offer the Tohoku region limited edition flavor (zunda: mashed edamame, folks!) to the first 100 people each day who buy more than ¥4,200 at the Chocolatory, in celebration of the store’s opening.
We look forward to seeing what new combinations they can add to their current 200 plus flavor selection. And as a side note, here are a few our favorites so far:
Apricot Seed
Flickr/Michael Martin
Chocolate Banana
Flickr/Michael Martin
French Salt
Flickr/Michael Martin
Azuki Bean
Fruit Parfait
And last but certainly not least…
…Sports Drink?
Main image: jpellgen/FlickrAs of March, 2018, Cornell University Library's Making of America collection has been moved to Hathi Trust. In preparation for the move, OCR quality of the collection was improved. In addition, Hathi Trust provides full-text search and computational analysis for text collections, improving scholarly access to the Making of America materials.
The Cornell University Library Making of America Collection is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. The project represents a major collaborative endeavor in preservation and electronic access to historical texts.
The Making of America collection comprises the digitized pages of books and journals. This system allows you to view scanned images of the actual pages of the 19th century texts. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has been performed on the images to enhance searching and accessing the texts. For more information on the Making of America project see About MOA.
Search the University of Michigan's Making of America Collection.
Making of America was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.KDE and Plasma developer Aaron Seigo has given an update on the state of the planned Vivaldi tablet in a video published on his YouTube channel. In the video, Seigo addresses new developments regarding the tablet, which was originally announced at the beginning of 2012. The team has apparently changed its plans and has designed its own, custom tablet hardware which should enter general production in about three months. According to Seigo, the manufacturer has now begun the tooling for the hardware. The last official statement on the project dates from September and cites a major setback.
Seigo says that the team's original plan – to source off-the-shelf hardware which the manufacturer would agree to release open source drivers for and then pre-install this with the Plasma Active version of the KDE desktop – has failed. According to Seigo, the project suffered several setbacks from business problems to a general lack of a product roadmap from the chosen manufacturers. Apparently, the original tablet hardware was changed by the OEM without warning when they delivered the first developer version of the device. The change was such that the operating system that was tested on the prototypes would not even boot on the new model.
Aaron Seigo discusses several topics in the video, the section relevant to the Vivaldi tablet starts at approximately 16 minutes in
The team also encountered problems with GPL violations and OEMs that claimed their hardware was supplied with completely open source drivers – when it was checked, Seigo says "it took about five minutes of looking through their source code to find entire binary drivers". The team also had to convince the manufacturers to release the source code to their drivers anew with every change in the hardware. In the end, Seigo says that the complete lack of a product roadmap on behalf of these partners left the KDE team only one choice: to come up with their own hardware design built from readily available components.
Seigo says that the team plans to publish an official announcement on the future of the project in which the release timing and the specifications of the device will be confirmed. Seigo expects this announcement at the end of the month. When released, the tablet will officially support Plasma Active, including full warranty coverage. After the initial release, the team apparently plans to manufacture several follow-up devices with different hardware specifications. Seigo says the new approach allows the team to be "in full control" of its roadmap for the first time.
(fab)Stanford could be headed to one of Pac-12’s lowest bowls
Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey (5) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, in Tucson, Ariz. Stanford defeated Arizona 34-10. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) less Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey (5) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, in Tucson, Ariz. Stanford defeated Arizona 34-10. (AP Photo/Rick... more Photo: Rick Scuteri, Associated Press Photo: Rick Scuteri, Associated Press Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Stanford could be headed to one of Pac-12’s lowest bowls 1 / 5 Back to Gallery
With a newly healthy Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love and a defense that has held three teams in a row to exactly 10 points, Stanford certainly can win its remaining four games.
But even if the Cardinal beat Oregon State, the top two offensive teams in the conference in Oregon and Cal, and a Rice team that is 1-7, the Cardinal (5-3, 3-3 Pac-12) can climb only so high in the bowl picture.
And that’s not very high at all.
First, they have to hope Washington runs the table, too, and that won’t be easy. The Huskies face Cal, USC and Arizona State before playing the only other unbeaten team in conference play, Washington State, in the Apple Cup in Pullman. Then they would have to beat Colorado, Utah or USC in the Pac-12 title game.
As the conference’s only 8-0 team, Washington is its sole contender for the four-team College Football Playoff. If it falls short, Stanford and all the other potential postseason teams would drop one bowl in the pecking order.
For the sake of this discussion, let’s say the Huskies make the CFP. In that case, the Rose Bowl wouldn’t necessarily have to take the Pac-12 runner-up. It could take a Washington State team with one conference loss or another South Division team.
In the bowl reckoning, it’s Pac-12 records that count, not overall records. The current order is Washington and Washington State at 5-0, Colorado (4-1), Utah (4-2), USC (4-2, but with a loss to Utah), then Stanford. Besides the Apple Cup, the key game in the bowl picture would appear to be Utah at Colorado on Nov. 26.
After the Rose Bowl selection, here’s the “draft” order for the bowls with Pac-12 agreements: 1. Alamo (Dec. 29 in San Antonio), 2. Holiday (Dec. 27 in San Diego), 3. Foster Farms (Dec. 28 in Santa Clara), 4. Sun (Dec. 30 in El Paso, Texas), 5. Las Vegas (Dec. 17), 6. Cactus (Dec. 27 in Phoenix).
There are a few things to remember: One, the Alamo, Holiday and Foster Farms bowls don’t have to pick the best record available; they could opt for a team that’s one game behind the one with the best record. The Sun, Vegas and Cactus bowls don’t have that privilege; they have to go strictly by the record.
Second, teams that “travel well” — that is, tend to bring the most fans with them — tend to get priority. That would help a team like Colorado, whose travel-happy fans haven’t been to a bowl since 2007. That wouldn’t help the Pac-12’s smallest school, Stanford, which doesn’t travel well.
Third, TV ratings matter to bowl people. USC tends to produce higher ratings than Stanford by virtue of its rich tradition and the size of its market.
Fourth, bowls try to book teams they haven’t had lately. The attractive Holiday Bowl probably would prefer not to have USC for a third straight year. That might help Stanford, which beat USC, except that, again, there are too many teams in line above the Cardinal.
The upshot is that, despite having a marquee player in McCaffrey, Stanford could end up in one of the lowest bowls, especially if Washington doesn’t make the playoff.
In typical head-coach fashion, Stanford’s David Shaw said Tuesday that the team’s only goal is to “win this week.” Bowl speculation is “for everybody outside our small world to think about,” he said.
Briefly: Guard Johnny Caspers, who missed the Arizona game Saturday night because of an injury, is questionable for this Saturday’s game against Oregon State, and fullback Daniel Marx, out the past five games, is doubtful, Shaw said. He hopes Marx plays the following Saturday at Oregon. … The Oregon game will kick off at 1 p.m.
Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgeraldWhen Barack Obama started running for president, he was widely described as arrogant for daring to take on the Clintons after just two years in the Senate, despite the fact that polling at the time showed him to be the only threat to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.
Eighteen-months later, we are told by the McCain campaign and its traditional media parrots that Obama is at risk of looking "presumptuous" for his recent trip abroad, even as he has registered a small but significant bounce in the polls upon his return, presumably for doing what most of us expect of a presidential candidate.
The man who slayed Democratic royalty, who has raised more money than any political campaign in US history, drawn record-breaking crowds in the US and abroad, who has been ahead of John McCain since widespread general election polling began four months ago, this man is presumptuous for thinking he has a good shot at becoming president and should therefore get to know his potential counterparts and visit the sites of US military activity?
Most candidates Obama's age will be charged sooner or later with youthful conceit for taking on their elders, no matter how guilty those elders are of mismanaging the country. It happened to some extent to Bill Clinton, and surely to others before him. However, it is hard not to see in the ongoing attitude towards this presidential frontrunner, just three months before the election, something more uncomfortable that is not simply a matter of age, but one of race.
Throughout the primary there was a growing sense of disbelief in the Clinton camp that this young'un (older than Bill was in 1991 when he started running, mind you) really thought he had a shot at this. Bill, in particular, showed little patience for Obama's "fairy tale" campaign, eventually going ballistic because, in his own version of "some of my best friends are," he did not understand that even he, whose office is in Harlem, may be condescending towards African-Americans, and towards this African-American in particular. Perhaps more perniciously, some long-time African-American political and business leaders joined in with some of the worst stereotyping of the campaign, seemingly upset at the upstart who dared to go where most of them had not.
Now McCain is recycling some version of this superciliousness, heavily aided by a traditional media still so easily scared into thinking it is not tough enough on Obama. McCain can hardly hide his rage at this uppity kid who thinks he can hobnob with world leaders just as he does -- who thinks he has more judgment than a septuagenerian war-mongering former prisoner of war. And who sees no reason to wait his turn when barely 1 in 10 Americans think the country is on the right track, thanks to his elders' enlightened leadership. In a weird echo of the Clinton attacks, McCain smirks his way through one sarcastic comment after another, his face twisted in hatred and disbelief. Not only is Obama "presumptuous," he also "doesn't understand." It is never clear what Obama doesn't understand since he actually has not gotten his facts or, so far, his analysis wrong, as opposed to McCain whose errors in fact and in judgment are so numerous as to make one wonder where he has been for the past 20 years (poring over Cold War era reports on Czechoslovakia? Hanging out at the Iraq-Pakistan border? Plotting to bomb-bomb-bomb bomb-bomb Iran?). McCain is the most arrogant of Senators (not a light charge), yet even by his standards the tone he adopts towards Obama is so densely patronizing that here too it is hard to dismiss it as purely a matter of age gap. McCain's joke of an economic advisor, Carly Fiorina, is now also laying it on thick: she is glad that Obama is consulting with experts. This from the woman who nearly ran a Fortune 100 company into the ground and whose candidate knows so little about economic issues after three decades in Congress that Fiorina is reduced to repeating that McCain "has been understanding [economic issues] for months."
That Obama is actually able to listen to facts, absorb them and analyze them should be a good thing. We assume that those skills came in handy throughout his life, not least at Harvard, where he graduated near top of his law school class. This, of course, now makes him an elitist, as he would not be expected by the old DC guard to possess any such competence (charisma perhaps, analytical ability no.) Both McCain (894th out of 899 at Annapolis) and George W. Bush revel in their under-achieving school days, as if this made these scions of hyper-privilege any closer to real people. This tactic clearly succeeded well enough for Bush to be elected president twice, and McCain to be nominated once. But there is a sense that American voters may not be taken in again and that they may actually enjoy as president someone who isn't an inbred moron or a senile fratboy.
Obama's partner in elitism, his wife Michelle, is in extreme tongue-biting mode. This is a shame, but it is inevitable, as she too is under the kind of scrutiny that would make Cindy McCain's face melt back into some approximation of reality. It is widely understood that Obama is more deserving of close examination than McCain because she is more actively involved in her husband's campaign than Cindy is. This of course is a lie: McCain has campaigned extensively for her husband and, were it not for her family fortune and her private jet, he wouldn't even have come close to being nominated. The truth is that Obama is expected to play a certain role: strong, angry, overbearing, and every one of her statements is demeaningly parsed in that light. If every word uttered by McCain were analyzed and reported to fit the stereotype of the rich, spoilt, husband-stealing white woman that she is, all would be fair. But instead, we get adoring glances, little examination of her actual role and an occasional hiccup about Michelle Obama's lack of patriotism.Imagine a world where the most complex apps, web pages can be made using the most simplest coding tools and also the simplest coding language – this is what the latest version of JavaScript aims to fulfill.
The most popular programming language for web development, JavaScript, was finally upgraded to a new version ES6, also known as ES2015. The new language is believed to become the de facto language for all internet applications sometime in the future.
The most awaited latest version brings with it numerous changes including new syntax, new modules, loops, expressions, iterators, arrow functions, classes and so much more. It also simplifies the process of writing more complex applications, as well as new python-styled generators and generator expressions.
The new version aims to simplify the process of writing more complex applications and web sites, allowing more futuristic technologies to be incorporated into browsers, web pages and even apps.
To learn this fancy new version, all you need is this comprehensive course.
Our ‘Learn To Build Apps with ECMAScript ES2015’ course has been designed in collaboration with industry experts to break down all of the new features of ES2015 to help you start coding with the latest features of E6 by the end of this course.
This video tutorial will break down all new features and the latest syntax of ES2015 and will make you JavaScript master. It will cover concepts such as JavaScript fundamentals, objects and classes, object-oriented programming, loops, functions, arrays, variables, iterators, modules, generators, etc.
The course will also touch base on other JavaScript related technologies such as Node.JS, Data Flow, Babel/Traceur, and more.
Following a general understanding of the latest version, you will then progress on to learning the many features of JavaScript E6 in detail, after which you will put all of it into practice by creating a functional project using all of the features you’ve just studied.
In this course, you will learn:
What is ECMAScript? How has it changed from over the years?
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Learn about declarations and classes, Let, and Const
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Understand how data structures work (SET and MAP), what are iterators and what can they do?
Learn about different functions such as generator functions, arrow function, promises and even how to modify data
Create a working projects using all the new features learned above
Grow your roots and don’t be struck in the past? Click enroll and let’s step into the future of web development.Climate change means workdays need to change during heatwaves, public health official warns
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Workplace changes will be needed to deal with more severe heatwaves and other impacts of climate change, a public health official has warned.
With scientists predicting more frequent and intense heatwaves across south-east Australia, professor of public health at the University of Adelaide, Peng Bi, said work practices would need to adapt.
"During a heatwave, the 38-hour, nine-to-five week may not be the best thing, or the most healthy way to work," he said.
He said occupational health and safety laws needed a review to accommodate the changing climate.
"I reckon some regulations should be set up to get employers to pay [fresh] attention to the occupational health and safety of their employees," he said.
Professor Bi said Australian heatwaves were more likely to kill people than other weather extremes such as storms.
"Heatwave kills people more than the combination of all other natural disasters," he said.
After a 2009 heatwave, SA Health found ambulance callouts rose by 16 per cent and hospital emergency department admissions for heat-related illnesses were 14 times the average.
Swift burials during heatwave
One of the worst periods of extreme heat for south-east Australia, back in 1939, remains record-breaking for one Adelaide family business, Alfred James Funerals.
A record for the number of people the firm buried at that time has not been eclipsed to this day.
Managing director Graham James recalled the busy period.
"During the heatwave we handled 39 funerals in nine days, so it was double the normal level, " he said.
In an era before refrigeration was common, he said burials happened swiftly.
"It's really like 'die today, bury tomorrow'," he said.
"That was the way things were done in those days.
"According to our records, on two occasions during the heatwave people who'd died in the morning were buried later that day."
Senior weather forecaster John Nairn said Australians needed to adapt to heatwaves as they grew in severity.
"We have to start talking about the impacts of these events," he said.
Mr Nairn cited American experience as a guide.
"The national weather service in America has been forecasting big natural hazard events quite well for a long time, but they are not seeing sufficient change in the way the community is getting benefits from those forecasts," he said.
"So we have to learn how to communicate this to people at a level where they start taking action that is more meaningful."
Topics: climate-change, environment, university-and-further-education, work, community-and-society, weather, adelaide-5000, saInnovative Financing Tip for Communities at Their Wit's End
In good times and bad, the Rambler can safely say State and local governments never have enough money for their highway needs. It has always been so. In recent years, the Federal Highway Administration has spearheaded "innovative financing" techniques that can help meet needs. There's even a website about it: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/finance/
However, innovative solutions are nothing new. For example, Senator John H. Bankhead, who represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1907 until his death in 1919, was known as the Father of Federal-Aid because of his advocacy for the Federal-Aid Road Act of 1916. While seeing the value of Federal funding for road building, he explored other options, too. AAA's American Motorist magazine for September 1919 contained a short article ("Who Crows Here?") about one such example:
As the result of a sale of some 5,000 roosters on August 15, a bridge is to be built across the Tombigbee river at Demopolis, Alabama. Thus another obstacle on the Dixie Overland highway is to be removed. The bridge is to cost about $175,000. The rooster sale netted about $250,000 [approximately $50 each]. The additional funds will be utilized to improve the road and the approaches to the bridge in Marengo and Sumter counties. The work will be carried on under the direction of the State Highway Department of Alabama. Four of these birds were donated by President Wilson, Lloyd George of England, and Premiers Clemenceau of France and Orlando of Italy. The idea of the rooster sale came from F. L. Derby, a stockman of Alabama. He was the originator of the bull sale last year at the same place which netted the Red Cross $208,000.
An accompanying photo shows "the Alabama Good Roads-Rooster Party" during a visit with President Wilson at the White House. The caption notes that President Wilson can be easily picked out, but for those who may not be able to pick him out easily, he's standing on Rear Admiral Benson's right. The caption adds that Senator Bankhead "is at once recognized at his right," referring of course to the President's right. Almost all other participants are identified (including Mr. Derby), but the caption makes no reference to the four roosters caged in front of the assembled crowd. They are, indeed, the illustrious roosters donated by their famous owners to the cause of Good Roads.
The "Rooster Bridge," as it was known, served traffic on the Dixie Overland Highway and U.S. 80 until 1980, when it was demolished and replaced by a bridge on new location. A second parallel bridge will soon be built at the new location.
UPDATED: Alas! Before embarking on a rooster auction to fund your latest mega-project, you may want to read Becky Willis' article, "Rooster Bridge," in the Winter 2003 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine. She reported that the auction took place on August 4-5, 1919, and resulted in bids and pledges totaling between $200,000 and $300,000. The top bird was, as might be expected, was President Wilson's rooster (nicknamed "Woodrow"), which sold for $55,000. Ms. Willis adds:
These figures, however, were on paper only. An article in The Demopolis Times stated, "In all the excitement, proper records of some of the purchasers and their bids were not made and a great deal of money was never paid.
Even the bidder who won "Woodrow" neglected to pay for his rooster. In all, the effort raised only $45,000 for the bridge. As a result, construction was delayed until 1922.
(Ms. Willis does not speculate on the motivation of those who failed to pay their pledged amounts. The Rambler suspects-and it can by only a suspicion-that they came to their senses and thought, "How am I going to tell my wife I just paid $55,000 for a rooster?")
The new bridge opened on May 15, 1925, and was officially designated the Memorial Bridge in honor of World War I veterans. Locals, however, called it the Rooster Bridge, a name that became official when Governor John Patterson signed Legislative Act 99 on June 24, 1959. Ms. Willis concludes her article with the following:
A 1971 resolution passed by the Alabama Legislature decreed that any bridge or bridges that cross the Tombigbee River at that point shall bear the name Rooster Bridge.It still works, too. Jeff Reed for the National Archives
Then-Vice President Richard Nixon stopped by the National Archives building on June 29, 1954, to pay his respects at the unveiling of the shrine to the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. Joining him was the president of the Mosler Safe Company, the storied metalworks that built the gold vaults at Fort Knox, the blast doors for the Manhattan Project, and the Navy’s first ironclad warship.
To help illustrate the inner workings of his latest creation for the Archives, Ed Mosler Jr. pointed Nixon to a refrigerator-sized electric model. With the flick of a switch, they watched in dollhouse-scale as a tiny Constitution lowered from its display case and tucked into a subterranean armored strongbox. Lest anyone forget the master safe builder behind this unique device, the model helpfully bore the name “MOSLER,” in 72-point bold font.
Until around the year 2000, this model vault stood guard in the Archives vestibule and delighted onlookers with its twice an hour, on the half hour performance. Mosler originally built it not as an educational device, but as a means of winning the government contract to build a full-scale vault to protect the nation’s founding texts from atomic bombs. “It was a sales tactic,” says Richard O Jones of the Butler County Historical Society in Hamilton, Ohio. “They built this model as a concept and they took it to the National Archives to show them how it would work.”
Vice President Nixon, Senator Bricker and Mr. Mosler viewing the scale model of the original National Archives vault. National Archives and Records Administration
The model impressed the archivists and Mosler got the contract. Later, Mosler donated the model to the government and arranged for its prominent display near the full-sized Constitution.
In the early 2000s, the Archives underwent major renovations and got a new state-of-the-art vault designed by Diebold. During construction, the model made its way downstairs and was promptly forgotten about. It wasn’t until Atlas Obscura made inquiries last month that staffers at the Archives rediscovered the model in an unceremonious nook, where it had been gathering dust and leaking oil on the carpet.
According to Archives Director of Public Affairs Miriam Kleiman, the rediscovery has “created a whole resurgence of interest within the building … The thought that this 1954 thing no longer existed.”
The miniature model of the original National Archives Vault was recently rediscovered down in the basement. Jeff Reed for the National Archives
Kleiman says the model has now been relocated to a more prominent spot within the Archives offices, and a historical plaque has been mounted on the wall for the first time. Archives staff also couldn’t resist testing to see if the button still worked after almost two decades in storage.
“No one knew if this would work,” says Kleiman. “Because of security concerns, this decision had to go up to the Archivist of the United States, and he came down immediately, he thought it was so cool.”
Kleiman confirms that the model still works beautifully, looking none the older for its 63 years of age. They also gave the device a thorough dusting and took a series of photos for the historical record.
National Archives staff carefully dust the vault model. Jeff Reed for the National Archives
It turns out there’s actually another model out there, too. Mosler built an identical sister model for its headquarters in Hamilton, Ohio. When they went out of business decades later, the model made its way to the Butler County Historical Society. “It’s out on display in a room called the Ritchie Auditorium, and anybody can go in and look at it,” says Jones.View full size
For years, the American Civil Liberties Union has aggressively tried to police the police, filing suit after suit against law enforcement agencies it believed crossed the line.
Now, the ACLU’s New Jersey chapter has gone beyond the courtroom, introducing a smartphone application to allow state residents to secretly record police stops, protect the recordings from being deleted by displeased officers and report the incidents to civil rights groups.
"This app provides an essential tool for police accountability," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey.
The arrival of the app, called Police Tape, follows some high-profile cases in which police have clashed with citizens over their recording of officers. It also speaks to the notion that, anywhere, any time — whether it’s by a police department’s security camera or a motorist’s cell phone — everyone can be recorded.
Citizens have been hassled and even arrested after recording police officers in public places, said Alexander Shalom, ACLU New Jersey’s policy counsel. At times, their phones have been taken away and recordings deleted, he said.
"Police often videotape civilians and civilians have a constitutionally protected right to videotape police," Shalom said. "When people know they’re being watched, they tend to behave well."
The app, which debuts only for Android devices but will be available for iPhones later this month, is simple to use and can be downloaded at aclu-nj.org/app. It opens to a screen with three buttons: video recording, audio recording and a tutorial on knowing your rights.
The app’s signature feature is its ability to operate in "stealth mode" while recording. When you start video recording, the screen goes black, as if it's off. When recording audio, the app automatically minimizes and disappears.
The issue of recording police on smartphones has drawn controversy in Newark, where then 16-year-old Khaliah Fitchette recorded two officers aiding a man on a public bus in March 2010. Police removed Fitchette from the bus and handcuffed her after she refused to stop filming, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the teen by the ACLU and the Seton Hall Center for Social Justice last March. After a three-hour ordeal, Fitchette was released to her mother, the lawsuit says.
New Jersey is only the second state to have this type of app available to smartphone users, Shalom said. The app developer, a watchdog group called OpenWatch, calls these types of programs "reverse surveillance."
New York Civil Liberties Union introduced a similar smartphone app last month called "Stop and Frisk Watch," a reference to the New York Police Department’s controversial search practices.
Recordings are protected from erasure because it’s not readily apparent how to delete without going through a multi-step process. Incidents sent to the ACLU via the app get reviewed and also saved to an external server. The iPhone version will only have an audio recording option.
Chris Tyminski, longtime president of Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 183, which represents Essex County sheriff’s officers, said an app like this can "blindside" a law enforcement officer but maintained, "We have nothing to hide."
"Guys are basically told, conduct yourself as if you’re always being recorded, that’s the safest way," he said. However, he said, it’s unfair when groups like the ACLU "judge a life or death split second decision that a cop makes, when they have days and days and roundtables to discuss what a cop should have done in those three seconds."
James Stewart, president of the Newark Fraternal Order of Police, said people using the app also need to use common sense.
"I also hope that if a police officer is attempting to stop an individual on the street, that person is not suddenly trying to pull a phone from his pocket in an attempt to film a police encounter," he said.
Shalom agrees that the majority of law enforcement don’t need to worry about the app.
"Police officers who break the rules, who don’t behave, are the exception not the rule," he said. "It’s only the minority of officers who are flouting the rules who should be concerned about the app."
Star-Ledger staff writers Alexi Friedman and Ryan Hutchins contributed to this report.
Related coverage:
• Q&A: ACLU, Newark police directors talk reform
• State Police beating of disabled man condemned by ACLU, lawmakerBucks Blog The Journal Sentinel sports staff brings Milwaukee Bucks fans the latest news, notes and analysis SHARE
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Bucks center Larry Sanders underwent a minor outpatient surgical procedure on Friday at Froedtert Hospital but should return in time for the regular-season opener in Charlotte on Oct. 29, the team announced.
Sanders will not play in the final three preseason games but is expected to be back on the practice court at some point before the opener against the Hornets. The Bucks play Friday night against Minnesota in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and travel to New York to play the Knicks on Monday night. They conclude the preseason vs. Minnesota on Wednesday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The 6-11 Sanders has played well during the exhibition schedule, before his ailment kept him out of practice during the past week. He also missed the Bucks' game at Cleveland on Tuesday.
In three appearances during the preseason Sanders has averaged a double-double (10.7 points and 10 rebounds). He opened with a 10-point, 15-rebound performance against the Memphis Grizzlies and came off the bench the next night against Detroit, contributing eight points and seven rebounds.
On Saturday against the Chicago Bulls, Sanders scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out in the Bucks' 91-85 loss.
Sanders was limited to 23 games played last season due to a pair of injuries and underwent a pair of surgeries - on his right thumb and to repair a right orbital fracture. He has responded well to coach Jason Kidd and the new staff and his contributions are expected to be critical for a young Bucks squad this season.The past three decades have seen The Tick taking on many forms, starting off as a comic book series and subsequently transitioning into an animated series and short-lived live-action series, but now, the property has found a new home on Amazon Prime Video. The rebooted, Peter Serafinowicz-led Tick series officially debuted on the streaming service last August (after its pilot debuted in August 2016), and it has been making a splash with both critics and general audiences ever since.
Stars Scott Speiser (Overkill), Brendan Hines (Superian) and Yara Martinez (Miss Lint) and executive producer Barry Josephson answered a few questions about working with Amazon, the on-set environment and more during a New York Comic Con interview with Flickering Myth.
How much improv is allowed on set? Scott, I know you have a [Groundlings] background, so are you allowed to draw upon that in scenes?
Scott Speiser: It took me a while to feel comfortable jumping into that because I didn’t write the script and the script is [already] great. As with anyone making a movie or TV show, you want to get what’s on paper in the can, at least, once, so that the script is [represented]. I found that with Ben, David and Barry, and whoever the director was, I would try some things here and there… I think everyone tried some things, and we weren’t met with much resistance. If it didn’t work, they’d let you know. But especially at the end of scenes, a lot of tags, we’re able to [improv] and if they don’t want to use it they just cut right before it. I was nervous at first, but once I started they were very receptive and seemed to accept it and have fun with it.
Brendan Hines: There were a number of moments where we were free to have that elbow room and have that space to muscle around within the script once we did get the point across. We got the narrative out of the way and then we could joke around in |
Why not? Are you a Catholic? Then we can burn you too, you seem to like it so much. I'll help you in if you like." The fat boy kept bumping him further and further as he spoke.
Tom had been painfully taught to hold his tongue, but he wanted badly to inform Jameson of his own fiery fate. But Jameson would once again use his weight to overcome Tom if he spoke up. Tom would probably find himself on the ground begging for mercy while vowing silent vengeance as the other children laughed.
Jameson leaned back a little further and pushed toward Tom extra hard this time to completely knock him down. Tom held steady, and stood up just as Jameson was about to impact him, leaving him to fall into the dirt as he simply walked to the other side of the fire, where Matthew Merrick was quietly sitting alone.
"Yeah, run away Tom! I'll see you later." Jameson's voice sounded less angry than it ought, almost as though the warmth of the flames this close washed away a little of the power the boy had over Tom. Jameson kept speaking as Tom was making his way to Merrick, but the quiet roar of the camp fire prevented noise like an invisible wall.
Tom sat down beside Matthew and looked at the boy; he nodded at Tom. Tom returned the nod, knowing that was all the interaction the boy would expect, or want from him. That was precisely why he preferred Matthew's company to any of the other children's.
Tom glanced back over towards Jameson, taking some effort to ignore the flames, and he noticed the fat boy had forgotten that Tom existed and was now tormenting some other smaller child.
Always picking on those smaller and weaker... coward!
Tom didn't let the fat boy occupy his thoughts too long: the fire was calling to him.
He stared into the white orange glow. While there were children standing close to the flame and warming their hands, Tom didn't notice them, they were outside the fire.
The flames had texture to them, they weren't quite a substance, but they were... something. They felt like that something that Tom could just feel in the air sometimes, and he could feel it now.
The base of the fire was orange coals, spewing sparks and giving life to snakes of flame. As Tom watched the coals, they seemed to glow stronger, orange slowly became white, as though a wind was fanning them and raising the temperature.
Tom let his eyes creep upwards a little and look at the bottom of the flames, wide and inconsistent.
Fire should not waver or flicker…
(The children standing near the inferno stepped back a couple of paces suddenly, but Tom failed to notice that.)
Tom watched the tongues of fire reach upwards, moving back and forth, as though they were waving to him. He could almost see shapes forming - the long thin streaks of flames started to look more like snakes. Tom's head turned to the side and his mouth opened a little as he watched... the snakes had form, he could see their heads, and their tongues lashing out. He could see their scales and eyes, their colors even…
Tom blinked twice; the blues, greens, purples and other colors that fire shouldn't have started to fade away, and Tom was sure he had imagined it, though when he looked around a few of the other children had confused looks on their faces as well.
Madam Chani had returned from wherever she had gone an hour ago to leave the group to their own devices, and she was walking a little unsteadily. Her voice however was as loud and clear as ever.
"All together now children, back home we go."
She didn't actually look at any of the children when she said it, but they all heard, and they obeyed. Slowly they gathered their things and made their way back to the orphanage.
Nearly everybody was walking home, but Tom lingered walking slowing and watching the fire.
Somebody should have put that out, there are leaves everywhere…
Nobody else seemed to care that there was an unattended bonfire blazing in the middle of London; Tom didn't understand why he was the only one who saw the potential in the strange, indescribable power which coursed through a fire.
It'll be 1666 all over again.
Tom caught up to the line of orphans, but he couldn't help staring at the sky as he walked. He made out Orion, and Cygnus, and -
"Eyes front, Riddle," said his roommate, Alexander, who'd he'd just bumped into.
Tom slowed his pace just enough that he wouldn't stumble, and let the majesty of the Milky Way absorb him on the walk home.Destination area to border Terry Hershey Park
An aerial rendering of Republic Square, a development consisting of office, hotel and residential buildings with street-level restaurants and retailers. It will border Terry Hershey Park.An aerial rendering of Republic Square, a development consisting of office, hotel and residential buildings with street-level restaurants and retailers. It will border Terry Hershey Park. less An aerial rendering of Republic Square, a development consisting of office, hotel and residential buildings with street-level restaurants and retailers. It will border Terry Hershey Park.An aerial rendering of... more Photo: Courtesy Photo: Courtesy Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Destination area to border Terry Hershey Park 1 / 3 Back to Gallery
The company behind a billion-dollar mixed-use development in the Energy Corridor District has bought into a plan to establish a central destination within the area.
The Energy Corridor, an improvement district that consists of more than 1,700 acres along both sides of Interstate 10 in west Houston, recently released its master plan.
It is a long-term mobility, development and ecological design wish list for the area that includes turning Harris County Precinct 3's Terry Hershey Park into a destination for recreation, arts and events.
At least one stakeholder in the area, PM Realty Group, is on board. The company revealed its plan May 28 to convert a 35-acre site next to the county park into Republic Square, a development featuring office, retail, restaurant, hotel and residential space.
Located between Interstate 10 and Memorial Drive, the property is the former site of ExxonMobil Chemical's headquarters, and PM Realty Group plans to incorporate a number of the Energy Corridor District's master plan guidelines to create a pedestrian-and-eco-friendly destination that could get more people to and from the Terry Hershey Park.
To do that, the developer is proposing to add to the area's publically accessible greenspace and connect streets and trails into the park.
"From the very beginning, because we are next door to this park, we felt it was extremely critical to take competitive advantage given the large amount of open space and the trail system there," said Dan Leverett, executive vice president and managing director of development of PM Realty Group.
Infrastructure construction will begin in the first quarter of 2016. The first buildings will begin in the third quarter of 2016 and the first phase will be complete the last quarter of 2017 or early 2018.
The development is to consist of office, hotel and residential buildings with street-level restaurants and retailers.
Republic Square will have two-full-service hotels with a connected conference space, more than 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and approximately 800 multifamily residential units.
The southeastern corner of the former ExxonMobil property also includes greenspace featuring a pond that PM Realty will open for public use.
The Square, an outdoor venue for social events, concerts and other programming, also will be located in the heart of the development.
Plans are to fashion Republic Square into a walkable urban community, Leverett said.
Everything is to be arranged around a series of public spaces and a system of pathways and tree-lined streets that connect the development to the western edge of Terry Hershey Park.
Most people, Leverett said, would be able to walk between the park and Republic Square's destinations within five minutes.
That could be very beneficial to the approximately 9,000 employees who work a short distance away at the BP complex who would then be able to go through Republic Square to access the county park, said Alan Ward, a principal with urban planning and design firm Sasaki Associates Inc.
Sasaki Associates helped plan Republic Square alongside a team of architects, design consultants and landscape engineers working for PM Realty Group.
Sasaki Associates also had a hand in developing the Energy Corridor District's master plan.
Ward said the park and existing greenspace on the old ExxonMobil site wrap around what will become Republic Square.
"The idea is that you have all of these active uses that connect out into the park," he said. "We've designed it in a way so that the major square in the middle of Republic Square leads right out to the pond to the south, streets extend east-west into the park, so the park will pick up all of this circulation that extends right back into Republic Square."
Ward said Republic Square's design reinforces many elements of the district's master plan, which he said provides stakeholders like PM Realty a guideline for future development in the area.
"The new master plan is inspirational in terms of what the future could be in The Energy Corridor," said Mark Klein, who handles communications for the improvement district.
Design principals of the plan are aimed at making the corridor "an even more livable place in the future," he said, by embracing natural landscapes, building public spaces, developing complete streets that integrate transit services, and the encouragement of bicycle use. Aligned with the district's master plan, PM Realty Group is proposing to create several smaller open spaces within Republic Square, including some rooftop greenspaces for office-building employees to access. Republic Square's streets also are to be designed for dual use by automobiles and bicycles.
An expanded street network is another element the Energy Corridor District's master plan envisions is needed to create better accessibility throughout the area. PM Realty Group's street plans for its master-planned community include a north-south parkway to run from Memorial Drive to I-10 frontage road at the edge of Terry Hershey Park. The developer also is proposing to extend Grisby Street through Republic Square to the park.
More information
The improvement district's master plan is publicly accessible online at www.energycorridor.org, and officials with the improvement district have been marketing the plan to property and business owners, neighborhood leaders, Metro, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and others that have a stake in the area.My 34-year-old sister, call her "Carrie," came out to the family a week ago and is looking for us all to support the decisions she's making surrounding her coming out.
Background: My sister has been somewhat happily married for 14 years and has four children, all under the age of 12. She wants to move her kids 3,000 miles away to be with the woman she has fallen in love with—call her "Louise." Louise is also married with kids. Both are stay-at-home moms. Carrie and Louise have met in person three times over three months. The first time was through a mothers' support group. The second time they met, they got drunk and hooked up. About a month after this, they spent a long weekend together with their kids. They are now in love, speak on the phone several times a day, and have both told their husbands and families.
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Louise has told Carrie that she won't move, as she wants her kids to be able to see their father on a regular basis and doesn't think she could win custody. She has asked my sister to move with her kids to be with Louise and her kids. My sister's husband wants to be able to see his children and plans to ask that she be required to stay in the state as part of their custody agreement. My sister is willing to fight this tooth and nail so that she can be with Louise. My sister has no money of her own.
My question is this: How do I support my sister but still make sure that she doesn't back herself into a legal and financial quagmire over a person she has met only three times?
Concerned Sister
Why would you even consider supporting your sister?
Backing up for a moment: Your sister has made two separate and distinct decisions, CS, and your family needs to keep them separate. First, your sister has decided to come out as a lesbian. You can support the hell out of that—shit, throw her dyke ass a coming-out party. Second, your sister has decided to do something so colossally stupid, so selfish and cruel, that you would be guilty of supportive-sibling malpractice if you, out of loyalty or guilt or cowardice, offered her even your tepid support.
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So your sister's a lesbian—fabulous. But that doesn't give her the right to interfere with her soon-to-be ex-husband's right to have a relationship with his children. And what of her children's right to have a relationship with their father? In this instance, CS, your familial allegiance to your nieces and nephews and, yes, to your brother-in-law, outweighs whatever allegiance you owe your sister. She's selfishly fucking over her husband—a human being and a member of your family too—as well as their kids, not only taking them from their father, but from the rest of their family, their friends, and their schools. And all for what? Because she's a lesbian now? No, because she's a selfish, love-struck dumbfuck planning to run off with someone she barely knows.
Don't let your sister manipulate you into supporting her selfish, stupid decision by presenting it to you as some intrinsic aspect of her lesbianism. (Bad haircuts, well-trimmed fingernails, and cunnilingus? Intrinsic aspects of lesbianism. Fucking over your whole family? Not so much.) You can't allow your fear of being accused of homophobia prevent you from telling your sister to her pussy-chompin' face that she's in the wrong. When she plays the homophobia card, tell her you would feel exactly the same way if she were leaving her husband for a man she barely knew.
Finally, tell your sister from me that if she wants to have her family's support, then she and her new love have to earn it. For the sake of her kids, for the sake of her soon-to-be ex, she needs to stay put. She'll have plenty of opportunity to fly out to see her new love on the weekends when her ex has the kids. If she whines about how hard long-distance relationships are, tell her that being left for another person is hard, too, to say nothing of watching your parents' marriage fall apart. Her husband is suffering, her kids are suffering—why the fuck shouldn't she?
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You write that you met your boyfriend "when I was 23" 11 years ago. C'mon, Dan! You're not 34 (23 + 11, as the column says), at least according to multiple online sources. (Wikipedia can be edited, but it's got the same date as IMDB and lots of other places.) Lying about your age is beneath you!
Boy Utterly Saddened To Encounter Deceit
You're right, BUSTED, I really shouldn't lie about my age. But I worry that people won't take my love-and-sex advice seriously when they learn that I'm only 27 and I've been with the same guy for 11 years. Readers might conclude that I can't know all that much about dating, relationships, and heartbreak if I've been with the same guy since my junior year of high school. But I guess the cat's out of the bag now—damn you, Wikipedia!
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I am a professional dominatrix located in Boston. I read the inquiry from the clueless, potential male submissive in last week's column. My first thought on reading of Cock Blue Today's antics with his penis and the frying pan was that his letter was made up. My second thought was "No, this is just too stupid and random to be fiction."
You were absolutely correct in your response. He was worried about meeting a dominant for fear that she wouldn't care about doing "permanent damage" to him. Of course a professional dominatrix cares if she does permanent damage! That is WHY we are professionals, and not crack-smoking harridans mindlessly wielding whips. Jesus. I wanted to put my boot in his ass for asking such an idiotic question. We wouldn't be in business if we left quivering, destroyed heaps of man-meat in our wake. (That costs extra.)
Why don't you put me in contact with this clown? He needs tutoring in common sense as well as the scene in general.
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Ava, The Laughing Mistress Of Boston
thelaughingmistress.com
In CBT's defense, Ava, he wasn't looking to meet a professional dominatrix—but a dominant, sadistic woman. And while I can't put you in touch with CBT, Ava, I've included the address of your website in case he wants to get in touch with you.
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Hey, everybody: So I'm going to start doing a podcast. The kids love 'em, you see, and I won't be able to get this Steve Jobs guy off my back until I start doing one. Have you ever wanted to ask me a question but lost your nerve or sobered up before you could send me an email? Well, now you'll be able to drunk-dial me and record a question from the comfort of that bar, washroom, bedroom, or dungeon. The number: 206-201-2720. Call and ask, I'll listen and advise. When the podcast launches, I'll announce it in this space.
Short items: Evangelical Christians are addicted to pornography, according to a survey by ChristiaNet.com. But like drunks supporting prohibition, the American Taliban is agitating to get porn removed from hotel rooms. (Check out the new website CleanHotels.com.) Meanwhile, the school board in Canton, Ohio, has added contraception to their sex-ed programs—it had been abstinence only—when they realized that 13 percent of the female students at one high school were pregnant. Good work, American Taliban!Life expectancy linked to DNA length
Researchers have been able to predict survival rates among patients with heart disease based on the length of strands of DNA found on the ends of chromosomes known as telomeres. The new study found that the longer the patient’s telomeres, the greater the chance of living a longer life.
Previous research has shown that length of telomere can be used as a measure of age, but these expanded findings suggest that they may also predict the life expectancy of patients with heart disease. Telomeres protect the ends of chromosome from becoming damaged. As people get older, their telomeres get shorter until the cell is unable to divide.
John Carlquist, PhD, director of the Intermountain Heart Institute Genetics Lab said once telomeres become too short, they no longer function properly, signalling the end of life for the cell and when cells reach this stage, the patient’s risk for age-associated diseases increases dramatically. Carlquist and his colleagues from the Intermountain Heart Institute at IntermountainMedical Center tested the DNA samples from more than 3,500 heart attack and stroke patients.
He said that their research shows that if statistically adjusted for age, patients with longer telomeres live longer, suggesting that telomere length is more than just a measure of age, but may also indicate the probability for survival.
Longer telomere length directly correlate with the likelihood for a longer life—even for patients with heart disease.
Quantum computing moves closer to reality
New technologies that exploit quantum behaviour for computing and other applications are closer than ever to being a reality due to recent advances. These advances could enable the creation of immensely powerful computers as well as other applications, such as highly sensitive detectors capable of probing biological systems.
“We are really excited about the possibilities of new semiconductor materials and new experimental systems that have become available in the last decade,” Jason Petta, one of the authors of the report and an associate professor of physics at Princeton University said.
Petta co-authored the article with David Awschalom of the University of Chicago, Lee Basset of the University of California-Santa Barbara, Andrew Dzurak of the University of New South Wales and Evelyn Hu of Harvard University.
Two significant breakthroughs are enabling this forward progress, Petta said in an interview.
The first is the ability to control quantum units of information, known as quantum bits, at room temperature. Until recently, temperatures near absolute zero were required, but new diamond-based materials allow spin qubits to be operated on a table top, at room temperature.
Stonehenge was a huge burial ground
A new theory proposed by British researchers suggests Stonehenge may have started as a giant burial ground for elite families around 3,000 BC.
According to the researchers, new studies of cremated human remains excavated from the site suggest that about 500 years before the Stonehenge was built, a larger stone circle was erected at the same site as a community graveyard. These were men, women, children and it seems they belong to family groups, said University College London professor Mike Parker Pearson, who led the team.
"We'd thought that maybe it was a place where a dynasty of kings was buried, but this seemed to be much more of a community, a different kind of power structure," the new channel quoted Parker Pearson as saying.
Archeologists who studied the cremated bones of 63 individuals believe they were buried around 3,000 B.C, said Parker Pearson.
The location of many of the cremated bodies was originally marked by bluestones, he said.Kenneth Lankford pleaded not guilty last Thursday to murdering his wife Terry Lankford and another woman, Carol Fowler, in Black Forest, Colorado, in Nov. 2013.
Lankford, 47, also allegedly shot and wounded Fowler's husband.
Lankford reportedly told sheriff's detectives that he shot his wife as a mercy killing after a gun accidentally fired and injured her. Lankford allegedly told deputies that he shot both the Fowlers, reports KRDO.
According to the police report, Lankford claimed that he and Terry were at home when a man and a woman knocked at their front door.
Lankford and Terry went upstairs to hide because Lankford has a prior record. Lankford reportedly claims that his wife reached for his gun, the two struggled and she was accidentally shot.
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"[Lankford] said Terry was making the most 'God-awful gurgling sound,' and he felt horrible, so he held the gun with both hands and shot her to put her out of her misery," Sheriff's Sgt. Greg White stated in his police report, notes ColoradoSprings.com.
Lankford allegedly told deputies that he wanted to find who was knocking on the door, so he followed a car to the Fowler's home where he allegedly shot Thomas Fowler once in the face and Carol Fowler in the chest, collarbone and head.
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"He said he didn't mean to shoot his wife, and he didn't mean to hurt the man, but that the woman's death was definitely a murder," said Sgt. White.
Lankford's mental stability has also been brought into question. He has admitted to smoking methamphetamine regularly, including the night before the murders.
Lankford is scheduled to go on trial in October.
Sources: ColoradoSprings.com, KRDO
undefinedMore than $3 million has poured into the race — more than for some recent U.S. congressional races in Washington. The winner will determine whether Democrats or Republicans control Washington’s state Senate.
Democrat Manka Dhingra took a comfortable lead Tuesday evening over Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund in a key special Washington Senate election that will determine the balance of power in Olympia.
In the initial returns, Dhingra led with 50.5 percent of the vote in the 45th District race to fill a vacancy created last year by the death of Sen. Andy Hill, R-Redmond. Englund got about 42.5 percent.
The contest will decide whether the GOP keeps its one-seat majority in the state Senate. Democrats hold a slim majority in the state House, as well as the governorship.
Component post 10453202 could not be found.
Already, more than $3 million has poured into the race. Just last week, independent political committees reported spending $500,000 in the race — most of it against Dhingra. “The message I was getting at the doors and from the people in the community is that they were really upset about the ads,” said Dhingra.
Democrats have coalesced around Dhingra, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for King County. In that job, Dhingra supervises a regional mental-health court, a veterans court and a diversion program.
She has pledged to better fund education and raise new revenue through a tax on capital gains, rather than the property-tax shift that lawmakers approved this year to fund a court-ordered K-12 school funding plan. Dhingra has also talked about changing the culture in Olympia to avoid gridlock and address problems with more long-term solutions.
Republicans have rallied behind Englund, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and spokeswoman for the Bitcoin Foundation. Recently, Englund managed a team that developed a phone app to help the U.S. Marine Corps, in which her husband serves.
Englund has campaigned hard against the notion of a state income tax, which Dhingra also has said she opposes. Englund wants to ease traffic on I-405 by converting one of the HOV lanes into a general-purpose lane. And she has also pledged to cut car-tab fees that voters approved to fund Sound Transit 3.
Tuesday night, Englund described the race as, “a choice between a candidate who will raise or create new taxes, and a candidate who won’t.”https://www.instagram.com/p/BHzmppAgH0y/
Reese Witherspoon celebrated the 15th anniversary of Legally Blonde the only way she could: by doing the Bend and Snap!
The Oscar-winning actress, 40, did Elle Woods' signature move in a Boomerang video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, July 13. (ICYMI way back when: Elle taught her beloved manicurist the bouncy move in an attempt to help her flirt.) And she wore a pink lace dress that her bubbly character would adore.
PHOTOS: HBD, Legally Blonde! Relive All of Elle Woods' Pinkest Styles
"Happiest #LegallyBlonde15! 💖🎉💕💁," Witherspoon captioned the clip. "In honor of the 15th anniversary of #LegallyBlonde, go to @instagram's page to see my interview, along with full instructions on how to #BendAndSnap! 😘 Also show me what ya got!! Use #LegallyBlonde15 to share your celebrations! 🎀💋💋💋"
Equally charming, the mom of three — she shares Ava, 16, and Deacon, 12, with ex Ryan Phillippe, and Tennessee, 3, with husband Jim Toth — shared a second post dedicated to the 2001 film with an inspirational message. Referencing the pivotal moment at the start of the film, when her boyfriend dumps her before leaving for Harvard, the quote pic read, "Live every day like Elle Woods after Warner said she wasn't smart enough for law school."
PHOTOS: Reese's Cool Mom Street Style
Witherspoon started hyping the anniversary of the film on Tuesday via Instagram, which shared an exclusive interview with the actress on Wednesday. "I have had so many women say, 'I went to law school because of 'Legally Blonde,'" she told the social media outlet. "It actually had a meaningful story. And it was about female empowerment. It wasn't necessarily about the girl getting the guy.”
PHOTOS: 2000s Pop Stars, Then and Now
As for the Bend and Snap? “That is still the most asked request I get from people," Witherspoon said. "I have a feeling I will be doing the bend and snap until I am 95."
To do the move at home, follow Witherspoon's instructions, as she shared them with Instagram: "You pretend you're dropping something — whoops! — and you beeeeend and then you snap! And that's how it's done." (Watch her in action here.)
And as if that weren't enough, the Sweet Home Alabama actress recreated the film's most famous moments via Snapchat — while clad in her original costumes! (She still has them all, she revealed.) Her last video was a thank you to the fans: "Thank you so much for walking down memory lane with me! That was so fun. And thank you to all the fans of Legally Blonde out there. It just made my day to share this with you!"
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TORONTO, ON – Blogger Zach Bussey reports that Molson Coors Canada has issued a recall for the wide mouth aluminum bottles of Molson Canadian and Coors Light that were launched with much fanfare earlier this year.
According to the recall notice, the brewery has stopped shipment of the two beers in the wide mouth bottle format due to “some instances of an overly aged flavour” being reported. Bottles currently out in retail locations will also be pulled from shelves.
The statement also notes that the recall does not affect Coors Light Iced T, the only other beer available in the distinctive format, and that it is unknown when wide mouth bottles of Canadian and Coors Light will return to market.Underground shelters built in fear of a nuclear attack were usually cramped spaces with just enough amenities to survive a few months. When wealthy recluse Girard “Jerry” B. Henderson built his Cold War bunker in 1978, he decided to ride out the end of the world in style.
The subterranean paradise at 3970 Spencer St. in Las Vegas was built 26 feet underground. At ground level a 2-bedroom caretaker house sits on the property. In the backyard, ventilation and air-conditioning units jut up from the dirt. Rocks conceal stairways and an elevator that lead down to the AstroTurf-covered front yard of the home below.
With its own generator and fuel tank, the home could sustain life for a year with a fully-stocked pantry in the event of a nuclear attack.
Henderson’s underground retreat includes a pool, two jacuzzis, a sauna, an outdoor BBQ grill inside a large fake rock, a dance floor, a putting green in the garden, adjustable light settings to match various times of the day and a hand-painting 360-degree mural of locations familiar to Henderson. A one-bedroom guest cabana is located beside the pool.
A tunnel once connected the house to the office building next door where Henderson worked, but that property was sold separately after Henderson’s death and the tunnel was filled in.
The Las Vegas house was the second bunker home designed and constructed by Texas contractors Kenneth and Jay Swayze for Henderson at a cost of $10 million. The first home is located somewhere near Boulder, Colorado.
Jay Swayze was a passionate advocate of underground living, authoring a book titled Underground gardens & homes: The best of two worlds, above and below.
After Henderson’s death in 1983, followed by his wife’s in 1989, the property passed to a distant relative. It was sold, and then lost to the bank due to foreclosure. It can be yours now for a mere $1.7 million, down from the 2001 price tag of $8 million.On February 3, Monique Rathbun’s attorneys produced surprise evidence in her harassment lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige.
That was the first day of a crucial hearing regarding Scientology’s “anti-SLAPP” motion. A week earlier, Scientology had been ordered to turn over any evidence it had in the form of video or photographs produced in the church’s years-long surveillance of Monique and her husband Mark ‘Marty’ Rathbun. As a result of that order, the church turned over a terabyte of video on an external drive, with hours and hours of surveillance footage.
Despite the volume of that evidence, Monique’s attorneys came to court on February 3 with a surprise. One of the segments of video that the church turned over was about a minute and a half long, had no audio track, and showed Monique Rathbun being filmed pulling into her driveway.
Monique’s attorney, Ray Jeffrey, told Comal County Judge Dib Waldrip that they had their own source for that particular segment, and it was 10 minutes long, contained an audio track, and showed that police were called to the location, and included Scientology’s videographers struggling to explain why they were following Monique, a woman who had never been a member of the Church of Scientology.
It was a damning revelation. When they submitted the 10-minute version of the video, Monique’s attorneys showed definitively that Scientology was selectively holding back evidence that might be harmful to its case. Judge Waldrip dressed down Scientology’s attorney, Ricardo Cedillo, telling him that it was his job to turn over everything the church was asked for, and not to edit it.
Now, we have that 10-minute video that Scientology apparently didn’t want the court to see.
We’ve already seen some Internet misinformation about the video, and when a small portion of it was shown on a San Antonio television station recently, it wasn’t really explained very well, so we want to make sure our readers understand what they’re seeing.
The video you’re going to see was shot in 2010, in Ingleside by the Bay, Texas, where Marty and Monique Rathbun were living at a house on Woodhaven Drive. (This was before they moved into another house in Ingleside by the Bay where the “Squirrel Busters” first confronted them in April 2011.)
At the very beginning of the video, we see a brief moment with Marty Rathbun and a law enforcement officer after they had confronted Scientology’s videographers. Then the video cuts, and the church’s hired men are positioned outside the Rathbun driveway, filming as Monique arrives. She then calls the police, and most of the segment shows the hired operatives trying to convince a cop that they are making a “documentary.”
What the video doesn’t show is that while Monique was on her own at the Woodhaven Drive home, Marty Rathbun had been with Mike Rinder, Christie Collbran, and John Brousseau as they were meeting with BBC reporter John Sweeney, who was in town making his 2010 Panorama film, “The Secrets of Scientology.” It was a followup to his 2007 Panorama episode, “Scientology and Me.”
The Scientology-hired videographer and his partner tell a local police officer that they are working for Elliot Abelson and with a private investigator named Monty Drake (who today is a defendant in Monique’s lawsuit). Elliot Abelson is a longtime lawyer for the church.
We’ve posted this video in the past, but we’ll show it again — when Mike Rinder was interviewed by Mark Bunker, he said that operatives were trained to say they were working for Abelson, when they were really getting their orders directly from church officials…
The video of Monique was filmed about a year before the Squirrel Busters showed up and started doing daily protests outside the home of the Rathbuns. But the point Monique’s team wants to make with this video is that there is no “free speech” fight going on here. It was made by an odd organization that was paying lawyers, private investigators, videographers and other operatives to stalk the wife of a former member — a women who had never said anything publicly about Scientology.
We look forward to hearing your impressions of the video.
Judge Dib Waldrip has the next 29 days to come up with a decision regarding Scientology’s anti-SLAPP motion. The church has tried to convince him that it is engaged in a war of ideas with Marty Rathbun, and that its years of surveilling him and his wife were legitimate forms of free speech. Monique, who was never a member of the church, argues that she didn’t deserve to go through years of being stalked with cameras, interrupted at her work, and pursued as she moved several times across the state. Our experts have pointed out numerous times that an anti-SLAPP motion is a tool used to fend off the bullying actions of a well-heeled plaintiff, and its use in this case is highly ironic, given Scientology’s reputation for well-heeled bullying.
As we wait for Waldrip’s decision, we’re expecting that Ray Jeffrey, Monique’s attorney, may re-file a motion for sanctions. Otherwise, the additional issues in the case — an order allowing Monique Rathbun to depose church leader David Miscavige, jurisdictional questions about Miscavige’s request to be dropped from the suit, and converting the temporary restraining order into a temporary injunction — will continue to be on hold until the anti-SLAPP motion is resolved.
Also, as we expected he would, Scientology’s attorney Wallace Jefferson (formerly the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court) on Friday filed a petition for a writ of mandamus, hoping to derail Judge Waldrip’s order that David Miscavige could be deposed. We’re waiting to see if the Texas Third Court of Appeals will allow the petition and grant Jefferson the ability to file for the writ. We’re checking with Ray Jeffrey today to see what he knows about it. (There is a large file of documents that Scientology filed with the appeals court — but it’s mostly stuff we posted earlier.)
For the curious, here’s the filing Scientology submitted in support of its petition. If you’ve been following the case, you’ll be familiar with the declarations filed by Allan Cartwright, Warren McShane, etc. There is a transcript of one of the hearings which we reported on, and now you can read Ricardo Cedillo’s mind-numbing detail for yourself…
Monique Rathbun v Scientology, Petition for writ of mandamus Supporting documents
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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 19, 2014 at 07:00
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Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS (We read Scientology’s founding text) 1, |
orseman #3 – Price and volatility of housing
With all the volatility around in the world Americans at least were able to count on housing as a safe investment. That was before investment banks got their hands on the mortgage backed securities market and turned it into another wild casino with the aid of the both political parties. Nationwide since the Great Depression in the 1930s home prices in the United States never saw an annual price decline. So something seriously went wrong when home prices today are now down by over 30 percent from their peak levels reached half a decade ago!
A home suddenly turned into a commodity that could be traded on or even used as another credit card. Maybe it could be used to compound the problem by taking a HELOC to go to one of those paper-mill colleges. What a mess and that is why having a strong consumer protection agency was so important but what we are getting is a stripped down shell. While there are tens of thousands of lobbyists protecting investment banks, where is the protection for the middle class? Of course the oligarchs will say that a hands off approach is necessary and who really wants a nanny state? Of course that is what they say but these are the people with the most protection and support from the government.
Horseman #4 – Fuel and energy
Finally the last horseman of the middle class apocalypse is energy costs. Our nation is built on a cheap energy model. It has a hard time sustaining solid growth once it goes over $30 a barrel. We use petrol in our plastics, fertilizers, cars, planes, and so many other things that once the price goes up the entire chain changes. Now look at the above chart. In 2000 the cost of a barrel of oil was $27 while today it is closer to $100 (more than tripled in this last decade). Yet incomes and according to government data, inflation has been rather quite over this time. The cost of college and healthcare has gone up even faster.
This is the new world we are living in. There is little desire or regard for the middle class from the oligarch machine. A big portion of their wealth is derived from robbing the lower classes (i.e., gambling on housing, swindling people into worthless paper, and charging people outrageous amounts of money for medicine that may or may not produce statistically different results). They also have convinced many that they are simply temporarily embarrassed millionaires waiting for their turn to get rich quick if only the government got their hands off their money (of course 1 out of 3 Americans has zero dollars saved up). We are living in a time where the middle class is being asked to cut back to bail out the banking machine of Wall Street while at the same time being asked to tighten its belts. Sure sounds like we are doing what is right for the middle class.
If you enjoyed this post click here to subscribe to a complete feed and stay up to date with today’s challenging market!Spectacular view of thousands of Devil Rays as they mass off the Californian coast scoops top photography prize
Packed fin to gill as they swim in tight formation, this incredible picture of rays swimming through the ocean in a colossal school has scooped a top photography prize,
The thousands-strong group of Munkiana Devil Rays were spotted in Baja California Sur, Mexico, by German conservation photographer Florian Schulz.
The remarkable photo won the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2010 awards.
Schulz, who went on to become the overall winner after topping the Underwater World pool, described how he was able to capture his jaw-dropping image named Flight of the Rays.
Winner of the Underwater group and overall winner of the competition: 'Flight of the Rays' by Florian Schulz from Germany, which shows an unprecedented congregation of Munkiana Devil Rays in Baja California Sur, Mexico
Schulz said: 'During an aerial expedition I came across something I had never seen before. Not even my pilot, who has surveyed this area for 20 years, had seen anything like it.
'As we got closer we started to discover its nature: an unprecedented congregation of rays. The group was as thick as it was wide, all heading towards the same direction.
'I have asked around why this took place but no one has been able to explain it to me.
'After such a unique sighting, I realise there are so many marvels in the oceans that we are yet to understand. Our knowledge of the oceans is so limited. I just hope that we are in time to rescue it before it collapses from pollution and over fishing.'
Winner of the Under 21 group: 'The Fortune Teller' by Radoslav Radoslavov Valkov. This picture of a fly was taken Radoslav's back garden in Bulgaria
Finalist in the Underwater group: Bela Nasfay's picture titled 'Birthplace' In one of the small spring-fed lakes of an Hungarian mountain, the European Common Brown Frogs have already laid their eggs on the bottom by April. The tadpoles are waiting for the moment of their birth.
Finalist in the Changing Climate group: Sue Floods' picture of the North Pole sign in melting ice and meltwater
Organised by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the contest this year received over 4,500 entries from photographers in 97 countries.
The competition is an international showcase for the best in environmental photography, honouring amateur and professional photographers who use their ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues.
The Young Environmental Photographer of the Year title was taken by Radoslav Radoslavov Valkov.
Amateur Radoslav, 20, created his stunning macro image of a fly drinking from a dew drop on a blade of grass in his back garden in Bulgaria.
udges gave their verdicts on eight categories made up of 'Mott MacDonald's Changing Climates', 'The Natural World', 'Quality of Life', 'Innovation in the Environment', 'The Underwater World', 'A View From the Western World' and the 'Young Environmental Photographer of the Year' for under-16s and under-21s.
Winner of Natural World group: Winner Bence Mate's picture of a Hummingbird attacking a green pit viper
Finalist in the Under 16 group: Alex Marttunen's picture titled 'Home Sweet Home' which shows a Hermit crab using a bottle top in place of a shell.
The panel of judges spent all of August going through every entry, shortlisting images that were contemporary, creative, resonant, original and beautiful. The winners are sharing a prize fund of nearly £5,000.
Other winners included Brit Ashley Cooper, from Cumbria, for his picture of the UK's largest climate change protest, which saw him topping the 'Mott MacDonald's Changing Climates' group.
Mott MacDonald is a consultancy with an active role in helping organisations and communities around the world mitigate the causes of climate change and adapt to its impacts.
Further pictures winning or being shortlisted included of a Pit Viper ready to strike a hummingbird, 15-year-old sex worker 'Nodi' in Bangladesh, and a hermit-crab using a broken bottle-top as a makeshift shell.
Winning photographers will have their images showcased in a free international exhibition, which launches at The Air Gallery in London from October 25-30. For more information visit www.epoty.org.
Finalist in the Underwater group: Kaido Haagen's picture titled 'Hide and Seek'. A Grey Seal near the island of Vilsandi, EstoniaIllustration by Michael Toland
Recipe courtesy of chef Wolfgang Puck.
SERVINGS
8 to 12
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
5 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish
Unsweetened whipped cream, for garnish
Fresh berries, for garnish
PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-inch round cake pan and line bottom with a piece of parchment paper, using pan as a guide to cut out paper.
2. Bring a pan of water or bottom of double boiler to boil. Reduce heat to maintain a fair simmer. In top half of double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl set over but not touching water, melt chocolate and butter together, stirring occasionally. Set chocolate-butter mixture aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, put egg yolks and all but 3 tablespoons sugar. Whisk until sugar has dissolved and yolks are smooth. Whisking continuously, slowly pour in melted chocolate until thoroughly combined.
4. Put egg whites and salt in a clean bowl. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted out. Gradually sprinkle and beat in remaining sugar, and continue to beat until egg whites form stiff but not dry-looking peaks when beaters are lifted out.
5. Stir a dollop of egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Then, 1/3 at a time, gently fold chocolate mixture into egg whites just until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into prepared cake pan.
6. Bake cake until looks firm and set but a wooden toothpick inserted into center still comes out slightly moist, about 45 minutes. Immediately turn cake out onto cooling rack by using pot holders or oven gloves to hold rack securely on top of pan, and then invert them together and lift off pan. Peel off parchment paper. As cake cools, its center will sink and crack, but do not worry.
7. Before serving, put some confectioners' sugar in a fine-meshed sieve held over cake, and tap sieve to dust cake with sugar. Cut cake into wedges and serve with unsweetened whipped cream or berries.
Back to Chef Puck's bio.The Intel Compute Stick is a remarkably small computer that turns just about any display into a Windows (or Ubuntu) PC for about $150. But it’s not a perfect device: there’s a tiny fan which makes a high-pitched (but fairly quiet) sound from time to time, and I found the Compute Stick suffered from poor WiFi range.
A new PC-on-a-stick from Chinese device maker Mele attempts to tackle both of those issues.
The Mele PCG-01 is available for pre-order from Mele’s Amazon and AliExpress stores for $139.
Like the Intel Compute Stick, this computer is small enough to fit in your pocket, but powerful enough to run a desktop operating system. It comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing software and features an Intel Atom Z3735F Bay Trail processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
The stick supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 and features a microSD card slot, a full-sized USB port, two micro USB ports (one of which is used as a power jack), and a power button.
Unlike the Intel Compute Stick, this model has an external, adjustable antenna which could help improve WiFi performance, but I haven’t personally tested this device, so I can’t say for certain that it helps.
And unlike the Compute Stick, the Mele PCG-01 has no fan: instead it relies on a copper heat sink, heat-conductive silicone rubber, and other insulation techniques to prevent the computer from getting too hot.
This isn’t the first fanless PC stick… in fact, up until recently, most of the models I’d seen lacked fans, which some users had complained lead to performance issues. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Mele PCG-01 fares any better. But this is one of the first models I’ve seen that has an adjustable antenna.
Some other Chinese companies have also shipped PC sticks with unlicensed trial versions of Windows, but Mele says the PCG-01 comes with a fully functional Windows 8.1 license that has been paid for.
via AndroidPC.es and Notebook ItaliaJeri Ryan
Marina Sirtis
Star Trek
Enterprise NX-01
Star Trek Monthly
She became a model at the young age of 17 and modeled in Europe and Asia. Blalock also appeared in various magazines like Maxim, FHM and Playboy. She got tired of modeling and began taking small acting roles saying, "I'm jaded by my experiences in the modelling industry. You're never skinny or perfect enough and it was difficult mentally making the transition to acting." When Blalock was offered the role of the Vulcan T'Pol, she initially turned it down since none of the spin-off shows interested her. To persuade her to take the role, her agent gave her the script for the pilot episode, "Broken Bow". Blalock loved it so much she took the role. Co-creator and executive producer Rick Berman said, "We read hundreds of actresses and Jolene [Blalock] was in the last group we read. And she just blew us away."
But she said the role was She became a model at the young age of 17 and modeled in Europe and Asia. Blalock also appeared in various magazines like Maxim, FHM and Playboy. She got tired of modeling and began taking small acting roles saying, "I'm jaded by my experiences in the modelling industry. You're never skinny or perfect enough and it was difficult mentally making the transition to acting." When Blalock was offered the role of the Vulcan T'Pol, she initially turned it down since none of the spin-off shows interested her. To persuade her to take the role, her agent gave her the script for the pilot episode, "Broken Bow". Blalock loved it so much she took the role. Co-creator and executive producersaid, "We read hundreds of actresses and Jolene [Blalock] was in the last group we read. And she just blew us away."But she said the role was a challenge. "It's been challenging for me [to play a stoic Vulcan] because I'm very expressive," Blalock explained. "But it's opening up avenues that I didn't know I was capable of doing well. It's taking things to such an acute level, where it's just all in the eyes. You can say everything that you need to say in the eyes, because language itself is so limiting. There's so much to say in words, but how much can words really express?
"[As T'Pol], if you can just be present, say what you want with your presence, with your eyes with your intention, the message gets across more potently, because when you're talking to someone, there's not really much you can say that they don't already know. I love the fact that T'Pol can just say every thing with her eyes and her presence."
Why did she have to go to a tattoo parlor? Was she given a sexier costume because of the ratings? Why was the show almost banned in the US? Here are some facts you may not have known about the sexiest Vulcan in space.
1. She had to Remove Her Belly Button Ring
In the first few seasons, Blalock wore a skin-tight suit, but her belly was exposed in several episodes. The problem is that Blolock had a belly button ring and Vulcans don't wear jewelry. So they had to take it out. It was a disaster.
Blolock
2. It Took Hours for the Make-Up, But Minutes for the Costume
"[As T'Pol], if you can just be present, say what you want with your presence, with your eyes with your intention, the message gets across more potently, because when you're talking to someone, there's not really much you can say that they don't already know. I love the fact that T'Pol can just say every thing with her eyes and her presence."Why did she have to go to a tattoo parlor? Was she given a sexier costume because of the ratings? Why was the show almost banned in the US? Here are some facts you may not have known about the sexiest Vulcan in space.In the first few seasons, Blalock wore a skin-tight suit, but her belly was exposed in several episodes. The problem is that Blolock had a belly button ring and Vulcans don't wear jewelry. So they had to take it out. It was a disaster.Blolock later said, "Before one scene we were trying to get my belly button ring out – at one point we had two pairs of pliers on it and I was in agony. And finally the producer sent me to a tattoo shop down the road, so I went there in my ears, wig, and a pink bathrobe. No-one gave me a second look in the street and when I walked into the tattoo shop, the guy didn't even bat an eyelid. He just looked at my pointy ears – and they look very authentic – then started talking about the belly button ring. That’s LA for you."Jolene Blalock regularly spent two hours in the morning getting ready for her role as the Vulcan T'Pol. While her costume looked complicated, getting into her suit took "minutes" but it was the make-up that took the most time. They added prosthetic ears, a wig and eyebrows.
3. T'Pol Did Not Wear a "Catsuit "
Original series costume designer William "Bill" Theiss or Bill Theiss was known for his provocative costume design. He came up with what is known as the "Theiss Titillation Theory" which claims that "the degree to which a costume is considered sexy is directly proportional to how accident-prone it appears to be."
The makeup changed to a more Vulcan-style look in the third season. Michael Westmore was the makeup designer and supervisor and said, "Jolene was a Trek fan and she hated that they didn't give her usual Vulcan ears and eyebrows. So in season three, she and her makeup artist just went ahead and made the change. When she appeared on the set with her new look, no objections were raised."Original series costume designer William "Bill" Theiss or Bill Theiss was known for his provocative costume design. He came up with what is known as the "Theiss Titillation Theory" which claims that "the degree to which a costume is considered sexy is directly proportional to how accident-prone it appears to be."
Enterprise costume designer Robert Blackman felt strongly that the men and women on the shows should be fit and sexy. He also recognized that no one has a perfect body. So, he consistently puts the female actors in body-molding stretch jumpsuits to help mold and shape the body in various proportions. For example, Seven of Nine's costume had costume designer Robert Blackman felt strongly that the men and women on the shows should be fit and sexy. He also recognized that no one has a perfect body. So, he consistently puts the female actors in body-molding stretch jumpsuits to help mold and shape the body in various proportions. For example, Seven of Nine's costume had enhanced "breast mounds". But he hates the word 'catsuit'. "It’s still provocative, still 'T&A'," Blackman says. "But I do look forward to a time when we get rid of the very male notion of female sexuality."
4. They Added Cleavage to Try to Save the Show
Star Trek: The Original Series,
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series. TrekUnited, led by Tim Brazeal, started "The Enterprise Project" and raised the funds to place an ad in The Hollywood Reporter. The ad was an "Open Letter" to Dawn Ostroff, UPN President, and Les Moonves, president/CEO of umbrella network CBS. It said, "We are representative of the millions of viewers from all over the world who faithfully watch Star Trek: Enterprise, support its sponsors and highly value the series as a superior dramatic program." Other organizations like SaveEnterprise.com encouraged fans to write letters and call UPN urging renewal of Enterprise. EnterprisePostcards.com helped fans send postcards to network and corporate executives. The show was in real danger and everyone knew it.
During this time, the producers ordered massive changes to T’Pol’s uniform. Why? "Obviously, there's the ratings," co-creator and executive producer
Costume designer Robert Blackman gave a different explanation. "The ratings dropped," Blackman explained. "That's the frank, real answer. If you want the show to run seven years, you have to think about demographics." The show was trying to appeal to the key 18-34 male demographic and "there wasn't enough raw sex appeal" according to Blackman. Fans rallied to save the show using a letter-writing campaign like the one that helped. TrekUnited, led by Tim Brazeal, started "The Enterprise Project" and raised the funds to place an ad in. The ad was an "Open Letter" to Dawn Ostroff, UPN President, and Les Moonves, president/CEO of umbrella network CBS. It said, "We are representative of the millions of viewers from all over the world who faithfully watch Star Trek: Enterprise, support its sponsors and highly value the series as a superior dramatic program." Other organizations like SaveEnterprise.com encouraged fans to write letters and call UPN urging renewal of. EnterprisePostcards.com helped fans send postcards to network and corporate executives. The show was in real danger and everyone knew it.During this time, the producers ordered massive changes to T’Pol’s uniform. Why? "Obviously, there's the ratings," co-creator and executive producer Brannon Braga said. "But the primary reason was a creative one. Last season ended with T'Pol leaving the Vulcan high command, so she would no longer wear the same uniform. And, after two years, our leading lady needed a change. She had been in that brown uniform with that little bowl haircut... and Bob Blackman came up with some dynamite costumes."Costume designer Robert Blackman gave a different explanation. "The ratings dropped," Blackman explained. "That's the frank, real answer. If you want the show to run seven years, you have to think about demographics." The show was trying to appeal to the key 18-34 male demographic and "there wasn't enough raw sex appeal" according to Blackman.
5. T'Pol Has Star Trek's First Nude Scene
Image Source: giantfreakinrobot While Star Trek is known for pushing boundaries, like the first Star Trek television history. In the episode, T'Pol is with Tucker and lets her clothes fall to the floor displaying her fully nude backside. Blalock was not happy about the costume changes telling SFX Magazine, "You can’t substitute t*** and a** for good storytelling. You can have both, but you can't substitute one for the other, because the audience is not stupid. You can’t just throw in frivolous, uncharacteristic... well, bull and think it's gonna help the ratings!"Whileis known for pushing boundaries, like the first interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura, but there was one episode that crossed the lines for US television. The third-season episode "Harbinger" had the first non-sexual nude scene intelevision history. In the episode, T'Pol is with Tucker and lets her clothes fall to the floor displaying her fully nude backside.
We don't know the exact reason for the change, but the episode aired on February 11, 2004, just ten days after Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at half-time during Super Bowl XXXVIII. The unedited version is available on the DVD and streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu. The US FCC guidelines clearly prohibits material that lacks "serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value." They define indecency as "language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities" between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time. US television networks were allowed to censor the rump by zooming in and cropping out her bare bottom. However, in other regions, like Canada, the scene is shown without any changes.We don't know the exact reason for the change, but the episode aired on February 11, 2004, just ten days after Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at half-time during. The unedited version is available on the DVD and streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu.
6. T'Pol Had More Costume Changes Than Any Other Character
While many Star Trek characters had significant changes to their wardrobe, no character had more major changes to their costume than T'Pol. She wore over
7. T'Pol's Uniforms Are Expensive
A massive letter-writing campaign by fans convinced UPN to renew the series for a fourth season. The average episode of Star Trek: Enterprise was $1.2 million an episode for the first three seasons and the budget was Stargate: Atlantis. Unfortunately, the series was canceled during the fourth season. It is the only other Star Trek to be canceled in the middle of its run. While many Star Trek characters had significant changes to their wardrobe, no character had more major changes to their costume than T'Pol. She wore over 40 costumes over the four seasons. Besides the grey, teal, purple, orange and blue colored "catsuits" she wore a wide number of casual uniforms. She also appeared nude in two episodes of season three -"Impulse" and "Harbinger" - coincidentally when the show was first in danger of cancellation.A massive letter-writing campaign by fans convinced UPN to renew the series for a fourth season. The average episode ofwas $1.2 million an episode for the first three seasons and the budget was slashed to $800,000 to cut costs and try and save the show. This was half the budget of shows like. Unfortunately, the series was canceled during the fourth season. It is the only otherto be canceled in the middle of its run.2 dead in New Haven after carjacking ends in crash Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Two men were killed after crashing this SUV into a synagogue in New Haven Monday morning (WTNH / Stephanie Simoni) [ + - ] Video
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- What began as a carjacking has ended with two men dead after they crashed into a synagogue on Harrison Street early Monday morning.
"He opened the door, grabbed me and ripped me right out of the car," said Heath Klarsfeld, who police said was the car jacking victim.
At 1:15 a.m., New Haven police say a carjacking took place in the vicinity of Whalley Avenue and Fitch Street, in the Westville section of the city. A short time later, officers noticed the stolen car in the area of Winthrop Avenue, and began to pursue.
According to New Haven police, officers lost sight of the car as they were following the stolen vehicle. Moments later, they discovered that the car had crashed into Congregation Beth El-Keser, located at 85 Harrison Street.
Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Police on the scene of a deadly crash into a synagogue in the Westville section of New Haven Monday morning (WTNH / Stephanie Simoni)
Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Police on the scene of a deadly crash into a synagogue in the Westville section of New Haven Monday morning (WTNH / Stephanie Simoni)
Two men in the stolen car were killed in the crash. They were later identified as 23-year-old Tommy Clayton Brown, of New Haven, and 20-year-old Andrew Bolden-Velez, of West Haven. A woman who identified herself as Brown's sister said that he was expecting his first child in March, as his girlfriend is pregnant with a daughter.
The synagogue is at the corner of Harrison Street and Whalley Avenue, which caused a portion of Whalley Avenue to be closed for hours Monday morning. The roadway has since reopened.
The car was heavily damaged in the crash, and there is structural damage to the synagogue as well. Crews needed almost three hours to remove the car from the scene.
Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Two men were killed after crashing this SUV into a synagogue in New Haven Monday morning (WTNH / Stephanie Simoni)
Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Two men were killed after crashing this SUV into a synagogue in New Haven Monday morning (WTNH / Stephanie Simoni)
Connecticut State Police have been called in to handle the investigation. According to New Haven police, anytime there is a police involved shooting or police pursuit, it is standard procedure for State Police to be called in for the investigation.
If you witnessed any aspect of this carjacking or crash, or if you have any information that could help police in their investigation, you're asked to call Connecticut State Police at 860-848-6579.Screw Top Black Lid for 5-Gal. Pail (Pack of 3) is rated 4.7 out of 5 by 48.
Rated 5 out of 5 by HuntersDad from Get these in different colors as well I have several of these in several different colors and have loved using them from the day I first tried one. Sometimes when I have stored liquid in them, in particularly paint, cleaning out all the old contents is a bit tricky. Since the ring fits tightly it is difficult to get all of the material removed from the space at the top of the bucket. In some cases this has led to undesireable contamination of the new contents. I just have to take a few extra minutes to make sure the area around the top of the bucket is fully cleaned prior to reuse. The watertight lid is extra easy to remove and install. The ring is very tight when installed onto the bucket and can be difficult to install, but I found that if I turned the bucket upside down and pushed the bucket into the ring it was much easier than using a mallot.
Rated 4 out of 5 by Brenda from I enjoy the Gamma 5-Gallon Black Plastic Lid I have some bulk items that I store in the big buckets and this Gamma 5-Gallon Black Plastic Lid allows easy access to the contents of the bucket. My thumb has been giving me issues lately and this lid sure make it easy for me to get into the flour and sugar buckets to refill my canisters. I had been having to wait until my husband got home to open them for me. Works out great. This is a two part lid system and it requires hitting the one ring onto the bucket with a rubber mallet, which these days I could not even manage that, rescued by my husband again! I gave the product a 4 star because of price, otherwise it would have been a 6 star product.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Paulina from Another benefit for this product. The manufacturer sells replacement gaskets! you can get a set... Another benefit for this product. The manufacturer sells replacement gaskets! you can get a set of 2 gaskets for $7.99 plus shipping!
Rated 5 out of 5 by Steve from Hard to find but great features Simple to snap on 5 gal food buckets - air tight - allows a person to store food with confidence it will not spoil - the lids can be used over and over again - durable - high quality - easy to put on and off. Best I have ever seen.
Rated 5 out of 5 by pailgal from love it! These screw on lids are great! No more broken fingernails trying to pry the lids off!
Rated 5 out of 5 by Rich from gamma seal Gamma seal lids are awesome. They are HDPE (high density poly Ethylene) and can be welded. They are food safe. They are great to make beer in for the fermentation before bottling (with relief valve)
Rated 4 out of 5 by Rocko from Use a rubber mallet to snap lid on bucket. Great for storing tools, materials, etc, so when the b... Use a rubber mallet to snap lid on bucket. Great for storing tools, materials, etc, so when the bucket falls over your stuff doesn't spill out all over the place. Have not used it for liquids yet so can not attest to its water proof abilities.Overview
This Sunday marks the return of Breaking Bad for its final season, and to say that your Slacker curators are excited would be an understatement. We will be joining millions of fans on Sunday night in watching the return of Heisenberg (AKA Walter White), and no doubt live Tweeting and Facebooking the entire experience. As such, it was a labor of love to put together a station consisting exclusively of music used during critical scenes in the show and especially during the closing credits. If you are one of the millions of die-hard Breaking Bad fans, there are certain songs that you will forever associate with pivotal scenes, episodes, and moments in Walter White’s profoundly complicated life. On this station, you’ll hear all of the music that is prominently featured on the show—Slacker’s way of paying tribute to one of the greatest television shows of all time.BREWER, Maine — The state attorney general’s office has warned a Brewer business that repurposes old shipping containers not to build or sell any units intended for housing because it doesn’t have a license to do so.
SnapSpace Solutions Inc. has been retrofitting old shipping containers for new uses, from offices and storage units to concession stands and restrooms, since it opened its doors in Brewer in early 2011 at the former ZF Lemforder plant.
“It has been alleged that your firm is attempting to site/locate a one or two family dwelling (manufactured by you) in the Bangor/Brewer area,” Assistant Attorney General Christopher L. Mann wrote in an August cease and desist letter to SnapSpace. “Please be advised that manufacturing or selling a manufactured home is engaging in unlawful unlicensed practice.”
The letter states that for every family dwelling manufactured by SnapSpace without a license the company could be subject to a $10,000 fine. It also could face criminal charges. It doesn’t prevent SnapSpace from pursuing any projects that aren’t intended to be residences.
Chad Walton, SnapSpace president and CEO, said Wednesday that no one from the state reached out to him to discuss concerns, and the first he learned of it was when his attorney forwarded him a copy of the strongly worded cease and desist letter.
The licensing fees are minimal, maxed at $200, but licenses come with costs needed to meet the rules and requirements of that license.
SnapSpace’s position is that it doesn’t require a manufactured home license because each of its projects, whether a conversion for an office or a house, is treated and designed more like a stick-frame structure instead of a prefabricated modular unit.
“We’re just using the container as a shell,” Walton said.
Inside, the insulation, utilities and other features, including outside appearance, are built to meet the needs of the individual buyer, Walton added. SnapSpace argues the state laws regulating manufactured homes are geared toward companies that produce modular homes on a larger scale in a more cookie-cutter, assembly line process.
Walton said he’s confident the state’s concerns will be cleared up after his attorney, Edward Russell, speaks with the state. Russell did not return a message requesting comment Wednesday.
The cease and desist letter does not prohibit the company from working on any shipping container conversions that won’t be used for housing.
Mann said in a phone interview Wednesday that Glenburn’s code enforcement officer reached out to the state last month when he received a site development plan that would have put a SnapSpace family home in Glenburn. The code enforcement officer went to the state because he was unsure about the restrictions or requirements with such a home, Mann said.
The Maine Manufactured Housing Board, under the Office of Professional and Financial Regulation, oversees manufactured housing in the state, licenses companies that build or sell them and sets inspection standards.
SnapSpace applied for a manufacturing license through that board in 2011 but never completed the application process. The state lists that license as “pending.” Mann said that if SnapSpace wants to build and sell homes, it could complete that application and become licensed to do so.
“Clearly, that’s what they should do if they want to move forward with this,” Mann said.
Walton said members of the board visited SnapSpace headquarters in 2011 and discussed licensing options, but both he and board members at the time agreed that what SnapSpace was doing shouldn’t require the state license.
“We think this is a nonissue,” Walton said.
Walton declined to give details about the Glenburn housing project that sparked the state letter but said all his company’s projects are carefully designed and engineered to meet International Building Code standards, as well as local codes and ordinances.
It’s unclear how many, if any, such modular homes SnapSpace has built or sold. Walton declined to say whether there were any. The company has helped design and build at least one house boat, as well as temporary lodgings for logging companies to use along the Golden Road.
The state has issued an announcement seeking information from communities about any SnapSpace residential projects in their town.
“If we found out they did, we’d be doing more than a cease and desist letter,” Mann said Wednesday.
Walton expects the disagreement will be cleared up when his attorney speaks with the state and the housing board.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.RETIRED solicitor Brian O'Donnell and his wife Dr Mary Patricia are personally liable for the legal cost of their failed bid to have their bankruptcy annulled, the High Court ruled.
RETIRED solicitor Brian O'Donnell and his wife Dr Mary Patricia are personally liable for the legal cost of their failed bid to have their bankruptcy annulled, the High Court ruled.
It means the costs cannot be drawn from the assets of their bankrupt estate but they themselves will have to bear the bill for their application which Bank of Ireland (BOI) opposed. Mr O'Donnell represented himself and his wife during the annulment application.
Brian and Mary Pat O'Donnell depart their Gorse Hill mansion. (Photo: David Conachy) Brian O'Donnell and his wife Mary Patricia O'Donnell Brian and Mary Pat O'Donnell Dr Mary Patricia O Donnell Blaise O'Donnell
Read more here: O'Donnell's 'near-death' drama resulted in Gorse Hill court saga
Last month, Ms Justice Caroline Costello found the O'Donnells had not advanced any new evidence as a basis for an annulment of the 2013 bankruptcy obtained against them by BOI which is owed €71.5m.
Far from there being compelling reasons to annul the bankruptcy, "no grounds had been advanced" by the O'Donnells which led her to the conclusion that they ought not have been adjudicated bankrupt, she said.
Read more here: Gorse Hill's Brian O'Donnell: Bank of Ireland set fire to my business
The costs issue and related orders were back before Ms Justice Costello Thursday (May 14) when there was no appearance by or on behalf of the O'Donnells.
The judge said she would have to deal with these matters and after hearing submissions from Mark Sanfey SC, for BOI, that the bankrupt estate should not |
Department of Immigration through any registered trekking agency of Nepal.
The Annapurna Conservation Entry Permit Fee amounts to NRP 2000 or equivalent USD.
Trekking permits do not extend past Visa Expiry Dates.
Trekking permits aren’t available in Jomsom.
Trekkers and visitors are subjected to pay individual monastery entry permits in Upper Mustang.
With the aforementioned reasons and highlights of the Mustang region, trekking in Mustang has many more reasons to grant a visit. With views of mountain peaks on the trekking trails, traditional ethnic villages and beautiful land terrain, trekking in Mustang is a perfect way to spend a summer vacation time in Nepal. Trekking in Mustang presents a vastly different trekking experience and should not be missed.THE STORY
The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? is a Feature Length Documentary about the unmade movie "Superman Lives". This film, out of all the various attempts to make a Superman movie between 1987 and 2006, would have stood the test of time and become a bonafide Cult Classic nowadays. I am not alone with my intense interest in knowing everything I can about this project, and so now I'm embarking on making a Documentary that will cover everything ever made for this film, from interviewing as many people as I can who were involved, to including actually recreating scenes from the script!!!
I’ve been interested in this film since it was first announced back in the late 90’s. Nicolas Cage was announced as Superman, Kevin Smith was announced as the Writer, Tim Burton was announced as the Director, and fans have had very heavy opinions, both positive and negative, on all of this. As news slowly bubbled out, news buzzed around about Rainbow Robot Outfits, Brainiac Skull ships, Superman not "flying", Fighting a Giant Spider, Polar Bears guarding the Fortress of Solitude. It all sounded so crazy, so weird, so different, that I honestly was hoping that they would actually make it, just so we would have something different from what had come before. It never happened. Cut to almost 15 years later, and I really wish I could slap that “Superman Lives” disc into my player, and watch this guaranteed weird, strange, and original new take on the mythology of the Superman character. By this time, whether it was a success or failure at the box office, It would have for sure been a cult classic, due mainly to its inspired casting, and its tremendous bravery in it’s attempt to merge toy sales with the weirdness.
THE CREW
I have been working professionally in the world of media for over 15 years now, writing, producing and directing shows that many of you have heard about. Some have even achieved cult status themselves ( Upright Citizens Brigade, Metalocalypse, The Venture Bros ). This will be my first feature length documentary, but over the years I’ve had plenty of experience in doing interviews, talking on camera and specifically editing interviews. I was a featured guest in Morgan Spurlock’s “ComicConIV: A Fans Hope", I’ve edited over a dozen episodes of "Space Ghost Coast to Coast", and I’ve directed hundreds of Actors both in front of the camera and in "behind the scenes" docs, so I’m very prepared to make this documentary soar, both visually and with the talent involved!
I’m going to be interviewing as many Key Personnel that I can get in contact with, and I plan on getting everybody! In addition to delving into the making of “Superman Lives”, I’ll be focusing on the ideas, legends, and ever expanding mythos of Superman and the need for a superhuman character in our society and culture in general. By interviewing other Writers, Artists, Filmmakers, and Fans, I intend on asking more questions than could possibly be answered, but we are going to have lots of fun along the way!
Including myself, my Producer, my Cameramen and my Editor, we will be setting up interviews with all the key personnel, and will be travelling about to get the people when we can. I’ll have a music composer and sound designer, with additional ADR and Sound Booth Recording, and all finished HiDef with a 5.1 professional mix.
THE STRETCH GOAL
I hope that with the possible success of raising the money to make this feature documentary, that we also reach our additionally intended “Stretch Goal” of $50k, which will be used to actually produce and create several key scenes and moments from the “Superman Lives” scripts, using the incredible graphic ideas generated by the many designers and artists. I will also hire artists to make 3D models, build Practical Models, design Backgrounds, animate Lasers (very important!), make Brainiac's eyes glow inside a giant floating SkullShip, and to composite very cool action flying shots. I'm going to direct these scenes in the spirit of the unmade Burton Version, and hope to be able to create some crazy "Superman Lives" Scenarios! For these reasons, that’s the budget needed to make this project, and that's where you come in!
THE PREMIERE
With your help, I will have a finished cut of “The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?” by the end of this summer, with a World Premiere Screening at one of the larger Comic Conventions, and then ready to screen it to the entire world after that! Once we get funded, I’ll be posting monthly updates on the progress I’m making, who we interviewed that month, and keeping you in the loop with Exclusive Kickstarter Video Updates!
Thank you for your support!
-Jon SchneppOn yesterday’s Grantland NFL Podcast, Bill Barnwell asked me a question that at first seemed crazy. After we broke down Rams running back Todd Gurley’s latest stomping of an NFL defense, Barnwell wondered aloud if Gurley, three starts into his career, is already the best running back in football. It took me about two seconds to answer: Yeah, he is.
Since Week 4 against the Cardinals, when his workload increased, Gurley has averaged a bonkers 6.4 yards on his 68 carries. He is one of 39 players since 1960 to have three straight games with at least 125 yards on the ground, and, again, those were his first three games as a starter. Jeff Fisher came out earlier this week and told the Associated Press that as good as Gurley has been, “We just can’t rely on Todd all the time.” I mean, you can try.
Game flow is a factor (St. Louis was beat up by Washington in Week 2), but before Gurley was eased into the starting lineup following last November’s ACL tear, the Rams were rushing on 36 percent of their plays. Since Gurley arrived, it’s jumped to 50.6 percent. Only the Panthers are running more often. The results, despite Gurley’s healthy average, have been mixed. The Rams’ new-look offensive line is still very much a work in progress, and that progress has been stunted since starting guard Rodger Saffold went down against the Packers. That’s forced rookie Jamon Brown, who was already transitioning to guard after playing tackle in college, to switch sides as Garrett Reynolds has moved into the starting lineup.
When the Rams line up and try to push people around, there are still plenty of plays that end with Gurley getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. The entire line has its down moments, and the result can be a play like the one above against Cleveland. Since Week 4, the Dolphins are the only team averaging more yards per carry than the Rams, but Miami is also leading the league in yards before contact per rush. The holes are massive for Lamar Miller. Gurley isn’t getting as much help. The Rams are seventh — 3.4 yards before contact — in that time frame, and that’s even inflated by Gurley being an actual ghost.
No human is capable of making it through that hole. The beings that can make that run are Todd Gurley and Kurt Wagner — end of list.
There’s reason to believe that the line should get better as we get deeper into the season. The right side consists of two rookies, center Tim Barnes is a former undrafted free agent who’s started 10 career games, and Greg Robinson is still just in Year 2. While that progress happens, though, first-year offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti is doing what he can to build running lanes into the Rams’ blocking schemes.
St. Louis got a couple chunks of yardage off this action on Sunday. With Reynolds blocking down on the nose tackle, Barnes loops around in an effort to get to the linebacker. It’s an alternative to using a combo block to accomplish the same thing, and it also creates a manufactured seam that a monster like Gurley can exploit. By getting the linebackers moving laterally, Gurley is allowed to use his ridiculous vision. Watch as he threatens to run inside of Barnes, pulling linebacker Tank Carder in a step. When Gurley bounces the play back outside, Carder is already caught in the wash, and his chance to make the play is gone.
Cignetti also gets a little wonkier in creating space. Everything about this play works the way the Rams drew it up. By sending Tavon Austin in motion, Cignetti pulls Ha Ha Clinton-Dix out of the box. As the line steps right, inside linebacker Nate Palmer goes with them, and with Lance Kendricks coming back across the formation to kick out Julius Peppers, there’s a bigger seam than Gurley needs.
All of these built-in running lanes help, but occasionally, they’re not even necessary. Gurley’s strength and speed — be advised: Do not arm tackle — are on a different plane, but what’s making this possible is his ability to make these plays his own. This is the same play as the one before, with Austin going in motion and Kendricks kicking out, but instead of cutting back to the left, Gurley sees a sliver of grass to the front side and chews it up before the Packers can close.
As much fun as all of this is, Fisher is right. If the Rams are going to be a legitimate threat in the NFC, their offense has to be about more than Gurley and the running game. The occasional deep shot from Nick Foles is an element to reaching that offensive ceiling. With Gurley in the backfield, there should be some opportunities on the outside, just like the one Foles saw on a bomb to Kenny Britt against the Browns.
The best way Gurley can influence the passing game, though, is obviously with play-action. One of the drawbacks to the amount of running the Rams have done with Gurley is that they’re barely using play-fakes as a way to move the ball. St. Louis has run only 10 play-action passes in the past four weeks after running 23 of them in Weeks 1 through 3. The difference is in how effective they’ve been. Before Gurley’s first start, the Rams had a 60.8 QBR on play-action throws. In Year 1 A.G. (After Gurley), it’s 94.4.
There are smaller, more efficient ways that the play-action game can show up. This little dump-off to Kendricks is a product of Green Bay’s linebackers tearing after Gurley as the action moves to the left. Play-action throws don’t always have to be deep plays that take advantage of the middle of the field, but boy, it’s nice when they are.
This play takes long enough to develop that the linebackers crashing toward the line of scrimmage don’t seem to be what’s ailing the Cardinals defense, but the response to Gurley sets off a chain reaction that eventually leads to a huge gain for Austin. With the linebackers stepping up, Patrick Peterson feels obligated to follow the tight end coming across the field about three steps farther than he should. As Peterson is pointing and crying for help, Austin sneaks behind him, and Foles — who really does throw a nice-looking deep ball — puts it on the money.
I’d assume that Fisher would consider that play “not relying only” on Gurley, but in a way, it still is. When the Rams drafted Gurley 10th overall this spring, they envisioned him as the centerpiece of their offense, and we’ve already learned that he can be. Gurley’s workload — and the Rams’ rushing percentage — probably isn’t sustainable, but even if they choose to ease off the gas, Gurley can still be what drives the rest of the offense. The formula of Gurley, play-action throws, and the occasional deep shot is the best possible plan for an offense that has a limited passing game. If they can lean on their new superstar and start getting a bit closer to that offensive ceiling, this defense is good enough to make St. Louis a team that no one is going to want to see come January.The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is trying to raise money for 2016 House races with its own version of Donald Trump’s infamous “Make America Great Again” hat.
The DCCC’s hat comes in blue, and says “Make Congress Blue Again.” Unlike various outside efforts to troll Trump (“Make America Hate Again,” et cetera), the DCCC’s hat seems an earnest effort to appropriate a slogan that has proven the most effective of the cycle.
Democrats, who need 30 seats to win the House, are ambivalent about Trump. Some boast that Trump would be the easiest general election opponent for Hillary Clinton; he is one of the only candidates with worse approval ratings.
The DCCC has let it be known that it intends to tie vulnerable House Republicans to Trump. “You can denounce his comments but that only means so much if you would still vote for him,” a DCCC official told Roll Call recently.
At the same time, Democrats are quietly worried about Trump’s ability to motivate disaffected voters to come to the polls.
In November, the Democratic Governors Association blamed “Trump-mania” for the surprise victory of Tea Party favorite Matt Bevin over Attorney General Jack Conway in the race for Kentucky governor: “Unfortunately, he ran into the unexpected headwinds of Trump-mania, losing to an outsider candidate in the year of the outsider.”
Washington Post commentator Jonathan Capehart has warned Democrats: “Trump’s support is deeper than we want to admit. And if we’re really being honest, we know his support doesn’t just reside within the Republican Party. Thus, Trump’s ‘I really don’t give a damn’ mien could prove dangerous to a Clinton campaign that prizes control.”
Indeed, Trump–and his hat–have set the agenda for 2016. Imitation, as they say, is the sincerest form of flattery.How Paul McCartney Ended Up In The New Pirates Of The Caribbean Movie By Matt Wood Random Article Blend Warning: Very mild Paul McCartney related spoilers follow for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. You wouldn't think a movie about pirates would attract two of the greatest rock stars in the world, but who doesn't want to be a swashbuckling adventurer every now and again? Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and On Stranger Tides as Captain Jack Sparrow's father. However, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will find Sir Paul McCartney donning the hat and eye make-up for a cameo of his own. Here's why the legendary Beatle ended up in Disney's latest blockbuster. We had even written a scene for Keith [Richards]. And then because of some scheduling issues, he couldn't come to Australia to shoot, so we sat down with Johnny and kind of brainstormed, like, 'Okay, who could fill his shoes?' Because we felt like we should have something. We should honor the tradition of showing a Jack Sparrow family member. And we made a very short list, and of course, at the very top of that list was Sir Paul McCartney. Directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg told the tale of Paul McCartney's cameo to Entertainment Weekly, where the duo reveal that originally Keith Richards was supposed to reprise his role as Jack Sparrow's father. However, Richards' schedule wouldn't allow him to make the trip to Australia for filming. Still wanting to show a member of Jack's family, the directors brainstormed with Johnny Depp for candidates, with McCartney at the top of the list. How do you get Paul McCartney into your movie? Just have Johnny Depp text him. Depp had the musician's number and the two exchanged a series of text messages that, according to the directors, got "more pirate-y" as it went on. McCartney agreed to be in the film, and those who see it this weekend shouldn't have a hard time spotting him. At one point in the film, Jack Sparrow is in a jail cell, where he comes face to face with another pirate prisoner (McCartney). He's playing a card game and singing a shanty to himself, and we quickly learn that this is Jack's uncle -- also named Jack. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales continues the story of Jack Sparrow and adventures at sea. This time he has an undead ghost pirate crew chasing after him, led by Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), as he searches for the mystical Trident of Poseidon. The film stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, and Kaya Scodelario. You can catch Paul McCartney in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is out in theaters now. Blended From Around The Web Facebook
Back to topDaniel Craig has pulled a U-turn on his rumoured refusal to return as James Bond, telling a crowd that he has “the best job in the world”.
The British actor, 48, hinted that he will be reprising his iconic role as the secret agent when asked about the possibility at the New Yorker Festival’s Beyond Bond panel.
“I’ve got the best job in the world doing Bond,” he told fans at the event. “If I were to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly. I love this job. I get a massive kick out of if and if I can keep getting a kick out of it, I will.”
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Craig’s comments will come as a surprise to many after he seemingly ruled out a 007 comeback after filming wrapped on Spectre last year, memorably saying that he would rather “slash his wrists” than do another Bond movie.
“They say that s**t sticks and that definitely stuck,” he said when questioned about his strong remarks. “It was the day after filming. I’d been away from home for a year.”
Nevertheless, ever since Craig suggest that he was “done” with playing the suave spy, speculation surrounding who might replace him has been rife. Poldark’s Aidan Turner is the current favourite, with James Norton, Jack Huston, Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston also among the touted names.
Craig will next be seen starring in Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky and the upcoming TV adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s novel Purity, about a young woman raised in unusual circumstances in North Carolina.Next Monday, Eater will present the 2012 Eater Awards, a celebration of the restaurant world and the people that make it go. Winners will be selected on both the local and national levels in five major categories, and it's time for you to vote.
So, here's how the voting process works: The editors have selected nominees for each of five major categories. Then you, our dear readers, vote for your favorite of the bunch which narrows the field down to three finalists. The winner will be selected by the Eater editorial crew from the three top vote-getters. Yesterday's poll for Chef of the Year was hard fought, and lots of you chimed in on who should win.
Ready to play your part today? This poll will be open for 24 hours; voting irregularities will be strictly policed. That's right, it's time to vote for Philly's Restaurant of the Year:In 2022, NASA plans to send a probe crashing into an asteroid at more than 13,000 miles per hour to deflect it off its course.
This particular asteroid isn't a threat to us. But NASA is trying to figure out how it might defend Earth from asteroids more generally — in case a big one really does head our way in the future.
A probe will crash into the asteroid at more than 13,000 miles per hour
This is all part of a joint mission NASA's planning with the European Space Agency called Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA). It will start with the launch of a European craft in 2020 to study and map the asteroid first. ESA entered the preliminary design phase of that initial reconnaissance mission earlier this week.
The goal is to develop the technology and expertise that might be necessary to nudge an asteroid out of its orbit if we ever discovered one heading for Earth. It might sound far-fetched, but the truth is that asteroids are a potentially serious threat — and foresighted missions like this could theoretically be the difference between a closely averted disaster and catastrophe.
The plan to crash into an asteroid
In 2020, the European Space Agency plans to launch its Asteroid Impact Mission, or AIM probe. It'll travel to an asteroid named Didymos, which is orbited by a relatively small (about 550 feet wide) asteroid called Didymoon.
Over the course of a year or so, AIM will orbit Didymoon, mapping its surface and collecting data on its mass and overall structure. Current plans also call for it to send out a pair of smaller satellites to collect more data, as well as a lander that would touch down on Didymoon itself — becoming just the fourth craft (if Japan's current Hayabusa-2 mission is a success) to make a controlled landing on an asteroid.
Then, in 2021, NASA would launch another probe, called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. When it arrives in late 2022, the 660-pound probe would crash into Didymoon at a speed of more than 13,000 miles per hour, likely creating a crater and slightly changing the path of the asteroid's orbit. AIM would continue to collect data on Didymoon, providing valuable information on the physics of redirecting asteroids in space.
NASA is trying to avoid a chain reaction of asteroids
Neither of these asteroids represents any risk to Earth (when they make a relatively close pass to Earth in 2022, they'll still be more than 6.8 million miles away). But scientists chose them for this mission because they're a binary system — a pair of rocks that orbit one another. And that will limit the potential negative side effects.
This means that if DART alters Didymoon's orbit, the orbit of the larger Didymos will largely compensate for it. Though Didymoon itself will travel in a new orbit, the overall system (i.e., the pair) will continue to orbit the Sun much as it did before. So there's little risk of either asteroid's new path causing it to collide with other asteroids, potentially setting off a chain reaction that could endanger Earth.
The whole mission is still in the early planning stages, so as with all government-funded space missions, it's not guaranteed to happen. But both probes are relatively cheap: AIM is projected to cost about $194 million and DART $150 million. The mission survived a recent cull of ESA science projects, and right now, it seems likely to proceed.
This collision could help us avert future disasters
This won't be the first time a spacecraft was intentionally crashed into a rock in orbit: in 2005, NASA's Deep Impact probe collided with a comet, in order to throw up debris to help scientists better understand its interior.
But AIDA would be the first time such a collision was conducted solely to help us figure out how to move asteroids around in space. The wealth of data collected by AIM before and after the collision would allow scientists to build improved models of how asteroids respond to such impacts.
this would be the simplest way to prevent disaster
This could someday be extremely useful, because if we detected a big asteroid headed for Earth, the simplest way to prevent disaster would be to nudge it slightly it out of our way.
"The amount of momentum you'd need to transfer to an asteroid to change its trajectory slightly — to prevent a future impact — is really quite small," physicist and former NASA astronaut Ed Lu, who now heads an organization that seeks to protect Earth from asteroids, told me in a recent interview. "It's a couple of millimeters per second. That means you can run into it with a small spacecraft."
We still need to find all the dangerous asteroids out there
Even if we do develop the technology to deflect asteroids, that's still not sufficient. We'd also need to spot a dangerous asteroid far enough in advance to launch a mission. And right now, there's no certainty we'll always be able do that.
Scientists have located more than 90 percent of the huge kilometer-wide or larger near-Earth asteroids capable of causing a global catastrophe, and none of them, thankfully, are on track to hit us. But midsize asteroids hit Earth much more regularly (once every few centuries or so) and can cause significant damage, and we've still only spotted a small percentage of them. One terrifying example is the Tunguska event: a 30- to 60-meter-wide asteroid that exploded over a remote corner of Siberia in 1908, discharging an amount of energy one thousand times greater than the Hiroshima atomic bomb and knocking down some 80 million trees.
In 2005, Congress assigned NASA the task of locating 90 percent of all near-Earth asteroids larger than 140 meters wide by 2020, but a report last year determined that we've only found about 10 percent. The report blamed a lack of coordination and organizational structure, not funding problems, for the shortcoming.
But there's also a hardware issue: the telescopes currently used to spot asteroids are on Earth, but the best way to see smaller ones is to use telescopes in space, because they don't have to deal with interference from the atmosphere and the sun's glare.
NASA has proposed launching one of these, called NEOCam, and Ed Lu's organization (called the B612 Foundation) is currently raising $450 million for a complementary mission, called Sentinel, that would survey a different area of the sky.
Read more: Why one former astronaut is trying to save the world from asteroidsPrior to the Revolution, the British claimed the authority to issue Writs of Assistance allowing officials to enter private homes and businesses to search for evidence of smuggling. These general warrants never expired and were considered a valid substitute for specific search warrants.
With British tyranny fresh on their minds many states’ Ratifiers insisted on a Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, and among those fundamental rights, the founders included a provision protecting the people from the arbitrary search and seizure.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Note the Fourth Amendment includes NO exceptions for the kind of blanket warrantless monitoring and data collection that the NSA has engaged in for years.
Not for catching “terrorists.” Not for super secret intelligence agencies. Not to “keep us safe.”
None.
Yet the NSA spies on Americans incessantly. It digs through emails, collects Internet data and sifts through phone records. No warrants. No specification. No restraint. British tyranny pales in comparison.
So what do we do?
We could wait on Congress, but it has had plenty of chances to shut it down. Our representatives and senators keep rubber stamping it. We could rely on the courts. But when was the last time those black-robed federal employees did anything to limit federal power? They rubber stamp it too. Maybe the president will save the day. But the commission Obama formed to review NSA surveillance was packed with government insiders. More rubber stamps.
MADISON’S ADVICE
James Madison, known as the Father of the Constitution, gave us a blueprint for stopping federal overreach.
In Federalist 46, he argued that action at the state and local level, such as “a refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union,” should be used in response to unconstitutional federal acts, or even constitutional ones that are just very unpopular.
Taking his suggestions, he wrote, would create “serious impediments” for the federal government. And when several states join together doing the same, Madison said it would “present obstructions which the federal government would hardly be willing to encounter.” (You can read more about Madison’s blueprint HERE.)
In the Virginia Resolutions of 1798, Madison wrote that “in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise” of power by the federal government, states “have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil.”
NSA spying represents just the kind of dangerous, palpable evil Madison was talking about.
It’s time for states to act.
Northern states successfully followed this blueprint to resist federal fugitive slave acts. Between 1820 and 1860, most northern states passed personal liberty laws to resist these acts that denied due process to any black person accused of escaping slavery. Personal liberty laws included provisions prohibiting state or local officials from cooperating with fugitive slave rendition and denying use of state or local facilities, such as jails. They were so successful, several southern states cited northern noncooperation with the fugitive slave acts in their declaration of causes for secession. (learn more about that here)
FIRST STEP: NOW
We can follow in the courageous footsteps of northern abolitionists who fought federally
sanctioned kidnapping at the state and local level, and rein in the U.S. surveillance state.
The first step? A state-level response, the 4th Amendment Protection Act, the first step in the process that James Madison advised.
The strategy? Hinder the NSA’s ability to gather information unconstitutionally in the United States by denying them any cooperation from state and local governments, and incentivize others to refuse cooperation as well.
First off, it prohibits any political subdivision in the state from providing material support to any agency collecting information without a warrant describing the person(s), place(s) and thing(s) to be searched or seized. It denies the use of state resources or state funds for these organizations. And, it bans state and local law enforcement from utilizing such information obtained by the NSA because they’re violating the 4th Amendment.
In other words, a “refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union.”
Second, it prohibits any political subdivision in the state from providing services to organizations like the NSA engaging in warrantless spying. This becomes particularly significant when considering a political subdivision of Utah supplies 1.7 million gallons of water to keep the NSA spy grid cool. That would shut off.
Third, it makes any person or business cooperating with unconstitutional spying ineligible to do business with state or local governments. This would give Internet providers and other tech companies economic factors to consider before signing on to turn information over to the NSA.
It also provides some pretty severe penalties for anyone violating the act and lending the feds a hand.
Passage of such legislation in your area (state OR local) will begin a process which will lead to “obstructions which the federal government would hardly be willing to encounter.” And once step one is moving forward, Step 2 will up the ante considerably.
GET THE BALL ROLLING TODAY:
http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/4thamendmentprotection
*******
4th Amendment Protection Act by Tenth Amendment CenterWelcome to Opera Security Corner, the best place for in-depth information about the security of our products and contact information for any of questions.
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¡Dios Mío! The religious comics I had growing up were never so sexy. I’ve seen many a retelling of the Adam and Eve story in children’s illustrated Bibles, books, and comics and never run across so much Eve boob.
This isn’t the Sean Connery I know. He looks like a sickly game-show host. (And a dapper suit might have been a better choice of attire than this odd striped getup.)
Oh, hell yes. Smokey the Bear embroiled in a violent battle to the death! I don’t recall my Smokey the Bear being quite so badass.
Kung-Fu chicks in nighties – Kaliman’s nemeses clearly were better than any American superhero’s.
A creepy masked dude, the Zodiac, giant Hitler, a magician, a hot chick spilling wine…. Mexican comics did not play around.
“Tho’ I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Mister Spock!”
This poor woman is clearly going to die a horrible death in the next few seconds. Whether it’s by blazing inferno or Jerry Lewis’ ax, it’s going to be ugly.
Oh, dear God, what am I looking at?
Back when I smoked, I used to be able to blow smoke rings and was pretty impressed with myself….but this girl has taken that skill to whole new level.
I think it’s important to point out that some of these covers may be identical/similar to their US editions. I don’t know if the covers were completely redone for Mexican versions. That being said, I certainly don’t remember such an emphasis on boobs in any of my Black Panther comics.
And I certainly don’t remember an issue of Superman with his head being punched off!…
Gross!
I looked this one up. There was a Jimmy Olsen comic featuring Superman and The Guardian bearing the likeness of Don Rickles on the cover. Truly an abomination in any language.
The Bionic Woman isn’t looking so good. A bit like the sickly Sean Connery from earlier – something isn’t quite right.
You can keep your Green Lantern and Silver Surfer; I’ll be reading my Gold Rapist comics.
Also, a quick disclaimer that some of these may not be Mexican – some of these comics may originate from Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, etc. I apologize for the lazy generalization in the title. On with the comics…
Again, it looks like things got “sexed up” for the Mexican versions. Correct me if I’m wrong.
At some point the decision clearly was made to not make the vampire the focal point of this cover.
Admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve read the Melville novel, but this cover doesn’t seem to fit the story.
The guy must be crying because the girl is, sadly enough, wearing undies.
Truly fine examples of the Strategically Covered Nudity Trope. For more see our Vintage Scenery Censors article.
Also, for even more Spanish comic funny business, see The Insane World of Spanish Crime Comics of the 1960s-70s. Cheers!The largest global economies have pledged to install policies that will add $2 trillion to the world economy over the next five years.
The G20 -- the world's 19 richest nations and the European Union -- said the reforms aim to lift collective GDP by more than 2%.
The group is placing a new emphasis on private-sector infrastructure spending -- the latest sign that policymakers are moving way from austerity policies, and that major economies are now willing to to take on measures to support growth.
"We welcome recent signs of improvement in the global economy... [but] there is no room for complacency," policymakers said in a joint statement issued after a two-day meeting in Sydney. "We commit to developing new measures... to significantly raise global growth."
Related story: Get used to market volatility
Although experts supported the ambitious plan, they remained skeptical about how it would be achieved.
"Precisely how G20 leaders plan to deliver on the Sydney promise to lift global GDP at least 2% by 2018 remains sketchy at best," said Societe Generale's Michala Marcussen.
Citi's Steven Englander said the joint statement implies that "structural reforms would be the main driver."
"The policy of choice appears to be infrastructure investment financed by the private sector, but encouraged by tax incentives," he wrote in a research note.
Related story: Worst is yet to come for Fragile Five
The meeting appears to have done little to reduce concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to scale back its stimulus program as the job market improves.
The reduced flow of cheap money has unsettled investors in emerging markets and contributed to sharp declines in some currencies. Political instability has also made matters worse for countries such as Argentina, Turkey and Ukraine.
The G20 communiqué shied away from directly addressing the controversy, but said that central bankers would "maintain their commitment that monetary policy settings will continue to be carefully calibrated and clearly communicated."Haven (season 3) Region 1 DVD cover Country of origin United States No. of episodes 13 Release Original network Syfy Original release September 21, 2012 ( ) –
January 17, 2013 ( 2013-01-17 ) Season chronology Previous
Season 2 Next →
Season 4 List of Haven episodes
The third season of the American television series Haven premiered September 21, 2012 and consisted a total of 13 episodes.[1] The show stars Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant and Eric Balfour.
Cast [ edit ]
Main cast [ edit ]
Emily Rose as Audrey Parker / Lucy Ripley / Sarah Vernon
Lucas Bryant as Nathan Wuornos
Eric Balfour as Duke Crocker
Recurring cast [ edit ]
Guest stars [ edit ]
a ^ Kelton was also credited in "Stay", but her appearance in that episode was cut.
b ^ Also credited in the cast bill in "Over My Head".
c ^ Credited as |
I think all of us contain a verse in which Jesus says we can’t know the time or the hour.
ESV [snickering]: Are you sure you still have that verse?
NIV: Oh, is that how it’s going to be? Don’t even get me started. Old Man James over there has more errors than Derek Jeter, and The Message is practically having a rave. Then there’s Amp, who can’t stop talking, and Mr. Scofield who has managed to connect Israel, Michael Gorbachev, and Michael W. Smith. I’m the only sane one of the bunch!
AMP: I think you’re overreacting, being hyperbolic, exaggerating. Yes perhaps I do speak, pontificate, ramble on a bit, but it’s all for good. I think if you would just let me speak, talk, hold forth a bit more, you would see that I have wonderful, extravagant, delightful ideas.
NIV: And ESV, don’t get me started on your whole family. You’re brother, Study Bible, has a serious weight problem. I mean, he needs to go on Atkins or something. Your grandma, Mrs. Heirloom, likes to wrap herself in calfskin. Calfskin! Does she sleep on a bed of veal? And your little sister, Glo Bible, looks like she’s ready to hit the rave scene.
ESV [standing up]: You stay away from my family! We’re working on our problems. At least I didn’t have a vasectomy!
MSG: Woah…this just got intense. [cracks open another Red Bull]. What’s a vasectomy?
NIV: How dare you?!? Let’s make this clear. I was neutered. There is a big difference. It’s kind of like being a eunuch, but different.
[Awkward silence]
SRB: So like I was saying, I have these really neat color-coded charts that clearly show how the fall of the Berlin Wall was predicted in…
KJV: Oh just shut up, dear boy. Thou rants and rants when thou knowest nothing! I long for the good old days when a man protected his family with both the broadsword and the Bible.
SRB: Well then. I’ll be leaving.
Catholic Edition Revised Standard Version (CRSV): Guys, I know I haven’t said anything yet, but I really think I can solve this problem.
ESV: No, no. I know how you work. You think that because you have extra books, that somehow makes you special. Well it doesn’t!
MSG: Dudes! Dudes. It’s in these times that I like to quote that verse in Proverbs which says, “Can’t we all just get along?”
Read Next:Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Donald Trump sways along with a traditional Saudi sword dance
The US says it has signed deals worth more than $350bn (£270bn) with Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump begins his first foreign trip as president.
The agreements included an $110bn arms deal, which the White House described as the single biggest in US history.
Mr Trump and his wife Melania were greeted in the Saudi capital by King Salman on Saturday morning local time.
The eight-day trip comes as Mr Trump faces uproar at home following his sacking of FBI director James Comey.
It will also take in Israel, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Brussels, the Vatican, and Sicily.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the arms deal was aimed at countering the "malign" influence of Iran.
"The package of defence equipment and services supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the entire Gulf region," he told a news conference in Riyadh.
Mr Trump is accompanied on his visit by his daughter Ivanka, an unpaid White House adviser, and her husband Jared Kushner, a key member of the Trump administration.
Like British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on their recent visits to Saudi Arabia, Mrs Trump and Ivanka Trump did not wear headscarves.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Melania Trump didn't wear a headscarf, but does it matter?
In January 2015, Mr Trump criticised then-First Lady Michelle Obama for doing the same. In a tweet, Mr Trump said she had "insulted" her hosts.
On Sunday, Mr Trump will attend the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh and speak about his "hopes of a peaceful vision of Islam". Aides say the president hopes his speech will resonate worldwide and express "a common vision of peace, progress and prosperity".
Mr Trump caused controversy during his campaign by calling for Muslims to be temporarily banned from entering the US over security concerns. Legislation aimed at restricting travel from several Muslim-majority countries remains tied up in the US courts.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Trump's first trip: What's on the agenda in Saudi Arabia?
The summit agenda is expected to focus on combating Islamist militants and the growing regional influence of Iran.
Mr Trump has been a fierce critic of the international deal with Iran which eased sanctions in return for a curb on its nuclear activities.
Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Mr Trump received Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour from King Salman (R)
Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama, he is not expected to highlight human rights during his trip.
In a tweet, King Salman praised Mr Trump, adding that he hoped his visit would "strengthen our strategic co-operation". He later handed the US President Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz medal.
Can Trump follow the script? By Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent, in Riyadh
It's being called a summit like no other and in some ways, that's true. Saudis note that past presidential visits were organised by the Royal Court. This time Riyadh is bursting with summits and forums, drawing in all levels of government and everyone from wealthy CEOs, to experts on extremism, to young savvy social media experts.
But behind the hype, there's nervousness too. "We don't talk about an elephant in the room, we call it the elephant in Riyadh," a young Saudi tells me, highlighting the famous unpredictability of the US president when he veers from the official script. This visit is tightly choreographed to minimise that risk.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Saudi Arabia's foreign minister: Donald Trump's visit is a 'coup for peace and coexistence'
And it's not that officials in Riyadh are unaware of the crises roiling Washington. "The Saudis still see him as a president who can and will deliver when it comes to their interests," says one adviser. That's what matters for now. But whether Washington will fully follow the Saudi script for the region still has to be seen.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that Saudi Arabia had signed a deal to buy just under $110bn (£84bn) of American-made arms, which he said was the biggest such deal in US history.
Reuters news agency reports the deal includes the assembly of 150 Blackhawk helicopters in Saudi Arabia, worth about $6bn alone.
AFP quoted a White House official as saying the deal will bolster the kingdom's "ability to contribute to counter-terrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on the US military to conduct those operations".
Saudi Arabia has been fighting Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen since March 2015. The United Nations says about 10,000 people have been killed since the fighting began, with Yemen on the verge of famine.
Rex Tillerson said the arms deal and other investments would add up to more than $350bn.
US giant General Electric said it had signed agreements worth $15 billion, and Saudi oil giant Aramco, had been expected to sign $50bn (£38bn) of deals with 11 US companies.
The agenda for the rest of Mr Trump's trip
Monday-Tuesday, 22-23 May : Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, before visiting the West Bank on Tuesday
: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, before visiting the West Bank on Tuesday Wednesday 24 May : Rome and Brussels. Mr Trump will meet Pope Francis, then Belgian officials
: Rome and Brussels. Mr Trump will meet Pope Francis, then Belgian officials Thursday, 25 May : A Nato summit in Brussels
: A Nato summit in Brussels Friday, 26 May: Sicily, for a meeting of G7 members
What will the Trump presidency mean for Israel?
Find out which foreign leaders President Trump has met or called since taking office, as well as the countries he has mentioned in his tweets.
What has Trump said about your country?New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cleared $19 billion of arms procurement proposals since taking power in May, almost double India’s spending on weapons in the last fiscal year as he tries to modernize the country’s military.
The blitz of 41 approvals spans heavy guns to submarines as Modi seeks to counter China’s rising military heft and take a firmer stance on border disputes with Pakistan. The vice chief of the Indian Air Force, for one, has never seen anything like this pace from the nation’s Defence Acquisition Council.
“I don’t recall the council clearing these many number of procurement proposals within six months and in four meetings," Air Marshal R. K. Sharma, who has served in the air force for four decades, said in an interview in New Delhi on 4 December. “The indication from the government is that this trend in decision-making will continue."
The approvals add to Modi’s other steps, such as allowing more foreign investment in defence and trying to overcome a history of graft scandals that slowed purchases. The changes are stirring interest: Larsen & Toubro Ltd, India’s largest engineering business, said Europe’s Airbus Group NV is assessing whether to boost its stake in their defence joint venture. Boeing Co. is already looking for investment options.
Modi in July increased the limit on foreign-direct investment in defence to 49% from 26%.
Airbus
That’s part of a plan to stoke domestic production after India surpassed China in 2008-2012 to become the world’s largest importer of major conventional weapons. The premier is also seeking to rely less on state-run companies that have failed to help replace obsolete weapons.
“We’re very happy to increase the scope in the joint venture" with Airbus, Larsen & Toubro’s heavy engineering president M. V. Kotwal said in a 9 December phone interview. “They are still under discussion at their end, so I can’t mention about a timeline. They have expressed that they would like to look at their presence in India in a bigger way."
Larsen & Toubro and Airbus Defence & Space GmbH set up their L&T Cassidian Ltd venture in 2011, focusing on products such as radar, avionics and electronic warfare. Mumbai-based Larsen & Toubro holds 74% and Airbus the rest.
Larsen & Toubro fell 0.8% as of 2:20pm in Mumbai, compared with a 1.7% drop in the S&P BSE Sensex index.
BAE encouraged
Sunny Guglani, a spokesman for the Indian aerospace unit of Airbus, said the company doesn’t comment on speculation. Yves Guillaume, the president for Airbus in India, said the nation’s push to improve its defences is encouraging.
BAE Systems Plc, based in London, said the new government has given global defence companies reasons to be optimistic. The rise in the investment cap “substantially increases the attractiveness of the Indian market as a place to transfer technology and develop know-how," BAE’s India and Southeast Asia managing director John Brosnan said in an e-mail interview.
Nuclear-armed India has approved 41 proposals at a cost of ₹ 1.2 trillion ($19 billion) since June, defence minister Manohar Parrikar told parliament in New Delhi this month. Spending on defence equipment in the 12 months ended March 2014 was ₹ 66,900 crore, he said.
The proposals include ₹ 19,000 crore for submarines, a ₹ 15,800 crore purchase of artillery—the first acquisition of large-caliber guns since the 1980s—and a ₹ 3,200 crore deal to buy 8,356 Spike anti-tank guided missiles and 321 launchers from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
Pending deals
“All the proposals for acquisition that we sent to the Defence Acquisition Council have been cleared in the last six months," the vice chief of the Indian Navy, vice admiral Sunil Lanba, said in an interview in New Delhi this month. “This is good for the Indian armed forces’ modernization program."
Among pending deals is a contract for 126 Rafale combat planes from Dassault Aviation SA for about $11 billion, the world’s biggest order of fighter jets in about two decades.
Chicago-based Boeing is close to winning a $2.5 billion deal to supply 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force. Airbus is jointly bidding with Tata Sons Ltd to provide C295 transport aircraft.
“The government is seriously addressing defence procurement issues," Lars-Olof Lindgren, chairman and managing director of the Indian unit of Stockholm-based Saab AB, said in an e-mail interview.
50-year low
Modi faced defence spending near a 50-year low as a percentage of the economy when he swept to power. The military’s reputation has been tarnished by accidents such as the deadly sinking of navy vessels and a fighter jet that ejected its pilots without warning before crashing.
Modi’s challenges include reducing the risk of future graft scandals. Parrikar, who became defence minister last month, has vowed quick and transparent decision-making.
Concern also lingers that preventing foreign companies from controlling joint ventures may curb inflows. Lockheed Martin Corp. said in July that though Modi’s move to raise the overseas investment limit is positive, the government needs to do more to lure big-ticket products involving intellectual property.
Even so, Modi is “serious" about modernizing the armed forces, said Nitin A. Gokhale, a New Delhi-based independent national security analyst. “This government is speeding up processes," he said. BloombergEvents and cross-over stories are the bread and butter of the comic book industry for a plethora of reasons. You can't have comics without having massive, cross-over events. It makes sense, and frankly, they tend to be quite a bit of fun. However, when does it become too many events? When do the events start to get so big that they start affecting a publisher's brand negatively? At what point do readers start suffering from event fatigue?
Back in 1992, Marvel released four annual books that all crossed over into one story. It was called "Citizen Kang," and it was my first experience with a cross-over story or an event. It may not be the size and complexity fans have come to know in contemporary storytelling, but it was an event of sorts. The Vision had disappeared somewhere in Wisconsin, and it involved multiple super-hero teams to help out.
Well, my memory of the story is pretty weak because I didn't buy it for the stories. I bought it because each issue of the 4-part series had bios of Marvel characters in the back. I was a sucker in the 90s. Here's the thing, I don't remember events being as jam packed as they are now. Obviously, they existed. Cross-over events like Fatal Attractions, Phalanx Covenant, X-Cutioner's Song, and Age of Apocalypse still sit strongly in my mind, but there was still breathing room in between each one. Yes, the only events I can recall are X-related events. Guess what I read as a teenager. Now, it feels like events just follow one another non-stop to the point where some readers get "event fatigue."
The idea of event fatigue is pretty simple. When you have events back-to-back-to-back, the reader becomes disenchanted with the larger stories. They start getting sick of it and want their books to grow on their own. Fans start to become skeptical with what the companies are doing and some see the events less and less as "telling a story" and more and more as "cashing in on readers." The thing is that events have both positive and negative effects on their books, characters, and companies. Although the title of this piece questions "Do Larger Cross-Over Stories Help or Hurt the Industry," there is no yes or no answer, only pros and cons.
Events and cross-overs do a lot for publishers. Aside from the cynical answer of "they make the companies money," these larger stories can easily introduce readers to new characters and creators. Many folks can say they saw their favorite character first in a larger event. It piques the interest of the reader and that curiosity usually leads them to pick up that character's on-going series or the team they're involved in. The same goes for creators involved with the event.
It's also great, story wise. Aside from whatever story the writer and artist are conveying on the page, these events normally have characters interacting with each other than normally don't. Did you ever think Jean Grey would be working with the Guardians of the Galaxy? Or how about Lex Luthor working with Batman? Normally, those things wouldn't be plausible, but in the cross-over format, these things can happen.
By far, one of the best things about events is the lead up and aftermath. One of the coolest lead-ups to an event is easily the stories that took place in NEW AVENGERS before SECRET INVASION took place. It had a very conspiracy nature to it. Who's the Skrull? Half the fun was trying to figure it out before it was revealed. As for the aftermath, FLASHPOINT surely shook things up in the DC Universe, didn't it? While a good event, on its own, tells a good story, a great event lives on in those universes, years later.
Above everything else, a good event can be a lot of fun, like a summer blockbuster. Not everything has to be Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or F for Fake. Sometimes, folks just wanna see something blow up. Half the fun of reading comics is being open to having a good time. It's ok to like something silly or action-packed or kinda dumb. Comics are entertainment and if you're not willing to try and be entertained, then why bother?
Not everything about events is sunshine and gumdrops on a cloud made of my childhood dreams (before they were all destroyed). Events and cross-overs both tend to muck things up for readers. First and foremost, events are incredibly repetitious. Many events can be described as "a larger than life force trying to destroy the world and it's up to heroes to stop it." If you're Marvel, many events tend to be "let's give everyone the same power and have them battle it out:" House of M (Mutants), Secret Invasion (Skrulls), Spider-Island (Spider-Man powers), Hulked-Out Heroes (Hulk powers), Fear Itself (Thor Hammers), and Avengers Vs X-Men (Phoenix Force). Sure, a few of those stories are great, but the repetition is pretty rough.
The most criminal thing about events and cross-overs is that it can interrupt other series and completely mess with characters, which results in these books not being allowed to grow on their own. There's a few pretty huge examples of this: NIGHTWING, CONSTANTINE, and PANDORA. Since early on, NIGHTWING was tied into a BATMAN story line for a large portion of its run. The books actually grew on its own incredibly well while Dick lived in Chicago, before the events of FOREVER EVIL. CONSTANTINE and PANDORA are both newer titles that were both tied into Trinity of Sin, followed by Forever Evil: Blight. Neither book really had a chance to grow on its own, as a solo series though. How could people want to read it if they don't know how it does on its own or if they know nothing about the character since there hasn't been any time to establish and development?
As stated before, there's no right or wrong answer to this question. Sure, you could say that events shouldn't cross-over into other books, but then readers would want to know how these events affect their favorite characters. Those stories could be told as mini-series tie-ins, but rarely to those books live up to their potential. There's no winning in this situation. People will be upset, regardless. The best thing to do is sit back and try to enjoy it and wait for your favorite books to return to normal. Because if there's one thing fans can rely on from Marvel and DC, it's that everything eventually returns to normal.
Mat "Inferiorego" Elfring is a loud-mouth on Twitter, a writer and podcast chap for Comic Vine, and a lover of comic books and events, believe it or not.GUEN, Central African Republic – There are no headstones to mark these graves, no loving words, nothing to tell the world who lies in these two giant pits full of bodies, or why. Yet a handful of village elders are determined that nobody will be forgotten.
These old men, their eyes clouded by cataracts and their ears hacked by machete blades, sit on dirty straw mats at a church and gather the names of the dead from broken survivors. They write each name carefully in Arabic with faded blue ink on lined paper, neatly folded and stored in the pocket of one man’s tattered kaftan. The list is four pages long.
At least 5,186 people have died in Central African Republic since fighting between Muslims and Christians started in December, according to an Associated Press tally gleaned from more than 50 of the hardest-hit communities and the capital, Bangui. That’s well more than double the death toll of about 2,000 cited by the United Nations back in April, when it approved a peacekeeping mission. The deaths have mounted steadily since, with no official record.
As the U.N. prepares to go into the Central African Republic next week, the death toll underscores how the aid is coming too late for thousands of victims. The about 2,000 extra troops to boost African forces fall short of the almost 7,000 authorized in April, with the rest expected by early 2015. Yet the conflict has turned out to be far more deadly than it was then, and warnings of potential mass carnage from former colonizer France and from the U.N. itself have gone unheeded.
“The international community said it wanted to put a stop to the genocide that was in the making. But months later, the war has not stopped, ” says Joseph Bindoumi, president of the Central African Human Rights League, who collects handwritten testimonies from relatives stapled together with photos of their slain loved ones.
“On the contrary, it has gotten worse. Today, towns that were not under severe threat back in April have become the sites of true disasters.”
___
Both life and death often go unrecorded in Central African Republic, a country of about 4.6 million that has long teetered on the edge of anarchy. Nobody knows just how many people have died in the grinding ethnic violence, and even the AP tally is almost certainly a fraction of the real toll.
The AP counted bodies and gathered numbers from dozens of survivors, priests, imams, human rights groups and local Red Cross workers, including those in a vast, remote swath of the west that makes up a third of the country. Many deaths here were not officially counted because the region is still dangerous and can barely be reached in torrential rains. Others were left out by overwhelmed aid workers but registered at mosques and at private Christian funerals.
The U.N. is not recording civilian deaths on its own, unlike in Iraq or Afghanistan, for example. And it took months to gather troops from different countries for the mission, which will take over from regional peacekeeping forces on Sept. 15, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
“Mobilizing troops for peacekeeping mission takes time because it’s not like they’re waiting in New York for us,” Dujarric said Wednesday. “We have to go knock on doors for troops, for equipment, helicopters…”
The conflict started when Muslim rebels captured the capital last March, for the first time since independence from France in 1960. The rebels, known as the Seleka, killed hundreds, possibly thousands of Christians, leaving families to push the bodies of their loved ones to cemeteries in wheelbarrows and carts. Even when Christian militias forced the rebels to withdraw in late January, they killed as they went.
In the tiny Christian village of Nzakoun, where the only sounds after dark are of crickets and the occasional mango dropping on a rooftop, the roar of vehicles woke up 13-year-old Maximin Lassananyant in the dead of night in early February. Soon the gunshots rang out. The Seleka had come.
The rebels set ablaze more than two dozen houses. Then they went door-to-door, killing villagers and stealing everything they hadn’t destroyed.
Maximin stumbled out of the hut where he slept with his mother and two siblings into the darkness, with only the moon to light his path. He hid for two days in the bush, petrified. He prayed that his family was just hiding someplace else.
Then the other survivors from the village found him. They told him it was time to come home and bury his family. The stones of his home still reeked of blood, caked on the ground and the walls inside.
Now it is only Maximin and his father, a traumatized man of few words, who remain, along with another brother who was away that fateful night. The boy’s hands shake as he tries to write down the names of his family. He cannot bring himself to say them aloud.
A village chief has hand-printed the names of 22 buried victims on a weathered piece of paper from a classroom notebook. Maximin’s mother, Rachel, is No. 11 on the list of females, and his 5-year-old sister Fani is No. 13. His 7-year-old brother Boris is on the list of males. A separate list details the homes destroyed, the people missing.
The sound of an unknown vehicle passing in Nzakoun still sends families fleeing back into the forest.
___
It was only a matter of time — sometimes just hours — before the Christians took revenge.
The mounting hatred was fuelled in part by economic resentment. Muslims make up about 15 per cent of the population, compared to Christians at 50 per cent, yet Muslims ran the merchant class and the lucrative diamond business. As Christian militias took back control of town after town, they unleashed a violence believed to have left several thousands dead, mostly Muslims.
Soon after dawn one morning, Christian fighters stormed the outskirts of Guen, a town with a sizeable Muslim population because of the diamond mining nearby. They attacked the brick homes of Muslims, identifiable by fences traditionally put up all around them, and killed men in front of their children.
“We have suffered under the Seleka and now it is your turn,” they screamed at the Muslims.
Within hours, 23 people were dead.
Several days later, the Christian fighters stormed a house in town where dozens of Muslim men and boys had sought refuge. A few escaped. The rest were herded at gunpoint to a shady lawn beneath two large mango trees, recalls a survivor.
Here the terrified victims were ordered to lie on their stomachs. Then the militia leader, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle, began shooting them, one by one. He ordered his fighters to finish off the wounded with machete blows to the head.
In the end, 43 people were slain under the mango trees, including two 11-year-old boys.
A 10-year-old and a 13-year-old survived only by lying still amid the bloody corpses until darkness fell. Then they ran for their lives to a nearby town, according to other survivors, including the mother of one of the boys.
The lives of three Muslims in town were spared: They were the ones who transported the bludgeoned bodies to two mass graves on a wooden stretcher, still stained with blood months later.
A villager named Abakar lost four of his sons that day, all between the ages of 11 and 16. The thought of his boys awaiting certain death has him sobbing so hard he cannot speak. Even now he will only give his first name because he is so afraid that the militants will hunt him down.
“Each night before I go to sleep I pray to God that I don’t have nightmares about that day,” he chokes out between his sobs.
Two community leaders — both Christians — pleaded for the lives of the boys and men that day in Guen. They were told they too would be slain if they did not leave. They could not eat or sleep for days. “What more could we do?” they now say to each other, over and over.
Edmond Beina, the local leader of a Christian militia, is unrepentant. Everyone killed that day was a Seleka Muslim rebel, he says. Even the children.
Today, pages from holy Qurans blow through the grass at the house where the boys tried to hide. They are the only reminder of those who died.
___
The violence is now bubbling up in previously stable corners, hitting both Christians and Muslims. In Bambari, northeast of the capital, at least 149 people were killed in June and July alone, according to witnesses, including about 17 Christians sheltering at a Catholic church compound. And in the Mbres area in the north, Muslim rebels left at least 34 people dead in August.
About 20,000 Muslims are trapped in isolated communities across the nation, despite a mass exodus earlier this year, according to a U.N. report in August. Among them is Saidou Bouba, who waits outside the mayor’s office in the town of Boda.
Bouba had spent his entire life in this diamond town south of the capital. But when the Christian militia fighters burned his house down in early February, the 46-year-old herder knew it was time to leave.
So he and his family joined a group of 34 Muslim refugees heading for Cameroon. They took with them all their savings — some 300 cattle — to start a new life.
About 37 miles outside town, they stopped to rest beneath a tree. There, a group of heavily armed men on foot, wearing traditional Muslim clothing, opened fire on the crowd.
Bouba shouted in disbelief: “Why are you trying to harm your fellow Muslims?”
But they were not Muslims. They were Christian fighters wearing the clothes of their last victims. “Lie down, dogs!” the men shouted.
The last thing Bouba remembers is being knocked unconscious with a machete blow to the head.
When he awoke, he was surrounded by the bodies of his two wives and five children. Mama and Abdoulaye, both just 3 years old, Nafissa and Rassida, 6, and Mariam, 8, were all dead, their tiny heads bashed in with machetes.
Only Bouba and one other man survived. They sat among the 32 bodies for an entire day in shock before making their way back to town.
“I put everything now in the hands of God,” he says softly, his face and head still scarred by machete wounds from that awful day. “He gave my family to me and then he took them away.”
There are grieving fathers everywhere in this tiny enclave: Abakar Hissein has lost two sons, both shot to death, Ahmat earlier this year in Bangui and Ali on Aug. 20 in Boda. Hissein carried Ali’s body back in his own arms. His wife has been missing for five months — he thinks she has made it to neighbouring Chad — and does not know yet another son is dead.
Even in death, there is no peace for the victims.
Earlier this summer, a Muslim man was buried at a cemetery in Boda, just a mile away from the zone where Muslims are barricaded.
Later that evening, after the sun set, his body was dug up from the ground and set on fire.
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Associated Press writer Steve Niko in Boda, Central African Republic and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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Follow Krista Larson at https://www.twitter.com/klarsonafricaWatch Dogs’ latest “Welcome to Chicago” trailer is composed footage captured with a PlayStation 4 development kit, creative director Jonathan Morin has confirmed.
Morin’s statement follows recent claims that the visual performance of the game was scaled back since its initial unveiling at E3 2012, which ran on a high-end PC. Morin said that it “wasn’t a good graphics reference,” and Ubisoft Benelux PR and events manager Tessa Vilyn said that the downgrade claims were not true.
The new trailer shows off the city where Watch Dogs is set, and the physics, lighting, weather, and other effects Watch Dogs’ new graphics engine is capable of. However, Morin also said that Ubisoft is still tweaking the resolution on all platforms.
Watch Dogs launches May 27 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. The Wii U version is definitely not canceled, but does not have a release date yet.
For more on Watch Dogs content, be sure to check out GameSpot editor Shaun McInnis' extensive hands-on preview of the game from his recent trip to Ubisoft Montreal.BAGHDAD – What the US has been calling the success of a "surge," many Iraqis see as evidence of catastrophe. Where US forces point to peace and calm, local Iraqis find an eerie silence.
And when US forces speak of a reduction in violence, many Iraqis simply do not know what they are talking about.
Hundreds died in a series of explosions in Baghdad last month. This was despite the strongest ever security measures taken by the US military, riding the "surge" in security forces and their activities.
The death toll is high, according to the website icasualties.org, which provides reliable numbers of Iraqi civilian and security deaths.
In January this year 485 civilians were killed, according to the website. It says the number is based on news reports, and that "actual totals for Iraqi deaths are higher than the numbers recorded on this site."
The average month in 2005, before the "surge" was launched, saw 568 civilian deaths. In January 2006, the month before the "surge" began, 590 civilians died.
Many of the killings have taken place in the most well guarded areas of Baghdad. And they have continued this month.
"Two car bombs exploded in Jadriya, killing so many people, the day the American Secretary of Defense (Robert Gates) was visiting Baghdad last week," a captain from the Karrada district police in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS.
"Another car bomb killed eight people and injured 20 Thursday (last week) in the Muraidy market of Sadr City, east of Baghdad, although the Mehdi army (the militia of Muqtada al-Sadr) provides strict protection to the city," the officer said. "There is no security in this country any more."
Unidentified bodies of Iraqis killed by militias continue to appear in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. The Iraqi government has issued instructions to all security and health offices not to give out the body count to the media. Dozens of bodies are found every day across Baghdad, residents say. Morgue officials confirm this.
"We are not authorized to issue any numbers, but I can tell you that we are still receiving human bodies every day; the men have no identity on them," a doctor at the Baghdad morgue told IPS. "The bodies that have signs of torture are the Sunnis killed by Shi’ite militias; those with a bullet in the head are usually policemen, translators or contractors who worked for the Americans."
The "surge" of 30,000 additional troops came to Iraq, mostly Baghdad, in February of last year. The total current number of US troops in Iraq is approximately 157,000. They were sent to end violence, and with a declared aim of helping political reconciliation.
But where peace of sorts has descended in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital city of six million (in a population of 25 million), it comes from a partitioning of people along sectarian lines. The Iraqi Red Crescent reports that one in four residents has been driven out of their homes by death squads, or by the "surge."
According to an Iraqi Red Crescent report titled "The Internally Displaced People in Iraq" released Jan. 27, 1,364,978 residents of Baghdad have been displaced.
The Environment News Service reported Jan. 7 that "many of the capital’s once mixed areas have become either purely Sunni or Shi’ite after militias forced families out for belonging to the other religious branch of Islam."
Some of the eerie calm in areas of Baghdad comes because togetherness has ended. Sunnis and Shi’ites who lived together for generations are now partitioned. This is not the peace many Iraqis were looking for, surge or no surge.
On Jan. 8, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond announced that there were at least 2.2 million Iraqis internally displaced within the country, and that at least another two million had fled the country altogether. This, no doubt, would make many areas quieter.
The US military has erected three to four meter high concrete walls around several neighborhoods, forcing residents to choose either Sunni or Shi’ite areas in which to live. Such separation has brought large-scale displacement, and protests.
Sunni Muslims seem to have the worst of it. Many Iraqis are outraged by the number of Sunni detainees the "surge" has taken.
Residents of Amiriya district of western Baghdad demonstrated Feb. 11 against mistreatment by US and Iraqi forces involved in the "surge." The "surge" aims to eradicate al-Qaeda from Iraq, but this has meant that most military operations have been carried out in Sunni areas like Amiriya.
"We are here to protest against the unfair arrests and raids conducted against the innocent people of Amiriya," Salih al-Mutlag, chief of the Arab Dialogue Council in the Iraqi government told IPS at the demonstration. "This has gone too far under the flag of fighting terror."
Al-Mutlag said they were also demonstrating against arrests in the western parts of Baghdad, despite an apparently peaceful situation there as a result of residents’ cooperation with Iraqi army units. Large numbers of residents came out in the Dora region of southwest Baghdad to protest against the US military for arresting 18 people, including an 80-year-old man.
"We are the ones who improved the situation in western parts of Baghdad without any interference from the Americans and their puppet Iraqi government," former Iraqi Army Major Abu Wussam told IPS in Amiriya. "We negotiated with our brothers in the Iraqi national resistance who agreed to conduct their activities in a different way from the traditional way they used to work.
"It seems Americans did not like it, and so they are punishing us for it, instead of releasing our detainees as they promised."
Some of the apparent peace on the street is a consequence of rising detentions. In November last year Karl Matley, head of the Iraqi branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross, declared that more than |
transgender children, and became one of its youngest patients.
Mienna was eventually told that Dexter had gender dysphoria — a condition where sufferers experience distress at their sex. Should he still feel this way as he approached puberty, he could be given drugs to block the changes and ease the transition to becoming a man in adulthood.
This would, undoubtedly, be a long, and possibly painful, journey — and it is starting strikingly early.
Many will be disturbed at what is happening to this child. Isn’t Dexter far too young to be questioning his gender, let alone taking preliminary steps to alter it?
How can Mienna be sure, at such a tender age, that this isn’t just a phase the child is going through? And doesn’t she worry that psychological harm could be inflicted on the child by validating what could be temporary as a biological certainty?
Many will be disturbed at what is happening to this child. Isn’t Dexter far too young to be questioning his gender, let alone taking preliminary steps to alter it? Pictured: A girl at 18 months
She admits she can’t be sure. ‘But, for me, it would be fundamentally wrong to force Dexter to live as Talia, because he was so unhappy,’ says Mienna, who is married to Ollie, 54, a painter, and who also has a 13-year-old daughter. ‘We’re a long way off any treatment or an operation, but being under the umbrella of the Tavistock makes us feel that we’re in safe hands.
‘As horrible a road as this is, I am thankful that we are dealing with it now. It must be an absolute torment to discover you are transgender during the tricky teenage years.’
The subject of gender identity in childhood has become one of the most contentious of our times.
Last week, Nigel Rowe, 44, and his wife Sally, 42, announced plans to sue their sons’ Church of England school on the Isle of Wight for discriminating against their Christian beliefs by allowing boys to wear dresses.
They said it was deeply unsettling for their sons to see other children affecting a different gender, and that children are too emotionally immature to decide they want to change sex. In an age where gender is increasingly seen as fluid, the Rowes were vilified for their beliefs. Unsurprisingly, Mienna is angered.
‘If the Rowes are acting in the name of religion, surely they should be more accepting of others? My son has shown more emotional maturity than they have.’
The number of children seeking help for gender issues has grown dramatically recently, despite — or perhaps because of — increasing attempts to identify and integrate those who might be transgender. Demand at the Tavistock Centre, the only NHS clinic of its kind, has soared in recent years. In 2009, just 97 children aged between three and 18 were referred. But by last year, there were 2,016 referrals, with the number of children aged five or under rising from six to 32.
Meanwhile, the gender-neutral movement gathers pace. Earlier this month, John Lewis stopped labelling its children’s clothing by gender, while Priory School in Lewes, East Sussex, banned girls from wearing skirts in order to accommodate the growing number of transgender pupils.
This week, The Good Schools Guide is to examine the extent to which schools are ‘transgender friendly’, after claims some children are being bullied.
Yet others believe, like the Rowes, that there is a politically correct agenda driving the issue in schools, and that transgenderism has morphed from a serious condition affecting a small minority to a fashionable ideology spearheaded by fanatics who bully those who don’t subscribe to it.
A friend questioned whether Dexter may be transgender — a suggestion Mienna promptly rejected. Pictured aged 3
Mienna says she certainly had no plans to raise her children gender-neutral, but by the age of two, Talia was throwing tantrums at the sight of frocks and frilly necklines and would drag her mother to the dinosaur T-shirts in shops.
‘She hated the cartoon princess film Frozen and watched ET instead,’ says Mienna. ‘Nearly all her friends were boys and she didn’t seem to identify with girls. When I praised her for being a “good girl”, she’d protest: “I’m not a girl, I’m a boy.” ’
A friend questioned whether Dexter may be transgender — a suggestion Mienna promptly rejected.
‘I was a tomboy and thought she was, too,’ she says. ‘Of course, I’d heard of transgenderism on social media and television, but I’d never met a transgender child — neither had Talia — and it never crossed my mind.’
But Talia seemed more and more unhappy. ‘She was a poor sleeper and cried constantly. I’d assumed she was just spirited, but as she approached her fourth birthday, I wondered if there might be some truth in the transgender suggestion.
‘She was so persistent in her language and behaviour.’
She says her husband Ollie has been ‘100 per cent supportive’ of her approach towards Dexter: ‘Like me, he watched the situation evolve.’
When visiting Talia’s prospective primary school in 2015, Mienna asked the headmaster if Talia would be able to come to school in a boy’s uniform. ‘He said she could wear what she was most comfortable in,’ says Mienna.
Yet Talia struggled. ‘She was wetting herself and eventually told me the girls wouldn’t let her use their toilet as she was a boy, and the boys wouldn’t let her use their toilet because she was a girl — so she wasn’t going at all.’
'Weight off his shoulders': Dexter is much happier now than when he was a girl
A month into the term, Mienna gave in to Talia’s pleas to have her long, curly hair cut short. Then, one afternoon in March, Talia, aged five, came running in from the garden with an announcement.
‘She said: “Mummy, I’ve got it — I’m a boy called Dexter and I want everyone to call me that”,’ says Mienna.
‘Later, I asked if she was sure, and she said: “Yes, I’m a boy.” It seemed as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.’
Mienna met with Dexter’s headmaster, teacher and an ‘inclusion officer’ — who helps children with special needs — to say that, from the summer term, Talia wanted to be known as Dexter and addressed by the pronoun ‘he’.
‘Dexter’s teacher told the rest of the class Talia was to be called Dexter while Dexter and I were in a meeting. Apparently, one of Dexter’s friends said: “We know Tali’s a boy. Can we play now?” ’
Mienna disputes the Rowes’ implication that Dexter’s classmates could be damaged by his behaviour.
‘Yes, children are inquisitive, but they also take things at face value,’ she says. ‘If that child is their friend, why would it make a difference?’
And she doesn’t worry that seeing Dexter’s changes might encourage children to needlessly question their own gender.
‘This isn’t something you question,’ she says. ‘It is something you feel. Dexter has never said he wants to be a boy. He says he is a boy. It’s different from being gender-fluid, going through a phase or being a tomboy.’
Mienna also dismisses the claim made by author and academic Dr Joanna Williams that ‘the time, effort and money that goes into producing and monitoring transgender policies is out of all proportion to the tiny number of trans children currently in British schools’ as deeply unfair.
She says: ‘If there was only one child in a wheelchair or with autism, nobody would say they didn’t deserve as much time and effort. Dexter’s needs are just as valid.’
In any case, she adds: ‘The other parents were incredibly supportive. Only a couple of people asked something to the effect of whether this was my decision because I wanted a boy.
‘I couldn’t believe they thought I would push this onto my son, or saw fit to say so.’
Mienna’s father, 74, and mother, 65, who live nearby, have been similarly understanding. ‘I worried my dad wouldn’t get it,’ says Mienna. ‘But my mum sat him down and explained everything. Since then, he hasn’t once slipped up and called him Talia.’
Dexter’s teacher, meanwhile, suggested Mienna and her son watch some TV programmes about transgender children. The more Dexter watched, the more questions he had. Mienna says: ‘He asked me why I made him wrong. I explained to him what transgender meant and said there was an operation you could have to make a willy. I told him if he still feels this way when he’s an adult, he may or may not choose to have this operation.
‘He started asking: “When am I going to get a willy, Mummy?” I’d never suggested he was broken or needed repairing. But it was heart-breaking, and I felt guilty.’
Does she fear that exposing him to such complex issues on-screen might have made him feel more unsettled?
‘No. It’s not as if he is this way because I watched all this with him. I wanted to be honest.’
But Dexter continued to struggle to sleep and, when he started complaining of stomach aches in May 2016, Mienna took him to their GP, worried that he was suffering from anxiety.
After a week of research, the GP referred him to the Tavistock Centre, where Dexter attended his first appointment in January with his sister and parents.
‘Dexter asked if they were going to “fix” him,’ says Mienna. ‘I had to do all the talking, going back over his upbringing. He coloured in as I talked, and there was no definitive answer as to whether he was transgender.’
The family have now had three of their allocated six NHS-funded counselling sessions at the Tavistock, with the next in November. ‘As Dexter isn’t about to hit puberty, we have a while before we need to go more regularly,’ says Mienna. ‘They told us gender is very fluid at Dexter’s age and some children do revert back.’
Can she see this happening? ‘Never. I’d gladly be proved wrong — it would be far easier if Dexter did decide to be a girl. But there has been no suggestion he will.’
She seems in favour of him taking drugs to stop the onset of puberty. ‘I can imagine it would be horrific to grow breasts and get periods if he feels the way he does now.’
In the past, it has been more common for boys to seek treatment than girls, but there has been a marked reversal recently, with 1,400 females doing so last year, compared with 616 males.
Some have ascribed this rise to the growing pressure girls are under, but Mienna says: ‘It’s never crossed Dexter’s mind that life will be easier as a boy. Nor is this about feminism or being gay.’
In fact, she says, Dexter talks of having a wife and children when he is grown up. ‘He’ll probably have to adopt, unless he doesn’t transition and lives as a man with female organs,’ says Mienna.
While she admits that Dexter still ‘struggles’ to fit into his peer group, she says he is not lacking in playdates and party invitations.
‘Like any mum, I just want my child to be happy,’ she says. ‘And really, as long as he is comfortable in what he’s wearing, I can’t see what difference it makes to anyone else.’One of the most interesting aspects of the bitcoin story has been the evolving set of solutions for securely storing bitcoins. It’s an issue that combines the classic tradeoffs between security and convenience with all the dynamism of the rapidly changing cryptocurrency landscape.
To help shed some light on where things are today and where they are headed, I reached out to Will O’Brien, CEO of BitGo; Nicolas Cary, CEO of Blockchain.info; and Alan Reiner, CEO of Bitcoin Armory. What follows is an edited Q&A touching on topics including today’s storage options, some exciting changes on the horizon, and what people in the bitcoin ecosystem can do to engage with the regulatory process.
Let’s start at the beginning. If I want to store bitcoins, what are some options that are available, and what are some of the pros/cons involved?
Will O’Brien: The first step is to determine why you are holding bitcoins. Is this an investment? Do you plan to spend them online with merchants such as Overstock.com or Big Fish Games? Do you hope to make money by trading on the open market? The answer to this question will guide you toward the storage solution that fits your needs.
There are three basic types of bitcoin storage. The first is a bitcoin wallet, which is software that stores the digital credentials for your bitcoin holdings. This software can run on your desktop or you can use a hosted wallet provider. A second way to hold bitcoins is to deposit funds with a custodian, exchange, or investment vehicle (like an Exchange-Traded Fund) that holds bitcoins for you. Finally, as curious as it may sound, it is possible to store bitcoins, a purely digital currency, completely offline or in a vault. This is known in the industry as “cold storage.”
Nicolas Cary: Some common methods of bitcoin storage currently include cold storage, desktop wallets, web and mobile wallets. Each of these options presents their own unique pros and cons, with the most pressing issues being security and usability. Cold storage, a method by which a user stores their bitcoins offline, proves to be the most secure but also least practical when wanting to send and receive bitcoins. Desktop wallets offer a secure and easier way to conduct bitcoin transactions, but limit your ability to use them to your desktop computer. The next step in practical solutions is a web wallet, which allows you to spend bitcoins using your computer, tablet, or mobile device. While this makes it easier, a major disadvantage with web wallets is that storage is on a central server. If the server experiences downtime, you may be unable to access your bitcoins. Mobile apps are a new wave of bitcoin storage. You access your bitcoins from your smartphone, in a way that is most practical for using bitcoins regularly. However, if someone gains access to your smartphone, you may lose your bitcoins. Each of these methods has its own unique benefits and disadvantages, and it is recommended to try multiple options to see which combination of options provide the level of security and usability best for you.
Alan Reiner: Your primary options are holding bitcoins yourself or having a third party hold them. There's a large variety of options for both, and both have significant risks right now, especially without good insurance options available. The pros of holding bitcoins yourself are that you reduce identity theft, no third-party fees, and you have full control over your privacy and security. Third parties may have better security practices, but add another authentication layer that can be broken by malicious parties (i.e. someone logs into the service with your identity and requests a withdrawal). Both users and third-parties have a history of mishandling bitcoins, and hence why we don't recommend anyone but experts hold life-changing amounts of money right now.
What is a secure bitcoin wallet, and why is it more “secure” than other options for bitcoin storage?
Alan Reiner: A secure bitcoin wallet is one that helps the users practice security best practices without driving them away by being too hard to use. Armory's stance has been to develop the most secure solutions and then make them as easy as possible. A lot of advanced users who manage large amounts of BTC would say that Armory is the best thing available for manually managing large quantities of bitcoin because it has made these best practices usable without sacrificing usability. However, many new bitcoin users would disagree, because Armory is not very easy to use for those totally new to bitcoin. This is why we don't market Armory to new bitcoin users, and it markets itself to bigger players in the community.
Will O’Brien: A secure wallet is bank-grade software that protects your bitcoins from theft and loss. This is the level of security we aim to offer at BitGo.
Prior to 2013, security was not a major priority because the price of bitcoin was still relatively low. Most people who owned bitcoins knew the risks associated with using an experimental digital currency. Now the stakes are much higher due to bitcoin’s incredible growth in adoption and price. It is simply not acceptable to store your bitcoins in a place that can be easily penetrated by hackers.
BitGo’s secure multi-sig wallet ensures that there is no single point of attack. Every wallet is comprised of three keys, two of which are required to access holdings. One key is held by BitGo, one by the user, and one offline. This makes our wallet virtually hack proof.
Nicolas Cary: A secure bitcoin wallet ought to have a two-prong approach to security. It is essential that a bitcoin wallet equip the user with all the tools necessary to prevent unauthorized access, such as two-factor authentication methods or a second password. Centralized services or wallets are antithetical to the promise of a peer-to-peer trust-less network. By contrast, at Blockchain.info, our wallet service allows the user 100% access to their own private keys, and will refrain from storing them unencrypted on a central server. The Blockchain wallet gives 100% control to the user. Our servers never see private keys. In fact, even during a service disruption you can still use your bitcoins.
Usually there is a trade-off between security and convenience. Is it possible for a bitcoin wallet to be secure while also being easy to use?
Will O’Brien: Yes, absolutely. But the paradigm has to change from single key to multi-sig. In any single key storage solution, there is only one piece of information a hacker needs in order to steal bitcoins. With multi-sig, an online wallet is secure because multiple keys are never on the same machine. With this foundation, companies can build easy-to-use, consumer-friendly services that leverage the power of bitcoin without carrying the associated risks.
Alan Reiner: This tradeoff is tough to overcome. I think this is part of the fundamental experiment called "Bitcoin": there are a lot of options for managing your coins, and today none of them have the right balance for "the average person." But I’m optimistic that in the longer term balanced solutions will be developed.
Nicolas Cary: Security starts with you. Having a wallet where you are the sole holder of the private keys is the best way to make sure you always control the funds. Adding extra layers of security, such as two-factor authentication, while keeping it convenient to use, is key for any successful wallet app. You want to be able to easily spend bitcoins at a restaurant without having to sacrifice any level of security.
What are some of the exciting changes you expect to see in secure bitcoin storage over the coming year?
Nicolas Cary: There will likely be many different types of hot and cold storage solutions for 2014. Hardware wallets could potentially serve as both, and it will be exciting to see what happens on this front. A bitcoin debit card could serve as a way to integrate hot wallet services into legacy payment systems, like credit cards. We’ll also probably see some cold storage banks come about, and it will be interesting to see how that will work in the bitcoin space.
Alan Reiner: We’ll see growth in multi-signature transactions (such as those offered by Armory), hardware wallets (such as Trezor), and insured storage options. These developments have huge implications across the entire bitcoin ecosystem. Multi-sig and insurance are critical for large companies to be able to split signing authority between company officers, and not go out of business if something goes wrong. Previously solutions have typically had a single point of failure. For regular consumers: hardware wallets provide many of the benefits of an offline computer without all the inconvenience. This might be the level of convenience and security "regular" users need.
Will O’Brien: I think we’re going to see the recent advancements in wallet security move into other areas of the ecosystem. Imagine an exchange powered by multi-sig, for example, where users would be able to independently audit their deposits and withdraw funds. At BitGo we have seen a lot of demand by companies that want to build exchanges, marketplaces, and other services on top of our platform.
For the bitcoin ecosystem to reach its full potential, there are various regulatory hurdles that will need to be addressed. What is the best way for people in the bitcoin community to contribute to addressing those hurdles?
Nicolas Cary: Because bitcoin is so outside the scope of the typical financial regulatory framework, it is essential that bitcoin enthusiasts and evangelists actively communicate with politicians and governmental institutions about bitcoin’s functions and potential. Convincing politicians to accept bitcoin payments for their campaigns is perhaps a start, as this will encourage other policymakers to learn more about it.
Will O’Brien: First, as an ecosystem, we have to continue building the core infrastructure and services that demonstrate that bitcoin is safe and useful. Business leaders and regulators have every right to expect more stability and security in a digital currency that has such incredible potential to change the world. Second, we must get involved in the policy conversation, either directly or through representation. Bitcoin has some strong support in Washington and we must make our needs clear so that any new policy is effective and timely. It’s also worth noting that the growth of bitcoin has led to the entrance of veteran entrepreneurs, backed by institutional capital, who are engaging in productive discussions with regulators about how to build a sustainable and robust industry.
Alan Reiner: I know many people couldn't imagine writing letters anymore, but they are still one of the most effective ways of communicating with elected officials. People should contact representatives to promote the positive side of bitcoin and explain why it can be beneficial to everyone.
There’s been some buzz lately about “multi-signature” approaches to bitcoin transactions, which require two or more signatures to authorize a transfer. Do you think that multi-sig is going to become a dominant approach to authorizing transactions, or do you think it will be limited to a subset of applications?
Alan Reiner: Multi-sig is going to be a critical part of bitcoin's future, because it so dramatically improves security. Most consumer funds will require two-factor authentication to spend, such as requiring approval from both your computer and your phone, or dual approval of spouses. Larger-scale, institutional use of bitcoin will necessitate 3+ authorized signatures for proper segregation of duties and eliminating single points of failure.
Nicolas Cary: In the next few months I expect that we’ll see multi-sig transactions used in many different ways, although escrow services would likely be the main use early on. There is a lot of potential use for these types of transactions, and it will be interesting to see the types of services that embrace multi-sig.
Will O’Brien: 2014 will be the year of multi-sig. We will see the majority of wallets and exchanges embrace multi-sig to secure their holdings. There is no other effective choice except for very niche cases where a technologist has the acumen to secure their own wallet. We launched our first multi-sig wallet in August 2013, and we believe that multi-sig also has applications beyond wallet technology. It can be the foundational building block for escrow and real estate transactions, where the buyer, seller, and agent each hold a key and two parties need to agree to sign a transaction. Ultimately, multi-sig and ensuing standards will enable mainstream adoption of bitcoin.The situation in Puerto Rico is desperate. Hurricane Maria has wreaked havoc on the island, destroying thousands of homes and businesses. To date, many residents lack access to clean water and many basic services.
The question facing this nation is how can we best help the people of Puerto Rico, and get them back on their feet as quickly as possible. Sadly, this task is made more difficult, because the commonwealth is already facing a massive, $120 billion debt crisis.
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One of the biggest problems facing Puerto Rico is the electric grid. The wires, poles and other infrastructure that delivers electricity across the island was badly damaged by the hurricane. In our modern society, without access to reliable electricity, it is impossible to return to the everyday routines of normal life. Until this is remedied, the suffering in Puerto Rico will only worsen.
It is commendable that athletes, entertainers, faith leaders, governments and everyday people from around the world are lending a helping hand to the challenges facing Puerto Rico.
Which brings me to the recent statement by entrepreneur Elon Musk, that his company, Tesla, could rebuild the grid on the island and deliver reliable electricity generated from solar power. To Musk’s credit, Tesla has already done this for other, smaller islands, including in Hawaii and Australia.
Undeniably, the people of Puerto Rico would be better off if their electricity were generated from clean solar power. To date, Puerto Rico has been highly reliant on oil to generate electricity, which produces pollution and creates challenges from cost fluctuations to spills.
However, my concern is that what Musk is offering could have unintended consequences, and may only delay what needs to be done for the people of Puerto Rico, to get them back on their feet as soon as possible.
While we know for a fact that the current grid in Puerto Rico is badly damaged, we do not yet know just how badly damaged it is, and what is salvageable and what needs to be replaced. Before we rush off to give any one entity the authority to rebuild the grid, shouldn’t we have a better understanding of its current state? Tesla’s offer might be the right one for Puerto Rico, but it might not and there are other challenges to consider in order to achieve a fully solar powered island.
In order to put rooftop solar on people’s homes, their homes need to have structurally sound rooftops. Unfortunately, this is not the case for thousands of homes and businesses across Puerto Rico, due to the destructive winds generated by Hurricane Maria. It should also be noted that reports indicate that some large-scale solar power plants on the island were also destroyed. Installing solar does not necessarily improve Puerto Rico’s ability to fare better during the next hurricane.
Also, as a former statewide elected official, I have learned to ask the question: Where will the billions of dollars come from required to rebuild the grid and create a solar infrastructure powerful enough to electrify the entire island?
Will this be a government sponsored infrastructure project or paid for by the private sector, and do the private sector sponsors have the required financing to fund such a project? It is questionable if Musk could get the funding, given the fact that when private sector entities have provided solar power to other entities, there has been a credit-worthy customer ready to pay its bills on time. Given the financial woes of Puerto Rico and the post-hurricane devastation, that isn’t the case in the commonwealth.
I do not doubt the private sector’s desire, effort, or sincerity to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electric grid. I know they are made with the best of intentions. But good intentions alone are the last thing the people of Puerto Rico need. Rather, a plan based on what can be realistically accomplished as soon as possible is what is desperately needed.
Michael Steele served as lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011.This year’s black swan arrived on a rush of wind.
Once again, a highly unlikely, unanticipated event has roiled the waters—literally—late in the campaign cycle. Twelve years ago, it was the revelation of George W. Bush’s long-ago drunk driving arrest that likely cost him the popular vote and almost cost him the White House. Four years ago, the September collapse of Lehman Brothers and the near-collapse of the global financial universe turned a likely Obama victory into a certain one.
And this year, the impact of Hurricane Sandy makes it more likely that we’ll see a presidential election where the winner winds up winning fewer votes than the loser.
Even before Sandy struck the East Coast Monday, an observation was gaining hurricane force: What if Sandy had struck a week later? What if, on Election Day, tens of millions were without power, with mass transit shut, roads flooded, polling stations shut or inaccessible? Would states or the federal government postpone the voting?
Well, we don’t have to turn to “what-if” questions (much as I enjoy them). The storm will likely have a measurable impact on next Tuesday’s voting.
In the past, we’ve seen less powerful storms knock out power for well over a week. Flooding has already taken place on a massive scale, meaning that property owners across the East, and hundreds of miles inland, will be coping with water in their cellars, living rooms, stores and offices. There are schools that may still be closed. This means there’s a very good chance that voters—maybe hundreds of thousands of them—will be coping with urgent, personal affairs, and the trip to the polls may simply be one burden too many.
Now consider where these voters are: overwhelmingly, they’re in states where Obama is all but certain to win, and with huge pluralities. (The latest poll out of New York gives the President a 61-35 advantage over Mitt Romney, which translates to a 2-million-vote plurality.)
This enormous lead, combined with the post-storm burdens, suggests that there’s markedly less incentive than usual for Obama voters in deep-blue states to vote.
The likely result? An increased chance that Obama will lose the national popular vote to Romney, and thus an increased chance that we’ll see, as we did in 2000, a split between the popular vote and the Electoral College tally that in fact decides the presidency.
Should Obama win the election this way, it would be historic: We’ve never had an incumbent president returned to office while losing the popular vote. (Gerald Ford came close; despite losing the popular vote by 1.7 million votes, a shift of barely 11,000 votes in Ohio and Hawaii would have kept him in the White House).
More significant, it would rekindle the argument over the Electoral College that arose—briefly—in 2000: Is this 200-year old mechanism, with an overtly anti-democratic tilt (small states have disproportionately more clout than big states), the right way to choose a president?
After immersing myself in the mysteries of the Electoral College for a novel I wrote in the ’90s, I came away believing that the case for scrapping it is less obvious than I originally thought.
For one thing, losing the popular vote is not necessarily a sign of what “the people” really wanted. Candidates structure their campaigns around the Electoral College; had 2000 been a popular vote election, George W. Bush would have spent more time running up the vote in Texas and California’s inland empire, while Al Gore would have been campaigning in Dallas and Atlanta.
For another, the chaos that enveloped Florida back in 2000 might extend to every state if the popular vote was as close as it was in 1960, 1968, and 2000 (and as it may well be this time). Instead of lawyers and operatives descending on Florida, they might be loaded onto C-130s and parachuted into every state where disputes arose.
I grant you, this inquiry is speculative. It still may be that in the last week of the election, there will be a decisive shift in the electorate that turns a nail-biter into a clear victory. It may be that Sandy is not the Black Swan that will shape the outcome.
But what this storm has done is to raise the possibility of a different kind of storm—a political one—descending on us next week.I have spent over 200 hours playing the original version of Binding of Isaac along with its "Wrath of the Lamb" add-on content on PC. You think I might be sick of it by now. Yet after playing the upcoming remake of the game at E3 2014, I'm ready to sit down to another hundred-plus hours.
The first thing I notice when I start my E3 demo is one of the biggest changes to the game: differently-sized rooms. Instead of every room in the game taking the shape of a small square, there are now longer rectangular rooms. This makes it easier for enemies to ambush me as I walk from one end of the room to the other.
Many of the enemies are new as well. In addition to returning Isaac foes, I struggled to defeat a new spider type that crawled through the room, stopping to lay eggs that new spiders could hatch from. Another bug-type enemy clung to the walls of the room, shooting at me from afar.
Of course it's not all bad news for people looking to actually survive the game. Rebirth also contains some new tools to help you fight. I didn't get to experience any new items, but I was able to get a "black heart."
The original game featured red hearts to fill up your health, white hearts that can only be used once, and spirit hearts that become a red heart if you survive a floor with it intact. The black heart that has been added to this list operates similarly to a white heart, but it will actually hurt every enemy in the room when it's depleted, providing a little boost even as you're taking damage.
While I was excited by everything I saw in Binding of Isaac Rebirth, the game has a ways to go before it's finished and ready for the public. I couldn't help but notice that controls were very floaty in the demo I played; rocks that should have filled a space in crevasses simply disappeared; and items collided with each other, ricocheting across the room, over rocks and out of my reach.
The biggest enemy I encountered in Binding of Isaac Rebirth? The timer attached to the E3 2014 demo. For any players skilled enough to survive 15 minutes, the game slowly began ticking away Isaac's health until he died. Another great run ruined, but I'll be first in line to try again (and again and again) when Rebirth comes out later this year.The start of Britain’s grouse shooting season has been overshadowed by wildlife protection protests, marking the growing confidence of animal rights supporters that they are about to make their biggest breakthrough since the hunting ban in 2004.
As the countryside echoed to the sound of gunfire on the Glorious Twelfth, opponents took part in a protest ramble on Ilkley Moor, the site of the only shoot still taking place on public land. In central London, thousands of marchers were told by speakers including the BBC presenter Chris Packham that the days of the West Yorkshire shoot were numbered, with Bradford council under unprecedented pressure not to renew the lease next year.
“I think that when people now see others killing for the psychopathic joy of it they are increasingly sickened and the reason for that is that our wildlife is running out,” Packham said. He told the Observer that public support for conservation in the UK had risen on the back of global outrage after Cecil the lion was killed in Zimbabwe in 2015. Social media is another factor.
“The RSPB published video of marsh harriers being killed on a grouse moor in Yorkshire and within hours of that material going on to YouTube it has been spread all around. Everyone is instantaneously angered as it gets shared and there is frankly nowhere for these criminals to hide,” Packham said.
The marchers, wearing fox head masks and carrying banners condemning the badger cull, made their way to Downing Street after speakers said that loopholes continued to allow hunting to go on. Danielle Flynn, 55, a former hunt saboteur from Glasgow, marched with her daughter Karen, who said social media had played a big part in the resurgence of interest in animal rights. “A lot of them might be apathetic about politics but they might, for example, take an interest when I talk to them about animal testing and makeup,” said the 24-year-old.
Jordan Psaros, 26, from Braintree in Essex, said: “I’ve always been an animal lover but I basically became involved in this after I saw videos online of foxes being killed by dogs set on them by hunters on horseback. A lot of people of my age are waking up to what is going on.”
Animal rights groups have been emboldened by the public reaction to recent controversies. Arsenal football club owner Stan Kroenke was forced to order his new TV streaming service to stop showing big-game hunting and Vinnie Jones was caught up in a row over a photograph of 100 dead foxes that appeared on his Twitter feed.
Hunting also featured in the general election after Theresa May declared her support for a free vote on overturning the ban, with some Tories complaining afterwards that this contributed to “toxifying” the party brand. Focus group Britain Thinks also found that while the so-called “dementia tax” was key among older voters, the prospect of a foxhunting revival alienated many swing voters.
Pro-hunting advocates argue that it is impossible to say whether the animal rights movement is resurgent in terms of actual numbers, arguing that hard data suggests the public do not change their vote on the basis of hunting or shooting issues. A YouGov poll in May put support for the ban at 67%, which suggests a decline in support, they said.
“If there has been any genuine resurgence of animal rights activism, it can almost certainly be attributed to social media,” said Liam Stokes, head of shooting at the Countryside Alliance. “Animal rights messages are very simplistic, and simplistic messages spread well on Twitter and Facebook, particularly when broadcast by celebrities like Packham and Brian May. The arguments for wildlife management are complex, nuanced and sometimes paradoxical, and don’t lend themselves so easily to social media.”
Shooting continues to be big money. Yesterday saw the Gleneagles Glorious Grouse Race, in which shooters race to deliver the first grouse of the season to the town and onwards to London. Grouse killed by shooters including the Olympian Peter Wilson were due to be helicoptered down to be served at London’s Harwood Arms gastropub.
“All the evidence is there that it should be stopped and there is a lot of support for that locally,” said Luke Steele of Ban Bloodsports on Ilkley Moor, who said that backing was coming from the local conservation group and a new Labour MP who recently took the seat from the Tories.
“We have seen that notable breeding bird species have gone extinct or declined by more than half, for example. Then there is the environmental damage caused by sections of the moor being set alight, and there are walkers who are fearful of the guns.”
But Edward Bromet of the Bingley Moor Partnership, which runs the shoot, insisted that grouse shooting aided the moor’s upkeep and described those organising yesterday’s protest as an “extreme” group.
“The key point here is that what the partnership agreed to do 10 years ago, when Bradford offered the moor on a lease, was to restore the moorland. We have done that primarily at our own cost, to reduce the bracken, which the people of Ilkley were very frustrated by, and restore the vegetation.
The Countryside Alliance has also turned its fire on Packham, sending a letter this weekend to the BBC arguing that it was unsustainable for him to be allowed an “unchallenged platform” on programmes such as Springwatch while he aligned himself with “the most aggressive elements of the anti-shooting campaign”.
Packham said: “There is no conflict. I have a working relationship with the BBC. We have an agreed protocol and |
Barremian
According to the ISRM suggested methods for the argillaceous swelling rocks (1989, Madsen, 1999), samples have to be protected from frost and extreme heat at all times during sampling and transportation.Whistleblowers, rejoice! The Freedom of the Press Foundation is taking the helm of a secure document-submission service co-created by late computer prodigy Aaron Swartz, and wants to make it more accessible than ever.
The foundation — launched less than a year ago “to crowd-source funding for cutting-edge, independent journalism and publishing outlets” lacking mainstream support — announced early Tuesday that it has taken charge of the DeadDrop project, an endeavor announced earlier this year after the death of Swartz, a transparency advocate who co-created the system with Wired journalist Kevin Poulsen.
DeadDrop was unveiled this past May and touted at the time as being a secure-way of submitting sensitive documents to a single publication: The New Yorker. But only five months after its debut, the Freedom of the Press Foundation said it has now inherited the project from Poulsen and will try to bring it to more media outlets needed to communicate securely with sources.
In a blog post authored by the foundation's Trevor Timm and Rainey Reitman on Tuesday, they wrote that the project has been re-named SecureDrop, and within a matter of weeks it will be available to a number of journalistic outlets who've already expressed interest in getting involved.
The foundation has published the open-source instructions for SecureDrop on its website and claims “Any organization can install SecureDrop for free and can make modifications” now - not just the New Yorker.
When operating accordingly, the SecureDrop system works when an anonymous source accesses a website anonymously and provides documents to the news outlet that are encrypted and only available to select employees. Journalists and sources communicate using code words, and documents are deciphered using an air-gap computer that is never connected to the Internet.
That isn't to say it's easy to someone without a deep computer and security knowledge to get the system and up and running, however, and that's what the foundation is offering to find help for organizations who want to use SecureDrop but might need assistance.
“Freedom of the Press Foundation will also help organizations install SecureDrop and train its journalists in security best practices to ensure the best protection for sources,” the group announced on their website.
A group of independent experts, including Jacob Appelbaum of the Tor Project and security guru Bruce Schneier, audited SecureDrop in August and have since released their findings. Their initial report revealed a number of flaws that caused concern, though, and the foundation has reportedly since begun correcting those errors.
Even before revamping the system to fix those issues, though, the security experts said the system was still “technically decent” for allowing anonymous communication between sources and journalists. Since then, the foundation says it “has made a number of updates to SecureDrop based on these findings and will be making a significant investment in continually improving the system.”
“We’ve reached a time in America when the only way the press can assure the anonymity and safety of their sources is not to know who they are,” foundation co-founder John Perry Barlow said in a statement released this week. “SecureDrop is where real news can be slipped quietly under the door.”
Timm, the group's executive director, added in a statement that “A truly free press hinges on the ability of investigative journalists to build trust with their sources.”
When the foundation was unveiled last year, it initially began processing donations and contributions to whistleblower-related groups including WikiLeaks and the Center for Public Inquiry. When the military court-martial of WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning was conducted in de-facto secrecy, the foundation raised over $100,000 to hire stenographers so that the press could have transcriptions of proceedings that otherwise would not necessarily be made public.San Diego, CA – January 15, 2014 – Karl Strauss Brewing Company is proud to support the next generation of local brewers by joining forces with UC San Diego Extension. Karl Strauss is celebrating 25 years of crafting the San Diego beer scene by offering two scholarships to UC San Diego Extension’s Brewing certificate program in 2014. “When we started the industry here in San Diego 25 years ago, we had no idea the craft beer culture would expand into what it’s become today,” says Matt Rattner, President, Karl Strauss Brewing Company. “We are looking forward to helping a new crop of San Diego brewers get their start with this amazing program at UC San Diego Extension.”
Karl Strauss will fund two full scholarships in 2014, with a single reoccurring annual scholarship beginning in 2015. The scholarships will be funded through the nonprofit Karl Strauss Brewers Education Fund, which was established after Karl’s passing to provide financial and educational support to those aspiring to pursue a career in the brewing industry. The partnership with UC San Diego Extension fulfills the fund’s mission and allows Karl Strauss to support and engage its local brewing community. “It is incredibly exciting to be partnering with UC San Diego,” says Paul Segura, Brewmaster, Karl Strauss Brewing Company. “One of our core values is to care for our local community and there is no better way to give back than to help someone with their education. Karl would be proud to know that his legacy lives on and that he continues to inspire people to pursue their passions.”
UC San Diego Extension’s Professional Certificate in Brewing is the first of its kind in Southern California. The program is a part-time, evening and weekend program that offers academic and practical training for entry-level brewing professionals and can be completed in 18-24 months. Applications are now being accepted for the spring term which starts in April. “The response to the program has been overwhelming and we are very enthusiastic about our partnership with Karl Strauss. They have been a pillar of the San Diego brewing community for 25 years and it seemed like a natural fit when they approached us,” says Peter Thomas, Associate Director of the Arts, Humanities, Languages and Digital Arts department at UC San Diego Extension. To be considered for the spring 2014 cohort, applications must be submitted by Friday, February 21, 2014. Applicants can note on their applications if they are interested in being considered for the Karl Strauss Scholarship. Scholarships will be awarded based on the applicant’s personal statement and completion of pre-requisites.
For more information about the Karl Strauss Brewers Education Fund, visit www.karlstrauss.com. To learn more and apply for the UC San Diego Extension Brewing program and Karl Strauss scholarship, visit extension.ucsd.edu/brewing. Share it. Cheers.
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About Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Karl Strauss Brewing Company has pioneered the San Diego beer scene since 1989 with innovative beer releases like Big Barrel IIPA and Wreck Alley Imperial Stout. The brewery has won 54 medals over the past three years and its Red Trolley Ale is one of the most award winning beers in the world. The company is currently ranked #39 on the list of the country’s top craft breweries with sole distribution in California. 2014 is on pace to be another exciting year of double-digit sales growth, with the main brewery tasting room and new brewery restaurant in Temecula now open. For more information visit www.karlstrauss.com or call the brewery at (858) 273-2739. Share it. Cheers.Hungary's emergency migration law that came into effect Tuesday has underscored, if it wasn't clear already, that Viktor Orban is the leader who wants to keep Syrian refugees out of Europe.
In a speech in July, he declared that "there is a clear link between illegal migrants coming to Europe and the spread of terrorism" and "we would like to preserve Europe for Europeans."
But Hungary's prime minister — who some now call the "creeping dictator" of Europe, and who espouses an immigration policy of "Hungary for Hungarians" — was once, a long time ago, a star of the Western media and a pro-democracy activist who helped bring down communism in Eastern Europe.
Hungarian soldiers put up a sign along the border with Serbia warning in six languages that property damage is a crime. The Hungarian government installed the fence and razor wire in response to the refugee crisis. (Darko Bandic/Associated Press)
Back in the 1980s, he was an idealistic law student and head of a nascent political party called Fidesz (Alliance of Young Democrats) that refused to accept members over age 35.
In 1989, the charismatic Orban grabbed headlines around the world when he took a podium in Budapest, calling for free elections and the end of communism in Hungary.
I interviewed him for CBC News in 1999 when he came to Canada as a fresh-faced prime minister. He spoke eloquently of his years as an activist and was exhilarated by his country's newfound freedoms and hopes for a brighter future.
Kim Lane Scheppele, a specialist in Hungarian politics and law and a professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton University, also met a youthful Orban in 1995 and says she was struck by his charisma and intellectual power.
Kim Lane Scheppele met a youthful Orban in 1995 and says she was struck by his charisma and intellectual power. (Eotvos Lorand University)
Today, a dogged chronicler of Hungary's abysmal human rights situation and deteriorating legal system, Scheppele has attracted ire from the Orban government.
"In the 1980s, Orban was a libertarian, which meant he wanted to be free of state constraints. He still wants to be free of state constraints — this is why he has removed all checks on the power of the prime minister," she said.
CBC News interviewed Scheppele about recent developments in Hungary, what they signal about Orban, and what they mean for Europe.
You're a legal scholar. What's the significance of Hungary's emergency law today?
With this measure, the government can start enforcing draconian new laws that criminalize crossing the border without proper documents. If refugees manage to cross into Hungary after the border is sealed, they will be charged with serious felonies and imprisoned until either their asylum claim is processed or until the criminal charges are resolved.
Under the new laws, judges will work 24/7 processing asylum applications. If a refugee is found to have entered Hungary through a safe country — and Serbia is a safe country, according to this law — then the refugee can be expelled back across the border. The asylum procedures will work like kangaroo courts. Everyone expects all of the refugees to be deported after a nominal process.
Hungarian riot police uses a water cannon against protesting migrants on the Serbian side of the border, near Roszke, Hungary, on Wednesday. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
One week from now, another new law will take effect giving the military the power to use rubber bullets, tear gas, nets and dogs to keep refugees out of Hungary, with the use of deadly force if a soldier feels his life is threatened. Police and soldiers will be able to stop and search cars, cordon off sensitive zones, prevent free movement around the country and, most alarmingly, "use force" and "restrict liberty." Hungary may soon be a police state, where the police determine the rules and the law gives little guidance.
What's the strategy with the fences along the Serbian border, specifically?
Serbia is a non-EU country, so when refugees cross the border from Serbia into Hungary, they enter the European Union at that point. And under EU law (the "Dublin regulation"), it's the first EU member state that bears responsibility for caring for the refugee and processing the asylum claim. Hungary doesn't want to take responsibility for any of these refugees, so it built the fence to prevent them from crossing into Hungary, encouraging them to enter the EU through Croatia first. Croatia would then be on the hook for their care and processing.
Orban, left, visited Canada in 1999, meeting with then-PM Jean Chrétien. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)
In short, the fence was designed for burden-shifting. Many of these refugees actually entered the EU through Greece, which would normally have the obligation to register them, care for them and then process their asylum claims. But the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2014 that conditions in Greece, due to the austerity programs, were so bad that Greece could no longer be considered a "safe state."
You met Viktor Orban early on in his political life. Describe his trajectory since 1989, when he was a pro-democracy activist.
Viktor Orban is a man of relatively little ideology but someone who is a keen analyst of power. In 1989, he argued that the dissidents should negotiate not with the current government but with the Communist Party, because that was where the power lay.
In 1999, Victor Orban was interviewed by the CBC about his days as an idealistic student leader in the pro-democracy movement of 1989 that helped bring down Communism in Eastern Europe 5:55
The party he created in 1989, Fidesz, was originally libertarian, but moved to the right — because that's where the voters were. Orban understood that to get and keep power, it was easier to appeal to voters' prejudices than to try to erase those prejudices. So he became a nationalist, claiming "Hungary for Hungarians." He is playing a xenophobic nationalist because his biggest domestic challenger is a far-right party. If the left were stronger in Hungary, he would probably tack left to undercut them. I think that Orban is a political chameleon motivated by one thing: the drive to gain and keep power.
What motivates his anti-refugee "Hungary for Hungarians" philosophy?
For almost a year, Orban has used the government-friendly media to claim that the refugees were economic migrants, trying to steal Hungarians' jobs. Then, the refugees were security risks — terrorists wanting to destroy "Christian Europe." Then, the refugees were carrying contagious diseases! In fact, you can still see Hungarian police wearing surgical masks and gloves when they deal with the refugees, something that creates a powerful impression on TV.
To what degree is this government line a reflection of what Hungarians actually feel?
Not surprisingly, given this year-long media barrage, Hungarians were opposed to allowing the refugees to settle in Hungary. But in the last weeks, as more Hungarians have had personal experience with them, opinion softened. Some recent polls say that as many as 40 per cent of Hungarians now want the country to take in refugees.
Does Orban make a fair point when he says Germany and Europe's messages to the refugees have been mixed and confusing?
It's true that when Chancellor Angela Merkel says that refugees will be safe in Germany, these refugees have to pass through many other countries to get there. Her cry of compassion therefore puts a greater burden on these other countries. So I can see why the states on the way to Germany felt that Merkel was irresponsible in doing what she did. But the fault is not really Merkel's. What we can now see is that the Dublin regulation created a broken system in which refugees must be handled by the very countries in the EU least able to shoulder the burden. The countries most willing to take in refugees are not the front-line states.
Refugees from wartorn Syria are no longer able to freely enter the EU through Hungary. Instead they are moving from Serbia to Croatia, with many aiming to reach Germany. (CBC )
Now that the EU is stalled on a plan about how to distribute the refugees, and Hungary is blocking them at its border, what might happen next?
It will take many summits of member-state leaders to decide whether the European project — in this case open borders — is worth saving or whether the ability of each country to separately determine its own immigration rules is more important. I suspect that open borders will win in the end, but frankly I don't see how we're going to get there in the near term.
The EU is talking about mass internment camps in Italy and Greece. What do you think of this idea?
The EU wants to create "hot spots" where EU officials process asylum claims and handle the refugee crisis entirely within an EU framework. But ultimately, any admitted refugee will have to live somewhere, and given the resistance to quotas, it is unclear how the EU — which controls no territory that is not in a member state — can guarantee that an admitted refugee would have a place to go. So then we're thrown back into the same quagmire: If many countries' doors are closed, the EU doesn't have the power to open them.
A migrant mother carries her child as she arrives at the border between Serbia and eastern Croatia on Wednesday. (Matthias Schrader/AP)
Orban came of age during the era of the pro-democracy movement in communist Eastern Europe and fought for individual freedoms and human rights. How do we square this with his policies today?
Orban really hasn't changed so much. He went from being a universal libertarian — libertarianism for all! — to being a personal libertarian: freedom for him alone!The Air Force released a Request for Proposal for an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service supporting the Space Test Program (STP) 3 mission scheduled to launch in June 2019. The draft RFP was released on Aug. 19 to obtain industry feedback to inform the final RFP. After extensive industry engagements, the final RFP was released on Sept. 29 with proposals due back to the Air Force no later than Dec. 2 in accordance with the solicitation instructions.
The Air Force will award a firm-fixed price contract that will provide the government with a total launch solution including launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operations for the STP-3 mission. The Air Force’s acquisition strategy for this solicitation achieves a balance between mission success/operational needs, and lowering launch costs, through reintroducing competition for National Security Space missions.
"Through this solicitation for STP-3, we hope to promote healthy competition in order to foster innovation while securing Assured Access to Space through multiple reliable, affordable and efficient launch service providers," said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Air Force program executive officer for Space and Space and Missile Systems Center commander.
This will be a standalone contract for the STP-3 launch service. The STP-3 mission consists of a primary space vehicle (STPSat-6) and a propulsive EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) holding up to 6 payloads that will be identified no later than 12-months prior to launch.
The STPSat-6 space vehicle will host the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) payload, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) payload. Additionally, seven Science and Technology (S&T) payloads are manifested by the Department of Defense Space Test Program.
This is the third competitive launch service solicitation under the current Phase 1A procurement strategy. The Phase 1A procurement strategy reintroduces competition for National Security Space launch services.
The Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center, located at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force's center of excellence for acquiring and developing military space systems. Its portfolio includes the Global Positioning System, military satellite communications, defense meteorological satellites, space launch and range systems, satellite control networks, space based infrared systems, and space situational awareness capabilities.
Media representatives can submit questions for response regarding this topic by sending an e-mail to smcpa.media@us.af.mil.Before we get into the latest evidence-free Russian story, let’s rehash a few things. It’s been months since the Left began its unhealthy obsession about Russian collusion. Did the Russians run an interference campaign? Yes, well, that’s the high confidence assessment from the Director of National Intelligence at the time, James Clapper, along with the FBI, CIA, and NSA. It was mostly done through state-funded news outlets and social media trolls that peddled propaganda and fake news. Fake news stories aimed at Hillary Clinton did not play a pivotal role. Yet, this wasn’t a hack. Vote tallies were not altered during the 2016 election. Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch said no “technical interference” occurred on election night. The Department of Homeland Security found no spikes in malicious cyber activity on election night that would suggest an attack. Former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and cyber division chief Samuel Liles both said that no votes were changed. Twenty-one states were reportedly targeted but the systems in question were not related to vote tabulation. A voting systems maker was infiltrated prior to the election, but the leaked top-secret NSA report did not point to a voting machine hack.
Believe it or not, a majority of Democrats actually believe that Russia messed with the vote tallies. There is zero evidence to suggest that. There’s also zero evidence to suggest any collusion occurred between the Trump campaign and the Russians in order to sink Clinton. Senate Democrats started to come to that conclusion months ago. Even New York Times conservative David Brooks said that the evidence isn’t there, and it’s certainly not enough to suggest this is akin to Watergate. The media has also blasted itself with buckshot constantly with their so-called scoops on the subject. Almost every article either has been debunked, or includes nuggets way down in the story noting that nothing points to wrongdoing or evidence of collusion. Another is the “we’re not sure,” but we printed it because—whatever. That appears to be how the standard has devolved. In May, The New York Times reported that the Russians tried to influence Michael Flynn, who would end up being Trump’s short-lived national security adviser, and Paul Manafort, his former campaign manager. Oh, my god—it’s happening, right? Nope.
“It is unclear, however, whether Russian officials actually tried to directly influence Mr. Manafort and Mr. Flynn,” wrote the Times.
Now, there’s a new twist. It’s no longer just the Russians; Americans helped them as well. You know what’s similar between this theory and the others in this Russian hysteria freak-out fest? There’s no evidence to corroborate or prove anything (via Politico):
The cascade of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election includes a darker undercurrent from some senior Democrats: What if Moscow had American help? Hillary Clinton, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, have all stoked speculation that American insiders may have helped the Russians orchestrate their wide-ranging hacking and disinformation campaign — including with guidance on which political targets to exploit and what kinds of leaked information would most resonate with swing voters. The Democrats got backup from former FBI Director James Comey, who told lawmakers in June he was sure law enforcement would work to determine “if any Americans were part of helping the Russians.” But so far, no public evidence has surfaced that any Americans coordinated with Moscow's digital army in selecting targets for hacking, strategically deploying the purloined documents for maximum political impact — a point echoed by research firms investigating the election-year hacks. And some Republicans say Democrats are playing a dangerous game by stoking such a charged storyline without evidence, saying that if it doesn’t pan out it could unravel public acceptance of the whole notion of Russia meddling. Some also consider it a distraction from the more pressing discussion about protecting future elections.
Clinton’s remark about this at the Recode Conference in California in early June earned the scorn of MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, who reported that the former first lady and two-time presidential loser just peddled a conspiracy theory. Now, former President Obama is facing some heat from his side for not acting deliberately or swiftly enough to counter the Russian meddling. A Washington Post report had a bombshell story, where they reported that the Obama White House knew about the Russian activities in August of 2016. They may have worked to shore up the security in other states’ electoral systems, which former acting CIA Director Michael Morell complimented them on—but they failed miserably in deterring similar actions in the future. The sanctions package, coupled with the booting of Russian intelligence agents from a couple compounds was seen as a slap on the wrist. As with Syria and Ukraine, Obama got rolled by the Kremlin. Did the president choke on responding to the meddling? Senate Intelligence Committee co-chair Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) says yes. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, also said Obama could have done more.
As we wallow in this nonsense yet again, it appears the American people’s patience in the matter is declining fast; a majority thinks that Congress should focus on other things. Democrats running in 2018 have told National Democrats to quit it with the Russia chatter. No one cares out here. And you especially shouldn’t care when there’s zero evidence to back up the tin foil hats being doled by the Left.[TD] Defense of the Euros March 30th, 2013 02:16 GMT Text by TheEmulator Graphics by shiroiusagi
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The Fall of Kings
Na`Vi and Empire were heralded as the strongest teams of the West, the overwhelming favorites for the tournament. Little did anyone know that both of these long time titans would fall and wash away, leaving nothing but memories of their former glory and majesty. What seemed like a pair of infinitely stable powerhouses crumbled.
Virtus.pro 2:1 Empire
This match represented the passing of the torch of CIS power. Twice would one of Empire's signature hero combinations in the Chaos Knight and Wisp be utterly destroyed by Airman’s Gyrocopter, highlighting the hero’s rise to the top echelon of carries. The two action-packed stomps were divided by a long interlude with Empire’s Anti-Mage and VP’s Phantom Lancer in a slow duel to the finish.
The Rivals met not in the expected finals, but in round two of the losers bracket. Neither team was happy about their position and they showed it in a trio of bloodstained battles that may well have been the finals. In the end, the return of Puppey’s Enchantress and Dendi’s virtuosic performances on Queen of Pain and Invoker would be instrumental in Na`Vi’s victory. Empire’s proclivity towards Undying in all three games along with their seeming unfamiliarity with Gyrocopter (who had caused their downfall at the hands of VP) would cause their eventual defeat.
Fnatic 2:1 Na`Vi
Having defeated their main CIS rival, Na`Vi had every right to be confident in their rematch against Fnatic, whom they had defeated days before. After sailing to an easy victory in the first game capped by Puppey’s appearance on Axe, Na`Vi confidently strode into the next games. Fnatic then revealed their secret weapon: Trixi’s farming Furion combined with a pair of three-core lineups. Fnatic pressured Na`Vi's battle lines from every angle until they buckled, with the orchestrated chaos so typical of Fnatic overcoming Na`Vi's attempts at order and control.
And so ends the line of kings; Na`Vi and Empire both fell far short of the finals. Their defeats in TD3 may have signalled their fall from grace; only time will tell whether or not their respective reformations can be a rebirth for these once-giants.
The Successors
Na`Vi and Empire’s places at the top would be replaced by two unlikely contenders. Both Dignitas and VP, despite being immensely strong, had been in the background of their respective scenes, biding their time.
Dignitas 2:0 NTH
Nobody was quite sure how this match would turn out. NTH’s form had recently been unstable and Dignitas had yet to play a serious match. The result was an unexpected show for the eyes. Dignitas would bring a long forgotten combo in Warlock and Spectre, a pair of heroes recently fixed in Dota 2 and returned to their former strength. The second game would be a surprisingly easy victory thanks to a Dignitas Phantom Lancer that NTH inexplicably allowed to freefarm.
Virtus.pro 2:0 Evil Geniuses
After defeating Empire, VP faced yet another historical powerhouse. Showing that their strength had been in no way exaggerated during their ascendency towards the top of the Western Scene, VP dominated the first game against EG using Chaos Knight and Wisp, combining them with Invoker for absolutely crushing global dominus. VP finished the series on the back of the Gyrocopter that had now become Airman’s trademark hero, and a surprise appearance by Weaver, another long-forgotten hero making a recent resurgence on the back of buffs.
The winners final is far different than what was expected, and deservedly so. Dignitas and VP have proven beyond doubt that they are the new powerhouses of the West.
Warring States
The lower bracket soon devolved into a free-for-all as the void left by the shifting waters demanded to be filled, where teams would resort to any means necessarily to edge out their competitors.
Team Liquid 2:1 Mouz
One of the defining series’ of Liquid’s career and the final cap in their remarkable winstreak, this was a battle of courage and endurance. The first two games involved a Liquid victory on the back of a global ganking squad followed by a game settled by Black’s freefarm Anti-Mage. However, the third game will remain in our mind, immortalized by deeds and bravery. We look at this game
Fnatic 2:0 NTH
Fresh off their own hotstreak and a victory over Na`Vi, Fnatic came out in force once again. Against an NTH notably off their game due to internal issues, Fnatic’s overwhelming aggression easily sailed past NTH as scores of Track kills and a sundering earth sealed the fate of NTH, yet another victim of Fnatic’s unique chaotic style.
Team Liquid 2:0 Evil Geniuses
Extension of the long-standing rivalry in Starcraft comes once again to the fans of the NA scene. The first game was the Bulba show as an offlane Broodmother managed to tie down EG for so long that the game might as well have been 1 protect 4 while the rest of Liquid picked off stray EG players at every opportunity. The second game showcased a KotL and Brewmaster successfully stalling long enough to allow their Anti-Mage to turn the tide against a shaken EG side.
The Final Chapters
Fnatic 2:0 Team Liquid
The new powerhouses of Europe and America come head to head in the lower bracket semifinals. Fnatic somehow managed to work KotL PL into their customary aggression by combining them with Chen and Lone Druid in an active style. Against a PL based lineup that is up towers and map control in the midgame, Liquid's Furion Tiny dual core strategy found itself powerless to stem the inevitable tide. The second game saw an atypical triple initiation of Magnus, Alchemist and Batrider from Fnatic catching Liquid off guard time and time again. When a Tinker becomes too scared to TP in sight and the Lifestealer begins to turtle, the rest is history.
Virtus.pro 2:1 Dignitas
Dignitas has recently had a penchant for lineups that look innovative when successful and ridiculous when on the back foot. It's hard to not make fun of a paper team with 0 crowd control based on Luna, Visage, and Silencer when they proved powerless and useless against Airman's signature Gyrocopter-based "standard" lineup. Yet a similar lineup from Dignitas would prove quite effective in the second game, where the control and initiation of Beastmaster and Clockwerk backed up the damage from Luna and Visage, allowing them to soundly defeat an almost identical lineup from VP's first game. Yet when BM and Luna came to be banned in the third game, Dignitas would pick another puzzling frail 0 damage 0 aoe low control lineup that was utterly wrecked by VP's Gyro, Brewmaster, and Warlock ult combo. Twice did Silencer appear and twice did the hero prove inadequate when teams picked individual "good" heroes without considering the overall lineup.
Fnatic 2:0 Dignitas
In a game that is perhaps the personification of Western DotA in recent months, both teams would pick a lineup with more than enough wombo combo to annihilate the other team. Black holes, Reverse Polarities, and Call downs of Dignitas constantly clashed with the Eclipses, Illusory Walls, and Macropyres of Fnatic in a game best summed up as a battle of "throw chicken" as the advantages wobbled back and forth like a metronome. Yet after a pair of throws in a row, Dignitas found themselves in a situation where not even a rapier Gyro could save the day against Fnatic's Mega Creeps. After the action-packed first game came a sudden and abrupt end to the series as Fnatic's mid Wisp CK proved itself once again as one of the scariest combos of Western Dota 2, leaving a 1-7 Storm and Dignitas' dreams of their first major victory as the newest entries on the pair's victim list. Na`Vi and Empire were heralded as the strongest teams of the West, the overwhelming favorites for the tournament. Little did anyone know that both of these long time titans would fall and wash away, leaving nothing but memories of their former glory and majesty. What seemed like a pair of infinitely stable powerhouses crumbled.This match represented the passing of the torch of CIS power. Twice would one of Empire's signature hero combinations in the Chaos Knight and Wisp be utterly destroyed by Airman’s Gyrocopter, highlighting the hero’s rise to the top echelon of carries. The two action-packed stomps were divided by a long interlude with Empire’s Anti-Mage and VP’s Phantom Lancer in a slow duel to the finish.The Rivals met not in the expected finals, but in round two of the losers bracket. Neither team was happy about their position and they showed it in a trio of bloodstained battles that may well have been the finals. In the end, the return of Puppey’s Enchantress and Dendi’s virtuosic performances on Queen of Pain and Invoker would be instrumental in Na`Vi’s victory. Empire’s proclivity towards Undying in all three games along with their seeming unfamiliarity with Gyrocopter (who had caused their downfall at the hands of VP) would cause their eventual defeat.Having defeated their main CIS rival, Na`Vi had every right to be confident in their rematch against Fnatic, whom they had defeated days before. After sailing to an easy victory in the first game capped by Puppey’s appearance on Axe, Na`Vi confidently strode into the next games. Fnatic then revealed their secret weapon: Trixi’s farming Furion combined with a pair of three-core lineups. Fnatic pressured Na`Vi's battle lines from every angle until they buckled, with the orchestrated chaos so typical of Fnatic overcoming Na`Vi's attempts at order and control.And so ends the line of kings; Na`Vi and Empire both fell far short of the finals. Their defeats in TD3 may have signalled their fall from grace; only time will tell whether or not their respective reformations can be a rebirth for these once-giants.Na`Vi and Empire’s places at the top would be replaced by two unlikely contenders. Both Dignitas and VP, despite being immensely strong, had been in the background of their respective scenes, biding their time.Nobody was quite sure how this match would turn out. NTH’s form had recently been unstable and Dignitas had yet to play a serious match. The result was an unexpected show for the eyes. Dignitas would bring a long forgotten combo in Warlock and Spectre, a pair of heroes recently fixed in Dota 2 and returned to their former strength. The second game would be a surprisingly easy victory thanks to a Dignitas Phantom Lancer that NTH inexplicably allowed to freefarm.After defeating Empire, VP faced yet another historical powerhouse. Showing that their strength had been in no way exaggerated during their ascendency towards the top of the Western Scene, VP dominated the first game against EG using Chaos Knight and Wisp, combining them with Invoker for absolutely crushing global dominus. VP finished the series on the back of the Gyrocopter that had now become Airman’s trademark hero, and a surprise appearance by Weaver, another long-forgotten hero making a recent resurgence on the back of buffs.The winners final is far different than what was expected, and deservedly so. Dignitas and VP have proven beyond doubt that they are the new powerhouses of the West.The lower bracket soon devolved into a free-for-all as the void left by the shifting waters demanded to be filled, where teams would resort to any means necessarily to edge out their competitors.One of the defining series’ of Liquid’s career and the final cap in their remarkable winstreak, this was a battle of courage and endurance. The first two games involved a Liquid victory on the back of a global ganking squad followed by a game settled by Black’s freefarm Anti-Mage. However, the third game will remain in our mind, immortalized by deeds and bravery. We look at this game very closely in Recap Part 1 Fresh off their own hotstreak and a victory over Na`Vi, Fnatic came out in force once again. Against an NTH notably off their game due to internal issues, Fnatic’s overwhelming aggression easily sailed past NTH as scores of Track kills and a sundering earth sealed the fate of NTH, yet another victim of Fnatic’s unique chaotic style.Extension of the long-standing rivalry in Starcraft comes once again to the fans of the NA scene. The first game was the Bulba show as an offlane Broodmother managed to tie down EG for so long that the game might as well have been 1 protect 4 while the rest of Liquid picked off stray EG players at every opportunity. The second game showcased a KotL and Brewmaster successfully stalling long enough to allow their Anti-Mage to turn the tide against a shaken EG side.The new powerhouses of Europe and America come head to head in the lower bracket semifinals. Fnatic somehow managed to work KotL PL into their customary aggression by combining them with Chen and Lone Druid in an active style. Against a PL based lineup that is up |
was to drive a “debt truck” around with big billboards highlighting that Australia owed $193 billion. By the time of Howard’s defeat in 2007 that figure had grown to $544 billion. Similarly, at first the Howard government thought that rising home prices was good news: “I haven’t found anybody stopping me in the streets, shaking their fists and saying John, I’m angry that the value of my house has gone up,” said Howard during the first years of the housing boom, a tone that would change later as housing affordability became a vexed political issue.
While the government’s early attitude was blasé, and while some of its measures, such as cutting capital gains tax, could be said to have exacerbated the problem, the key factors driving the boom in house prices were not due to the government. They arose because of a combination of unmet demand, increasing aspirations for better houses among those who already owned one, low interest rates and the relatively easy availability of money from lending institutions. Even a government determined to restrain the increasing prices would have had limited capacity to do so.
Under the Howard government there was an increased emphasis on private delivery of what had previously been public services, often with the introduction of a public subsidy delivered by tax rebates, for example. This was very much the case in health, in child care and aged care – with in each case vigorous public debates about the merits and weaknesses of the policy direction. Unfortunately in none of those cases are the international statistics sufficiently penetrating or discriminating to illuminate the discussions.
But in education, the comparative statistics are quite revealing of the divergent policy approaches. The public share of total education spending Australia was already at the low end of the spectrum in 1995 before the Howard government came to power. But it became even more so in the following ten years, making the private share of education spending third highest among the selected countries and the public share 12 points below their average.
Much of this was to do with the growth in private schools, and that points to another of its distinctive features, the public subsidy of private providers. One-fifth of Australian public spending on education goes to private institutions, almost double the overall average of 10.5 per cent, a particularly high figure when it is remembered that private universities have a negligible presence in Australia. Of the sixteen countries on which we have data, only Belgium is higher and that goes back to historical arrangements between church and state in that country.
The data on universities is even more dramatic. In 1995 Australia was already at the lower end of the countries in terms of the public share of tertiary education spending, 13 points below the average. After another decade, though, the public share had dropped to less than half, 48 per cent, and Australia was then 26 points below the average.
This reflected an increased emphasis on private funding, but also –uniquely among these developed democracies – a reduction in real terms in public spending on tertiary education. In 2005, Australia spent 0.8 per cent of GDP compared with an average of 1.1 per cent. In other words Australian expenditure would have had to increase by around 35 per cent to bring it up to average. In the other countries for which we have data, public spending on tertiary education was up by 30 per cent in real terms over the decade 1995–2005. Only Australia’s decreased.
How will the Howard government be viewed in ten or twenty years’ time? On several central measures of macroeconomic performance (economic growth, unemployment, productivity) the government scored comparatively well. On some of the achievements trumpeted most loudly at home, such as inflation and interest rates, its performance was actually worse than the average of the selected countries.
As with all governments, the Howard government’s economic management and foreign policy decisions will be central to any assessment. In addition, the aging society, health care, the challenges of the information economy and society, and the environment will be central concerns. In each of these areas, the government is likely to be marked more harshly in the future than it was when in office. •Quotes that were never made by the Founders, but refuse to die, especially on the Internet, are discussed.
The "Liberty Teeth" Speech by George Washington
Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence. The church, the plow, the prairie wagon, and citizen's firearms are indelibly related. From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable. Every corner of this land knows firearms, and more than 99 99/100 percent of them by their silence indicate they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference; they deserve a place with all that's good. When firearms, go all goes; we need them every hour.
--- Falsely attributed to George Washington, address to the second session of the first U.S. Congress.
The "99 99/100 percent" is also an odd phrase for 18th century America, which tended not to use fractional percentages. It's clear that "Washington" is addressing "gun control" arguments which wouldn't exist for another couple of centuries, not to mention doing so in a style that is uncharacteristic of the period, and uncharacteristic of Washington's addresses to Congress, both of which exhibited a high degree of formality.
This is a false quote, but bits and pieces of it still continue to crop up from time to time. Even national publications, such as Playboy magazine, have been snared by it. (Playboy published the "quote" in December 1995 as part of an article entitled "Once and for All: What the Founding Fathers Said About Guns". After consulting with an assistant editor of the George Washington Papers at the University of Virginia, Playboy published a lengthy correction in March 1996.)
The above analysis (by Clayon Cramer) was taken in part from a "talk.politics.guns" usenet FAQ. (Original source: Cramer, Clayton, Firing Back, 1995. Used by permission of the author.)
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) also comments (excerpted with permission) on the liberty teeth speech as follows: "This has several variations including 'hour' for'moment' and sometimes added as part of an actual Washington quote 'A free people ought not only to be armed...' The various citations are even more numerous than different wordings: Address to the Second Session of the First U.S. Congress; Speech to Congress of January 7, 1790, printed in the Boston Independent Chronicle, January 14, 1790; the Federalist No. 53; Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1785."
SAF mentions another fabricated George Washington quote:
Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.
While this quote is often attributed to George Washington in his Farewell Address, this quote cannot be found there. Many people have tried to verify its origin, but cannot confirm its authenticity. Dan Gifford tried to track this quote down but was unsuccessful for his article. See: "The Conceptual Foundations of Anglo-American Jurisprudence in Religion and Reason", The Tennessee Law Review: A Second Amendment Symposium Issue, Page 801, footnote 201. This issue of the Tennessee Law Review is part of the SAF bookshelf. Perhaps the American Freedom Library available from Laissez Faire Books features the best history of this alleged quote on their Version 3.1 CD-ROM. The searchable CD-ROM notes that the above statement is: "Attributed to George Washington.--Frank J. Wilstach, A Dictionary of Similes, 2d ed., p. 526 (1924). This can be found with minor variations in wording and in punctuation, and with 'fearful' for 'troublesome,' in George Seldes, The Great Quotations, p. 727 (1966). Unverified. In his most recent book of quotations, The Great Thoughts (1985), Seldes Says, p. 441, col. 2, footnote, this paragraph 'although credited to the 'Farewell' [address] cannot be found in it. Lawson Hamblin, who owns a facsimile, and Horace Peck, America's foremost authority on quotations, informed me this paragraph is apocryphal [fake].'"
And yet another bogus Washington quote:
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government
The actual quote:
A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well digested plan is requisite: And their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories, as tend to render them independent on others, for essential, particularly for military supplies.
---George Washington's First Annual Message to Congress (January 8, 1790)
More Bogus Quotes
The following quotes from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are likewise fictional. The quotes are not to be found in their speeches, personal correspondence, or diaries. Nor have the quotes ever been cited in law journals by Second Amendment legal scholars.
The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
--- Falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson.
Sometimes the quote appears with Jefferson's, "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms", which is taken from his proposal for Virginia's constitution of 1776. The bogus quote has appeared both before the "No freeman..." sentence and after it. However in reality, the "tyranny" portion of the quote is absent from Jefferson's draft.
The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.
--- More bogus Thomas Jefferson.
The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned.
--- Falsely attributed to James Madison.
Although not directly related to the Second Amendment or gun control issues these two quotes are fake as well:
The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first..
--- Falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson.
If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
--- Falsely attributed to James Madison.
Jumbling John Adams
Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion...in private self-defense.
Less common, and worse:
Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self defense.
To suppose arms in the hands of citizens, to be used at individual discretion, except in private self-defense, or by partial orders of towns, countries or districts of a state, is to demolish every constitution, and lay the laws prostrate, so that liberty can be enjoyed by no man; it is a dissolution of the government. The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws.
---John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of the United States 475 (1787-1788)Prince Edward Islanders will go to the polls May 4.
Premier Wade MacLauchlan made the announcement at his nomination meeting to represent the district of York-Oyster Bed on Monday night.
The Liberal Party heads into the election holding 23 of 27 seats, with three Progressive Conservatives and one Independent holding the balance of the seats. The Liberals have governed since 2007.
Fixed election-date legislation had set the next provincial election for Oct. 5, but an earlier date comes as no surprise. A spring election call was set up when Robert Ghiz announced his resignation as premier in November, pending the selection of a new Liberal leader.
MacLauchlan was named leader on Feb. 21 and sworn in as premier two days later. Few expected he would wait until October to attempt to win his own mandate.
4 new party leaders
A major theme for the coming campaign is likely to be renewal, as all four parties — Liberal, Progressive Conservative, New Democrat and Green — have new leaders. None of the leaders has served in the legislature.
Progressive Conservative Leader Rob Lantz says his party is ready for the election. (CBC)
The Liberals enter the election campaign with some prominent members not reoffering, giving them the opportunity to bring in some fresh faces in addition to the new leader.
The new Progressive Conservative leader is Rob Lantz, who was a popular city councillor in Charlottetown for two terms. The Tories moved up their leadership convention, which had been scheduled for May, and Lantz was elected leader on Feb. 28, when he warned the Liberals that his party was election ready.
Mike Redmond, the NDP's fifth leader in five elections, is looking to get the party back into the legislature. (Kevin Yarr/CBC)
The Tory leadership convention was its most successful ever, with almost 3,000 votes cast.
The Tory campaign effectively started when Lantz was named leader, and government accountability has emerged as a key theme. Lantz has already promised a royal commission on accountability in government that would focus on controversial aspects of the Robert Ghiz government: the provincial nominee program, the e-gaming venture, and the lending and write-off practices of government.
Greens and NDP
While either the Liberals or Progressive Conservatives will almost certainly form government after the election, the Greens and the NDP are hoping for representation in the legislature.
Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker has been vocal in the weeks leading up to the election call. (Kevin Yarr/CBC)
The NDP is the only party apart from the Liberals and Tories to have elected a member to the legislature, and that was just once — Herb Dickieson from 1996-2000. Since that achievement, the party's fortunes have faded considerably. In the last three elections, the NDP has failed to gather more than 3.2 per cent of the popular vote.
Under new leader Mike Redmond, the NDP has attracted a lot of attention. In early 2013, public opinion polls suggested the NDP had the support of one in four voters, well ahead of what the Progressive Conservatives were polling at the time. Numbers have slipped for the NDP since then, and Redmond will face a challenge to win his seat.
The Green Party has been active over the last few weeks. Leader Peter Bevan-Baker has been vocal in commenting on issues, and the party has already released its platform.
How the unproven four leaders perform over the next few weeks will likely play a significant role in their parties' fortunes on voting day.The small-but-influential New York Conservative Party is now poised to give its all-important third line on the Empire State election ballot to Donald Trump, its state chairman revealed to Newsmax on Saturday.
"We're overwhelming for Trump," said Conservative State Chairman Mike Long. He added that the endorsement will be officially made in September by the party’s 287-member state committee.
Although New York last went for a Republican presidential candidate in 1984, there are signs that Trump could actually put its 29 electoral votes in the GOP column.
Along with being a native New Yorker, Trump has an enthusiastic following among ethnic, suburban and upstate voters.
In the April 19 primary, Trump rolled up a strong 60.5 percent of the vote, one of his strongest showings during his campaign.
Long’s assessment is major shift from when he last spoke with Newsmax in early April.
At that time, he explained, the Conservative Party was "split evenly" between Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, with some party activists backing Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Obviously, the near-certainty of Trump being the Republican nominee for President has raised his stock within the Conservative Party. Since 1972, the Conservative Party has given its ballot line to the Republican nominee for president and is considered crucial for any GOP candidate in carrying the state.
"And there are still some complaints Trump isn’t conservative enough," Long said, "But there is also an overwhelming sentiment that we cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama and that’s what four years of Hillary Clinton means."
Since it was founded in 1962 to battle liberal Republican Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, the Conservative Party has frequently provided the winning votes for Republican nominees it has "cross-endorsed."
In 1980, for example, Ronald Reagan carried New York’s electoral votes with help from the Conservative line. Both Republicans George Pataki and Al D’Amato won three terms as governor and U.S. Senator respectively with votes from the Conservative ballot line.
"And our endorsement can be helpful to Trump across the nation," Long told us. Noting that Trump "is having some trouble with other conservatives nationwide. Having our seal of approval could possibly bring some of those who are undecided onto the 'Trump train.'"
But not all New York conservatives are on board the Trump train. National Review, the venerable conservative publication founded by the late William F. Buckley, Jr., has been sharply critical of the GOP presumptive nominee. Buckley was one of the founding members of the Conservative Party and the party’s nominee for mayor of New York City back in 1965.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
© 2019 Newsmax. All rights reserved.A security drill on Saturday created a major scare and sent Air India and security officials into a tizzy after a grenade-like object was found on a Boeing 747 aircraft when it landed at Jeddah in the wee hours.
The object, earlier suspected to be a "defused grenade", turned out to be only a "plastic wrapper", an Air India official said, adding that the plane was checked by Jeddah airport security personnel and cleared for further operations.
The airline officials also made it clear that the Boeing 747-400, operating flight AI-965 on Mumbai-Hyderabad-Jeddah route, was not the one which was kept on a stand-by for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the US.
The plane had been operating on the Delhi-Frankfurt route during this period, they said. The Prime Minister had undertaken a five-day visit to the US from September 25.
As soon as the jumbo jet landed at the Jeddah airport, the flight crew informed the local security agencies, who took over the aircraft and conducted a thorough check.
"After screening the aircraft and the object, which was found to be a plastic wrapper, the Jeddah airport security cleared the aircraft for further operations," an Air India statement said. Earlier, sources had said the object was a defused grenade.
Official sources said this was part of a security drill carried out by the National Security Guards since the last week of September at select airports in the country to check the alertness of the crew and others concerned.
Air India has set up a committee under the chairmanship of its Joint Managing Director and Joint Commissioner of Security, Civil Aviation to further investigate the incident as also the alertness of the crew.
"Air India would like to clear that at no point of time was the safety of the passengers or the aircraft compromised," the statement added.
Earlier, it had been erroneously reported by PTI that the flight held a defused grenade and was a standby flight for PM Narendra Modi's trip to the United States.
Read: Defused grenade found on Air India aircraft kept as standby for PM Narendra Modi's US visitThe Atlanta Hawks have had a pretty impressive season considering they had to re-tool in the offseason and lost star center Al Horford for the year.
Sitting third in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks made their way to Milwaukee on Saturday night where they took on the Bucks.
Point guard Jeff Teague had to leave the game due to injury, which opened up playing time for rookie guard Dennis Schröder.
The rookie made his way onto the floor and played a few minutes before an oddity was notice. Schroder was wearing his practice shorts during the game.
The 20-year-old from Germany checked into the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, a game he got an opportunity to play in thanks in part to the injury of Jeff Teague, still dressed in his practice shorts.
Unlike many teams, the Hawks wear similar colored shorts in practice and during games so it was an understandable mistake but he clearly stood out with the white piping down the side of the shorts.
The Hawks equipment manager went and got Schroder’s game shorts out of the locker room and the rookie changed during the next stoppage in play.The rs2494732 locus was not associated with an increased risk of a psychotic disorder, with lifetime cannabis use, or with frequency of use. We did, however, find that the effect of lifetime cannabis use on risk of psychosis was significantly influenced by the rs2494732 locus (likelihood ratio statistic for the interaction = 8.54; p =.014). Carriers of the C/C genotype with a history of cannabis use showed a greater than twofold increased likelihood of a psychotic disorder (odds ratio = 2.18 [95% confidence interval: 1.12, 4.31]) when compared with users who were T/T carriers. Moreover, the interaction between the rs2494732 genotype and frequency of use was also significant at the 5% level (likelihood ratio = 13.39; p =.010). Among daily users, C/C carriers demonstrated a sevenfold increase in the odds of psychosis compared with T/T carriers (odds ratio = 7.23 [95% confidence interval: 1.37, 38.12]).The trailer for God of War was a high point at E3 last year, showing off a game that seemed to show Kratos adapting to life after the original trilogy. Between the trailer and gameplay footage that was shown off at the event, gamers got a good sense of how Kratos was struggling to connect with a son who was more like his mother than the god-hunting warrior who now had to raise him.
One thing that wasn’t revealed at that time was the boy’s name. This is a mystery no longer, though, as a fan has discovered the name in a pretty unexpected place.
The name was revealed thanks to Sony releasing a live recording of the E3 Overture gameplay music in celebration of the E3 trailer reaching 15 million views on YouTube. The discovery was made by a God of War fan named Fabiano Banin, who noticed that a tag in the mp3 file stated that it was for “An introduction to Kratos and Atreus.” Taking to Twitter, he asked the game’s director and composer who Atreus was and if he was the previously unnamed son of Kratos. God of War director Cory Barlog tweeted back, confirming that Atreus was the boy’s name and congratulating Banin on a “nice discovery.”
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It’s not uncommon for details about games to be found in various data files, and soundtrack music has given away details about games and movies on multiple occasions. In this case, it doesn’t seem like there was any attempt made to conceal the name… if it was meant to be too big of a secret, the mp3 tag could have simply read “An introduction to Kratos and his son.” Given the wording, it was only a matter of time before someone discovered it once the E3 Overture mp3 was released as a download.
What’s possibly more interesting is that Atreus is an obviously Greek name. This could be simply a result of Kratos’ origin, but given how the game is supposed to focus on Norse mythology it could also indicate that we’ll see Greek traditions mingling with Norse gods and legends. While this is likely reading too much into the name, the idea of Kratos trying to raise his son in the old ways while facing off against a different breed of god and monster could add an interesting complexity to the game.
Being God of War, of course, some players would probably prefer that the family drama be kept to a minimum. Regardless of the origins of his name, many players are likely looking forward to teaching Atreus how to battle monsters and kill gods like his father did before him. It may not be the bonding that Atreus was hoping for, but at least it’s something he and his father can do together.
God of War will be released on the PlayStation 4, though a release date has not been set.Looks familiar. Image: Regis Leroy/Flickr
Generally, the Tor network provides a high level of protection and anonymity for its users. So much so that law enforcement agencies, instead of attacking the network itself, have opted to hack individual users' computers, or end-points. This way, investigators have learned Tor users' IP addresses.
But the Tor Project, the nonprofit that maintains the Tor software, and the team behind Mozilla's Firefox, have quietly been working on improvements that, they say, should make such attacks more difficult. By tweaking how the browser connects to the Tor network, malware designed to unmask users may have a harder time doing so.
"We're at the stage right now where we have created the basic tools and we're working on putting them together to realize the security benefits," Richard Barnes, Firefox Security Lead, told Motherboard in an email.
As Barnes explained, the Tor Browser is basically made up of two parts: a modified version of Firefox, and the Tor proxy, which routes the browser's traffic into the Tor network. Usually, the Firefox part also has network access, as it needs this to talk to the proxy.
"That means if an attacker can compromise the Firefox half of Tor Browser, it can de-anonymize the user by connecting to something other than the Tor proxy," Barnes said.
Indeed, this is essentially what the FBI has done in some of its dark web investigations. In February 2015, the agency deployed a "network investigative technique" (NIT)—the agency's term for a piece of malware—against suspected visitors of a child pornography site. That malware first used a Tor Browser exploit, and then forced the computer to contact a government server outside of the Tor network, revealing the suspect's real IP address to the FBI.
But that will change with the support of 'Unix domain sockets', and some other tweaks. A Unix domain socket is basically a way for two programs on the same computer to talk to each other without using an underlying network protocol. With that, the Firefox half of the Tor Browser should no longer need network access, Barnes continued.
"That means that you could run it in a sandbox with no network access (only a Unix domain socket to the proxy), and it would still work fine. And then, even if the Firefox half of Tor Browser were compromised, it wouldn't be able to make a network connection to de-anonymize the user," he said.
This project is a collaboration between the Tor Project and Mozilla, according to Barnes. He said it started when the Tor Project did some work on adding Unix domain socket capabilities to the Tor proxy and browser. After that, Mozilla added a general capability to Firefox allowing it to talk to proxies over Unix domain sockets. And now, the Tor Browser team is working on putting this general capability into the Tor Browser, and Mozilla is helping to fix any bugs that come up, Barnes said.
There are some caveats, however. For this plan to work, the operating system needs a couple of things, namely a non-network way to talk to the proxy—in this case, Unix domain sockets—and a suitable sandbox that can stop the Firefox part of the browser from getting access to the network.
At the moment, Firefox's support will only work on platforms that have those sockets, like macOS and Linux. Barnes said support will be included with Firefox 51, which will be released in January.
"Work is ongoing to extend this capability to Windows [...] and sandboxing work should proceed once the integration is done," Barnes added.
After this story was initially published, a Tor Project spokesperson gave the following statement to Motherboard: We are sandboxing the Tor browser to insulate our users from potential attacks. We want to make life as difficult as possible for people trying to deanonymize our users. Tor developer Yawning Angel just finished an experimental prototype that will likely appear in some versions of the Tor Browser later this year.
This story was also updated after its initial publication to include Firefox 51's January release date.(Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) shares were up 3 percent in trading on Friday after sources said both Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) were interested in buying parts of its studio and TV operations.
A week after reports of interest from Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) in buying out much of Rupert Murdoch’s U.S. film and television empire, the sources hinted at the prospect of a battle between other media suitors for the assets.
Buyers have expressed interest in Fox’s production studios, cable networks FX and National Geographic, and international assets such as the Star network in India and Sky Plc SKYB.L, sources told Reuters on Thursday.
“Either Disney or Comcast would be a good fit, but its always about price and neither has to be a strategic buyer, only opportunistic,” said JBL Advisors analyst Jeffrey Logsdon.
Shares of other media companies which could be dragged into a round of consolidation of U.S. film and TV production and distribution were largely unchanged.
Comcast, the largest cable provider in the United States, has steadily boosted its content ownership over the years and buying Fox’s assets would give it an international distribution footprint and strengthen its position against Disney.
Traditional media companies have been struggling with subscriber declines as streaming service Netflix (NFLX.O) has gained traction with younger audiences that shun traditional cable and satellite offerings.
Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser remains uncertain as to whether the Murdoch family is seriously entertaining offers.
Wieser surmised that all the interest in Fox by other companies probably came after they heard something regarding Disney’s potential interest that was at least enough to take a meeting.
“Previously, no-one would have guessed that such a meeting would have ever occurred. That’s enough for other companies to get their bankers working on something to attempt to get a meeting of their own,” he said.
Verizon shares were up 1.4 percent, while Comcast and Netflix shares were down about 1 percent.
Fox and Disney are partial co-owners of Hulu, a streaming service that offers on-demand and live TV packages. Hulu is also partially owned by Comcast and Time Warner Inc TWX.N.
“I think if Time Warner doesn’t end up being bought by AT&T - it looks like that’s going to get blocked - that would be an interesting combination... Time Warner-Fox or Disney-Fox,” Needham & Co analyst Laura Martin told Reuters.
Although acquisition of a movie studio and cable channels would be a departure for wireless carrier Verizon, its interest in Fox assets was likely piqued by rival AT&T’s (T.N) bid for HBO and CNN owner Time Warner, which is awaiting regulatory approval.
FILE PHOTO: The Twenty-First Century Fox Studios flag flies over the company building in Los Angeles, California U.S. on November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson /File Photo
“(I am) sceptical of a Verizon deal, creative businesses are very tough to manage for an outsider,” Logsdon said.
Fox’s other assets include Fox television network, Fox News Channel and Fox Entertainment Group, which owns the popular movies studio 20th Century Fox.
Fox shares have gained about 9 percent in value in the last six months.I admit it – I have a thing for old men in long robes. No, its not what you think. I’m a fan of wizards in 4e. My very first character in Dungeons & Dragons was an Elven wizard named Ralt Gaither. I made him after picking up the old red box (Erol Otus cover, yeah!) and I’ve had an affinity for spellcasters ever since.
4rth edition (4e) wizards have high points & low points for me. I enjoy a lot of the direct damage spells, but wizards in 4e are controllers. As such, they should be the masters of the large scale battlefield, manipulating the environment & the elements to keep the upper hands on the bad guys. Some 4e spells do a great job of this, and I love using them. Others I find a bit lacking. In this series of articles, I am going to tweak a few spells & hopefully bring it more in line what I feel it should be in 4e.
Stinking Cloud & Cloudkill have always been two area of effect spells in Dungeons & Dragons that I really enjoy. There’s nothing like dropping a big yellowish green cloud of nasty vapors on the enemy. In previous editions, Cloudkill was identical to Stinking Cloud in size but Cloudkill inflicted damage whereas Stinking Cloud did not. In 4e, the two spells became very similar in effect & damage capacity, which seems a little odd given both the history of the spells as well as the level difference between them. Both spells now inflict the same amount of damage but Stinking Cloud blocks line of sight and can be moved further on each turn. Cloudkill’s only benefit is that it is larger, which isn’t a large benefit given that it does not block line of sight. These differences did not seem logical when comparing a level 5 spell to a level 19 spell, so I decided to change Cloudkill to bring it more line with what it should be doing as a higher level spell.
Enough talk! Here’s my proposed changes and the logic behind the changes. Presenting, the new & improved Cloudkill!
1. Change Area 5 to Area 2 – Seemingly a reduction in power by making the area of effect smaller, but reducing Cloudkill’s size will allow us to balance out the increase in power that comes from the remaining changes. Also, as an old school nod, previously Stinking Cloud & Cloudkill have always had the same area of effect.
2. Cloudkill now blocks line of sight – This allows the spell to have more of a controlling effect during the battle by giving it more tactical utility.
3. Increase damage from 1d10 to 2d10 & add ongoing 10/5 poison damage – Cloudkill in its original form just wasn’t powerful enough. Stinking Cloud did the exact same amount of damage and it was 14 levels lower. Not good. I upped the damage to 2d10 & added in ongoing poison damage. I was a bit hesitant at adding ongoing damage to a spell that is supposed to kill outright, but as Stinking Cloud previously did no damage I needed some way of making Cloudkill be more deadly to anything it touched. Ongoing damage is great for this sort of thing, so I decided to add that in.
4. Increase the movement range from 3 squares to 6 – Decreasing the size of the cloud allowed me to increase its movement rate. Easy change that kept the spell right in line with Stinking Cloud.
So that’s the new Cloudkill. Its basically an upgraded Stinking Cloud, but since that’s the precedent established in the original spell I stayed true to its original form in 4e. Comments & thoughts are appreciated, and if you do choose to use this new spell, be sure to let me know how it works out for you!
Jonathan Westmoreland is a 40 year old chemist originally from the deep, dark woods of southern Arkansas. He began his gaming career after seeing the Erol Otus Red Box in a bookstore in 1981 and hasn't turned back since.NASA announced that a "significant" amount of water has been found on the moon, following the LCROSS mission to "bomb" the moon earlier this year.
The LCROSS rocket blasted a crater on the moon's south pole in October 2009, creating a 60- to 100-foot-wide hole in the lunar surface and generating a plume of lunar debris that included "at least 24 gallons of water," writes the New York Times.
NASA notes that the plume included materials that had not seen sunlight in billions of years.
The evidence of lunar ice fields uncovered by NASA's moon blast suggests that the quantity of water on the moon could be greater and more widespread than previously suspected.
The New York Times reports,
"We got more than just whiff," said Peter H. Schultz, a professor of geological sciences at Brown University and a co-investigator of the mission. "We practically tasted it with the impact."
Another NASA scientist commented on the discovery of water,
"Indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit, we found a significant amount," Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
Possible sources of the water include comets and solar winds, although NASA said that they are in the process of studying the water found to better understand its source.
The discovery "opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon," the agency said in a statement.
Finding water on the moon has major ramifications for the future of space exploration, as well as the study of the solar system's history.
NASA spokespersons at the press conference acknowledged that they were "excited" and "ecstatic" by the discovery and "impressed by the amount of water we found."
NASA full report on the discovery can be found here.NASA was livestreaming the press conference on its website here.
Read more about NASA's LCROSS mission to bomb the moon here.This article is a preview from the Winter 2016 edition of New Humanist. You can find out more and subscribe here.
Fifty years ago, in October 1966, a little-known 36-year-old philosophy teacher from the École normale supérieure (ENS) in Paris, Jacques Derrida, took to the stage at a conference on structuralism at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, entitled “The Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man”.
In doing so he was to inaugurate a dispute between two schools of philosophy that continues even now – between the analytic philosophers and rationalists on the one hand, and the continental philosophers on the other. Today, a popular strain of thought in the English-speaking world, often associated with the “New Atheist” movement, likes to dismiss all things Derrida or continental as “post-modern” nonsense. But the dispute is, I would argue, of great importance. With the “death of God” the search for meaning does not cease: arguably it becomes more urgent. How we produce and analyse meaning becomes crucial particularly when it is not outsourced to a deity.
The Baltimore colloquium itself was a huge intellectual event, bringing together over 100 philosophers, literary critics, ethnographers, anthropologists, psychoanalysts and cultural theorists from eight countries. They included Roland Barthes, Jean Hippolyte, Hans Georg Gadamer, Northrop Frye, Tzvetan Todorov and Jacques Lacan. It was meant to introduce America and the Anglophone world to |
chooses a law, a choice not much subject to legal review and reversal. We’d want to encourage people to take such choices seriously, but then to accept the choices they make. Freedom of choice requires a freedom to make mistakes. For big choices, those can be big mistakes.
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loading...These are the prints available to you for the Help Ed fundraiser.
We have: Ed & Ghibli, Oliver, Loki, Gatsby, Emma, Sawyer, Trinket, Bella, and lastly Simon & Tempe.
Together these Corgi’s (and non Corgi’s) and their parents have kindly donated a print to encourage you to donate to Ed.
Here is a list of what certain dollar amounts get you.
$20 - A print of any of the pups above AND an entry to a raffle to win signed posters by Kazu, and other misc. snowboard goods.
$50 - A print of any of the pups above and an entry to win 1 of 5 brand new Nidecker SNOWBOARDS graciously donated by Curry, Ookii, and Chi-Chan and their parents. You can see Ookii modelling with the snowboards above. (That photo is not available for print)
Now I know that for some people funds are tight and sometimes even 20 dollars is too much to spare. The last thing I want to do is discourage anyone from donating ANY dollar amount. So, any dollar amount donated will be entered to win a Camel Lounge donated by the Cardi & one Pembroke (Simon, Caleb, Tempe and Riley) crew.
Every donation must be proven so you can either take a screen shot of your email confirmation and email it to sawyerthecorgi@gmail.com or just forward the email itself. Make sure that the donation amount is visible. As well if you could make the subject “Help Ed” that would be great! Make sure to specify which print you want.
To donate, please click the link below.
Help Ed
*EDIT* Frogman has just sent me a photo of Otis to be printed. Feel free to choose this if you’d like a print of Otis!Despite the company’s rebuttal on social media, Bernie Sanders isn’t letting up on his criticism of Disney over wages at Disneyland as he seeks to shore up support in California in advance of the state’s June Democratic primary election. Sanders slammed the Mouse House tonight at a rally in Lancaster, California, telling the crowd that “The company makes billions of dollars in profit, but they are paying workers… wages that are so low that many of the workers cannot find housing and they have to stay in hotels.”
Sanders first raised the criticisms during a rally May 24 in Anaheim. To that, Disney CEO Bob Iger wrote on Facebook that the company “created 11,000 new jobs at Disneyland in the past decade, and our company has created 18,000 in the U.S. in the last five years.” Iger, a prominent supporter of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, tore into Sanders, asking “How many jobs have you created? What have you contributed to the U.S. economy?”
Another Disney spokesperson added to Iger’s rebuttal, noting the contributions Disney parks and related tourism make to the local economy as the area’s largest employer. That didn’t stop Sanders tonight in Lancaster from doubling down, calling out Disney for outsourcing manufacturing to China and other locales. “I say to Disney, bring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck back to America.”
Sander’s comments come as his campaign enters what may be its final phase. Still trailing Clinton considerably in the delegate count, Sanders will need to win landslide primary victories in both the California and New Jersey primaries in order to win the Democratic Party nomination for president. While it’s still a longshot, Sanders and Clinton are currently virtually tied in California polls.The San Carlos Apache community association, Apache Stronghold, held a rally on June 30 in Tucson, Ariz., to save Oak Flat, a sacred site in the Tonto National Forest that is endangered by a planned copper mine of a goliath mining company. On July 5, Apache Stronghold began a long caravan trek from Tucson to Washington, D.C. stopping at cities and reservations nationwide to gather support and to request the federal government to support the Save Oak Flat Act, a bill introduced by Arizona congressman, Raul Grijalva, in mid-June.
The Tucson rally was organized by the Indigenous Alliance Without Borders and Tucson Supports Oak Flat to support Apache Stronghold’s efforts to save the sacred site from destruction by a mining mammoth.
The vehicle caravan will be traveling through Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia and will arrive in Washington, D.C. on July 21, and will hold a protest rally on the U.S. Capitol lawn on July 22.
This issue is of particular concern to this writer as having lived for several years in Tucson and visited San Carlos Reservation on a number of occasions with friends who were tribal members.
The background of this valiant struggle is that Oak Flat or Chi’ Bildagoteel in Apache has been used since time immemorial by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other tribes in the region for sacred ceremonies and the gathering of medicinal plants. It has been protected from mining since 1955, when President Eisenhower issued an Executive Order to preserve the site culturally and naturally in perpetuity.
Since 2005, Resolution Copper Mining- a subsidiary of global mining marauders Australian BHP, Billion, Inc., and British Rio Tinto have been trying, through legislation, to obtain a certain 2,400 acres (on which sits Oak Flat) of the Tonto National Forest. This acreage holds a massive copper deposit. The legislation is titled the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange. A dozen versions of the bill had been defeated previously by the tribe.
But along comes Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., with a “dirty trick bag,” which included slipping the land swap through Congress in December by stuffing it into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), one of the loathsome government practices that is standard fare for U.S. politics.
The area, in addition to containing the site sacred to the Apaches, has other lands held dear to hikers, birders and rock climbers.
The mining villain has admitted that Oak Flat will be “damaged” by the mine. “Damaged” is an understatement as Resolution Copper foresees a two mile wide, 1,000 foot deep crater will result from the mining. Oak Flat, Chi’ Bildagoteel, will be utterly destroyed.
Under the land swap legislation the exchange trades 5,300 acres owned by Resolution for the 2,400 acres of copper rich land in the Forest. The copper mine, if realized, is projected to be largest in North America.
In February, after learning of the smoky backroom land swap, the Apaches set up a protest encampment at the site to protect it. Weekend events organized by the protesters were attended by supporters, in the hundreds, from Tucson and Phoenix. The protesters demanded a repeal of the underhanded legislation that awarded the thousands of acres to the rapacious mining behemoth.
Native nations, near and far, are backing the Apache resistance. The National Congress of American Indians, the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona and the National Indian Gaming Association have publicly stated their opposition to the threatened mining invasion and the privatization of land sacred to the Apache and Yavapai peoples.
The opposition of the San Carlos Apache Tribe to the land exchange is based on the following objections:
First, the planned copper mine, which would be nearly two miles beneath the earth’s surface would destroy the tribe’s place of worship and its traditional way of life.
Second, the copper mine would deplete the entire region’s water supply.
And third, the exchange would be a giveaway of tens of billions of dollars of U.S. resources to foreign mining corporations.
As a result of consistent tribal opposition, over the years to the land transfer, the U.S. House was forced to pull the bill from consideration on other occasions in the 113th Congress. But, as this 113th Congress came to a close, sleazy proponents of the shifty exchange crafted a closed-door agreement to include the bill as a rider “Section 3003” in the FY 15 NDAA. The NDAA is considered must-pass legislation to fund U.S. troops and the Defense Department. The FY 15 passed Congress and was signed as Public Law No. 113-291 by President Obama on December 19, 2014.
“They declared war on our religion, we must stand in unity and fight to the very end, for this is a holy war,” said Wendsler Nosie Sr., San Carlos council member and former tribal chairman, on Apache Stronghold’s website.
The land swap deal is also violative of the spirit and the language of the American Religious Freedom Act of 1978. Moreover, this ravenous, hateful land swap took place without any consultation with the tribes. The heinous legislation must be repealed.
Photo: Saving Oak Flat Campground Facebook pageManchester United missed the chance to extend their lead in the title race to six points as Michu came out on top in the battle of the Barclays Premier League's top scorers at the Liberty Stadium.
Patrice Evra had given United the lead in the 16th minute as he headed home from a Robin van Persie corner.
But Swansea continued their good record against the top-flight big guns as Michu finished from close range to move clear of Van Persie with his 13th league goal of the season.
United will hold a four-point lead over Manchester City at Christmas but will be left to rue a series of missed chances during the final half hour when they piled the pressure on their hosts.
Swansea felt they had shown United too much respect during this fixture last season but, after a slow start, they showed little sign of being overawed as they took the game to the visitors.
Dwight Tiendalli flashed a threatening ball across the six-yard box before Kemy Agustien freed Michu with a superb long ball, but the Spaniard sliced high and wide.
David De Gea easily saved weak efforts from Wayne Routledge and Michu, but United halted the hosts' building momentum as they took the lead.
Wayne Rooney had already warmed Michel Vorm's hands with a stinging drive before Evra put the visitors ahead, arriving to glance a header in off the far post from a Van Persie corner.
But Swansea recovered well from the blow and Jonathan de Guzman had the ball in the net two minutes later, but the effort was ruled out for Michu blocking off Jonny Evans as the midfielder advanced.
The Liberty Stadium faithful were further angered when Phil Jones was given only a yellow card for a clumsy lunge on Ben Davies, although replays suggested referee Michael Oliver had got the decision right.
But it was United who felt they had been victims of an injustice as Michu levelled on the half hour mark.
Evra was caught out by De Guzman's clever run and when De Gea could only parry the Dutchman's angled shot, Michu was on hand to tap in.
Sir Alex Ferguson was visibly angered that Van Persie was not awarded a free-kick after he and Chico Flores went to ground following the Spaniard's challenge seconds before the equaliser, and the United boss made his feelings known to referee Oliver at the break.
The goal added an extra bite to Swansea's play and they had the better of the remainder of the opening half.
De Guzman and Routledge were becoming increasingly influential for the hosts and the former should have done better after working his way into the United box on the byline, only to shoot straight at De Gea with several team-mates well placed.
But United offered a remainder of their quality in first half stoppage time when Evra easily got past Nathan Dyer and intelligently pulled the ball back to Rooney, but the England forward fired directly at Vorm.
The second half started at a furious pace and there were chances for both sides.
Michu again headed over and De Gea had to stand firm to repel Routledge's close-range strike.
At the other end Ashley Williams made two superb blocks to stop goalbound efforts from Rooney and Ashley Young after Swansea twice surrendered possession cheaply.
United were finally exerting some authority and Van Persie came close to putting them back in front as he cleverly diverted a Rooney cross goalwards, only to see his effort cannon away off the bar.
Substitute Javier Hernandez wasted another presentable chance as he failed to control Van Persie's astute pass and Vorm gratefully held the Mexican's deflected strike.
Worse was to follow for United when Rooney dispossessed Chico Flores but allowed the defender to get back and intercept a slack pass which should have given Hernandez an easy finish, much to the fury of his manager.
Tempers flared as United frustrations grew. Van Persie was struck on the head by a Williams clearance after being brought down on the edge of the box leading to some pushing and shoving and a booking apiece for the central protagonists.
Swansea were by now under incessant pressure.
Vorm tipped a Carrick header against the bar while Van Persie and Young were denied by blocks from Williams and Davies, although there was a suspicion of handball about the latter, as Swansea held out.Former Bernal Heights resident Deb Follingstad’s rental horror story was enough to keep many a San Franciscan up at night. Back in 2015, her landlord increased her rent by a jarring, inhumane 315 percent.
Follingstad and her boyfriend were living in a rent-controlled pad in Bernal Heights, shelling out $2,145 for a two-bedroom flat above a former gas station and garage at 355 Bocana. Her then landlord, Nadia Lama, sent her a notice informing her that rent would skyrocket to $8,900, with an additional security deposit set at a whopping $12,500.
By way of tinkering with the house’s structure—a bathroom was pulled out of the downstairs apartment, which technically turned the place back into a single-family home—Lama was able bypass the rent control technicality via owner-move-in eviction.
Poor form. So much so that, after the case went to trial, Follingstad was awarded a massive settlement of $400,000.
San Francisco Magazine’s Lamar Anderson has the story.
Why such a big payout? Why 40 times the required relocation payment, and not, say, 10? It all goes back to the damages a jury could award, says Tobener. Tenants who unfairly lose rent-controlled tenancies get compensated for the rent savings they would have accrued over some number of years. Then there are damages awarded for emotional distress, if the tenant's side can show that the landlord had a reckless disregard for the tenant's rights. And this is the real doozy: Rent damages are automatically tripled under San Francisco's Rent Ordinance. Emotional distress damages, if they are awarded, get tripled too. "Part of the reason wrongful eviction cases tend to settle is that emotional distress damages are unpredictable," says Tobener.
After lawyer’s fees and taxes, Follingstad should see around one-fourth of the award. (She tells San Francisco Magazine that most of it will go to cover costs for recent breast cancer treatments.)
And as for Lama, she will go down as the new horror story for any San Francisco homeowner looking for an easy, unscrupulous way out.The OSCE has revealed the 12-point roadmap behind the September 5 truce signed in Minsk. It says that Ukraine must adopt a new law, allowing for a special status for Lugansk and Donetsk regions, and hold early elections there.
READ MORE: Kiev, E. Ukraine militia agree on ceasefire starting 1500 GMT Friday
The document, titled ‘Protocol on the results of consultations of the Trilateral Contact Group’ and signed in Minsk on September 5, outlines what needs to be done for the ceasefire to stay in place.
“To decentralize power, including through the adoption by Ukraine of law 'on provisional procedure for local government in parts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions (law on special status),'” states one of the provisions in the document.
Another point emphasizes that “early local elections” are to be held in light of the special status of both regions. The early elections must be held in accordance with the same proposed law, it says.
Kiev must then continue an “inclusive nationwide dialogue,” the document stresses.
The roadmap also implies an amnesty for anti-government forces in Donbass: “To adopt a law, prohibiting prosecution or punishment of people in relation to the events that took place in individual areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine.”
At the same time, it notes that all “illegal military formations, military equipment, as well as militants and mercenaries” have to be withdrawn from Ukraine.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published a copy of the protocol early on Sunday, with only a PDF document in Russian available so far.
During the meeting on September 5, Kiev officials and representatives of the two self-proclaimed republics in southeastern Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire.
READ MORE: Ukraine ceasefire: Putin lays out 7-step plan to stop hostilities in E. Ukraine
Some of the other provisions of the truce include monitoring of the ceasefire inside Ukraine and on the Russia-Ukraine border by international OSCE observers, the freeing of all prisoners of war, and the opening of humanitarian corridors.
A “safety zone” is to be created with the participation of the OSCE on the Russia-Ukraine border, the document says.
It also calls for measures to improve the dire humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, and urges in a separate point that a program for Donbass’ economic development is to be adopted.
Since the conflict significantly deteriorated in mid-April, 2,593 people have died in fighting in the east of the country, according to the UN's latest data. More than 6,033 others have been wounded in the turmoil.
The number of internally displaced Ukrainians has reached 260,000, with another 814,000 finding refuge in Russia.
READ MORE: Ukraine’s killing fields in 10 stories: RT reporter goes to Lugansk and DonetskFor 25 years, Trevor Carlin and his team has shone bright in motorsport, winning countless championships with a roster of drivers that reads like a veritable Who's Who, winning titles in British F3, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula BMW and GP3.
Carlin Motorsport, founded in 1996 by the former West Surrey Racing man, has at one time or another worked with eight of the drivers on the grid for today's United States Grand Prix, and consequently the Briton has earned an enviable reputation as a talent spotter.
Talking to Danish newspaper BT, Carlin claims former McLaren star Kevin Magnussen is reminiscent of the legendary Ayrton Senna.
"Kevin drove for Carlin in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2011, and he was superb all season long. From his first test, we knew he was something special," says Carlin. "He won seven races for us that year. In fact, he was robbed of the chance of becoming 2011 British Formula 3 Champion owing to a number of reliability problems that season.
"Carlin was founded in 1996, and since then we've competed in almost every significant motorsport series other than Formula 1 - GP2, GP3, Formula 3, World Series by Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0, A1 Grand Prix, Formula E, Indy Lights... you name it, we've done it.
"And during the course of the past 20-odd seasons we've been lucky enough to have some truly brilliant drivers in our cars. Among current F1 drivers, no fewer than eight have raced for us at one time or another; Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, Carlos Sainz Jnr, Felipe Nasr, Marcus Ericsson and Will Stevens - and before that we'd had guys like Robert Kubica, Brendon Hartley, Anthony Davidson and many, many more.
"If you were to ask me to name the best driver we've ever had, I wouldn't like to tell you, because to do so would be unfair on a large number of bloody good drivers, but undoubtedly Kevin would be right up there. He has unbelievable natural talent - and, in particular, his ability to brake late for a corner and yet nail its apex and then get on the power early is second to none. He's the real deal, believe me.
"The other day someone asked me which driver Kevin's driving style most reminded me of. I had a good think about it before I answered, and then I answered truthfully: Ayrton Senna.
"Any driver who finishes second in his very first Formula 1 race should be a permanent fixture in a competitive Formula 1 team's race seat," he concluded. "It would be a travesty if Kevin fails to find a Formula 1 race drive next year, because he's very definitely world champion material, mark my words."
Though unwilling to give any further insight into the reason for Magnussen's split with McLaren, or the precise manner in which he was advised, team boss Eric Boullier also believes the Danish youngster deserves an F1 seat.
"Kevin obviously has a great talent and he has to be praised for that and he should get a drive in Formula One next year," the Frenchman told reporters on Friday.A MAN who allegedly murdered his girlfriend after discovering she was leaving him to attend college, also sent text messages to her family telling them he had killed her.
Authorities say Gabriel Glen Navarro, 20, of Washington state in the northwest United States, is being charged with first-degree murder of his girlfriend Allison Leedy, also 20.
Leedy planned to leave Mr Navarro after three years together, to move to California to study, according to the Daily Mail. Prosecutor Adrienne McCoy described the couple’s relationship as one characterised by “manipulation, isolation and psychological destruction”.
In court documents, it is alleged Mr Navarro was “determined to prevent Allison and her family from realising her dreams”.
Authorities say Mr Navarro strangled Leedy in the apartment they shared, before texting members of her family, including her father and younger sister. “If you are getting this you are responsible for Allison’s death,” he wrote. “You turned her against me.”
He then allegedly sent a text to her father that read: “She’s dead. I have the last laugh.”
After calling emergency services to report Leedy’s murder, Mr Navarro allegedly lied to police, telling them he had created a trap of exploding gas in his apartment and also that he was armed with a gun. He surrendered after police surrounded the building.
“One of our concerns... was that maybe a lot of this was an effort to get us to the point where we’d feel that to deal with the threat, we’d have to shoot him,” said a police spokesman.
After he was arrested, Navarro reportedly told police that his alternate personality, “Frost”, had killed Leedy.MONTREAL — Dominic Oduro called Montreal's 4-2 loss in the first leg of its Amway Canadian Championship semifinal with Major League Soccer rival Toronto FC a "slap in the face."
Still, the Impact forward still believes his team is in good shape as they prepare to host Wednesday's decisive second leg.
Ten-man Montreal was losing 4-0 in the dying minutes of last Wednesday's match in Toronto when they salvaged valuable away goals in the 86th minute and in stoppage time.
"Everyone is really pumped up just to rewrite this whole thing and make the script better," Oduro said Tuesday. "Trust me, everybody is ready. Tomorrow can't come soon enough. Everybody is excited to fix this. We just want to make it right.
"The result was a slap in the face. We were all devastated. We knew it wasn't good enough."
Because Toronto holds a two-goal aggregate lead going into Wednesday's second leg, Montreal needs to win by two or more goals to clinch a series victory. The Impact would eliminate TFC on the away goals rule with a 2-0 or 3-1 scoreline.
"We're going to have the crowd behind us," said goalkeeper Eric Kronberg, who gave up four goals on 10 shots in the first leg. "We're going to have the energy. Two goals is definitely a possibility.
"We're in a good position to go through. Obviously we're going to push the game and play an exciting style of soccer. This is what it's all about."
Toronto needs a win, a draw, or a one-goal defeat to stay alive in the tournament. Even a two-goal loss in a high-scoring affair would be enough to send the Reds to the Canadian Championship final.
Toronto's Drew Moor is expecting Montreal to push forward and be aggressive right from the opening whistle.
"I imagine they're going to play a little bit more like they did late in the game (last week), where they're going to throw some numbers forward right away," Moor told the team's website. "We have to be ready to defend, but also take our chances when we get them.
"We want to keep things safe at the back. We need to expect a storm from them. We can't just sit back and expect to absorb tons and tons of pressure."
Montreal (5-4-4 in Major League Soccer) will get a boost from the return of defenders Ambroise Oyongo and Victor Cabrera, who did not play in the first leg of the semifinal. Oyongo was away on international duty with Cameroon, while Cabrera has missed the last three weeks with a calf injury.
The Impact, however, will have to contend with a decimated midfield.
Designated player Ignacio Piatti underwent surgery on his hand last Friday. The Argentine will miss two to three weeks of play. Marco Donadel (ankle) and Calum Mallace (foot) are also injured.
Captain Patrice Bernier was red carded for a late two-footed slide tackle on TFC's Daniel Lovitz last match and will miss the second leg as a result.
And Johan Venegas is representing Costa Rica at the Copa America.
Because of the lack of holding midfielders, coach Mauro Biello says there's a good chance Montreal plays with a 4-4-2 formation instead of a 4-2-3-1.
Spelling even more trouble for the home side is the probable return of Sebastian Giovinco to Toronto's lineup. Giovinco missed the first leg of the semifinal with an adductor injury.
Toronto (4-5-4 in MLS) will also benefit from the return of Will Johnson, who was away last week with the Canadian national team. Johnson, who was sent home early from Canada's camp with a hip flexor injury, could return Wednesday.
"We have an advantage, but we have to play smart," Jonathan Osorio, who scored twice for TFC in the first leg, said on the team's website. "They're the home team now, they're going to come out gunning. We just have to play smart defensively. We'll have our chances too to put in some goals."
The winner of this semifinal will face either the Vancouver Whitecaps or Ottawa Fury in the final at the end of the month. The winner of the final series will hoist the Voyageurs Cup and earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League.President Nicolas Maduro plans to change the clocks to save energy in drought-stricken Venezuela. File Photo by Mohammad Kheirkhah/UPI | License Photo
CARACAS, Venezuela, April 15 (UPI) -- President Nicolas Maduro is proposing drastic new steps to combat the energy crisis crippling Venezuela.
These include changing the country's time zone and rationing electricity supplies to 15 shopping malls.
Maduro said Thursday that the new change will take effect May 1. He didn't provide details, except to state that it will be an additional emergency measure to prevent power outages.
Vice President Jorge Arreaza said Friday the country would move its clocks forward a half-hour to the GMT-4 zone.
Venezuela is suffering from a severe drought, which is reducing power output by lowering water levels at hydroelectric dams that account for two-thirds of the country's energy needs.
"It's a very simple measure that represents an important savings," Maduro explained about the time zone change.
He has also declared Monday a public holiday in a bid to save energy, and told shopping centers to generate their own electricity. Movie theaters are required to close early and the country's 30 million citizens have been asked to ease up on the use of hairdryers.
Altogether, the Venezuelan government is looking to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent. Maduro has been giving state employees Fridays off to save power usage.
Critics of Maduro's government say government inefficiency, lack of maintenance and lack of investment have exacerbated the problem. Maduro's administration has blamed a the "El Niño" weather pattern for making things worse.
The Guri hydroelectric plant in Venezuela's Bolívar state, which supplies the country with 63 percent of its hydroelectric power, is less than 10 feet from dipping to a critically low water level.
It's not the first time in recent years that a Venezuelan president has taken the decision change the nation's time zone.
In 2007, the late Hugo Chavez turned back clocks by a half-hour to make afternoons a little longer.Palestinian workers building in the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim.
REUTERS - Israel set a 10-year record last year for the number of tenders it issued for construction in settlements on occupied land in the Palestinian territories, the anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now said on Monday.
In a report published as Benjamin Netanyahu is running a close race for re-election on March 17, Peace Now blamed Israel's settlement housing plans for scuttling U.S.-brokered peace talks that collapsed in April.
The report said the invitations to bid for building contracts in the settlements had tripled since 2013 on average compared to the 2009-2013 period of Netanyahu's previous administration.
It said Israel issued 4,485 tenders in 2014, up from 3,710 in 2013, and 858 in 2007, and that 68 percent of construction starts were in enclaves not necessarily part of blocs that Israel has vowed to keep as part of any peace deal.
The Israeli government had no immediate response to the report.
When Israel last issued tenders for settlement construction, a month ago, the U.S. State Department criticized the plan as "illegitimate and counterproductive to achieving a two-state outcome."
Israel, citing historical and Biblical links to the territory, has created homes for more than 500,000 Israelis on land it seized in a 1967 war, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem.HALIFAX — Candidates vying for the leadership of the Conservative Party took aim at the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, saying its endorsement of the Trudeau government's "left-wing ideology" will only kill jobs and plunge the country further into debt.
Leadership candidate Tony Clement went so far as to accuse Christine Lagarde, the head of the respected international body, of "spouting left-wing ideology" when she praised the fiscal policies of the federal government a day earlier in Ottawa.
"I don't care if it's the Queen of Sheba — if you're advancing theories based on left-wing ideology that means more tax and more spend, it will not create jobs," he said on the last day of the Conservative caucus retreat in Halifax.
Tony Clement arrives at the national Conservative summer caucus retreat in Halifax on Sept. 13, 2016. (Photo: Andrew Vaughan/CP)
"We're not going to fall down the same cliff again just because some expert from outta town has said it's ok."
Lagarde met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday and gave her stamp of approval to his economic initiatives, adding that she hoped they would "go viral" and spread to the European Union.
Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose downplayed the endorsement, saying the IMF had praised the policies of the Tory government under Stephen Harper during the global recession.
Instead, Ambrose said the party is paying closer attention to domestic indicators and the opinions of the Bank of Canada, the Conference Board of Canada and ordinary Canadians who are struggling with unemployment and increasing debt.
"These are people who are out of a job, these are people that are worried about their paycheques," she said at the close of the two-day retreat.
IMF director Christine Lagarde takes part in a news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill on Sept. 13, 2016. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP)
"Things are quite grim in a lot of parts of our country right now."
The IMF's support of Ottawa's "growth strategy" could serve to weaken the Conservatives' criticism of Trudeau's economic policies, sure to be one of its main targets when it heads back to Parliament on Monday.
But Conservative finance critic Lisa Raitt said that while it's nice to have Lagarde's approval, both she and Trudeau failed to explain how the federal Liberal government will pay for its spending.
"My fault in what she said is it's one thing to say it's ok to spend, it's another thing to tell us how we're supposed to pay it all back," she said.
"This government has shown us nothing on how they're going to pay it back."
'We need growth of four per cent': Bernier
Leadership contender Maxime Bernier said it was a wrong-headed policy at a time of flagging growth in Canada, and that billions in federal spending has done little to spur economic recovery.
"The reality is that after nearly a year you don't have any growth in Canada," he said.
"We need growth of four per cent and the way to do that is with less government and more private investment."
The MPs made the comments as they wrapped up summer meetings that were dominated by discussions over immigration, electoral reform, party unity and the nascent leadership contest.
'Values' debate dominates meetings
Much of the debate in the hallways of the Halifax hotel centred on controversial remarks by leadership Ontario MP and candidate Kellie Leitch, who has proposed screening newcomers for "anti-Canadian values" as a way to assess their views on issues like gender equality.
The proposal has already caused dissension between some declared candidates, with Michael Chong calling it "unworkable nonsense" and Deepak Obhrai saying it is "anti-immigrant."
Caucus members also looked at ways to make a comeback in Atlantic Canada, a region that shut out the party in all 32 ridings in the last federal election. They met with the Conservative leaders from the four Atlantic provinces, adding that they chose Halifax as the site of their retreat in a bid to reassert their presence.
"We are here, we get it, we know we have work to do but we want to earn back your vote," Ambrose said. "We want you to think of us when the time comes on election day in 2019."
Also on HuffPostYesterday, a story surfaced claiming that Algeria striker Islam Slimani said his team would be donating all of their World Cup prize winnings—$9 million was the reported amount, which is accurate for a team eliminated in the Round of 16—to Gaza. That's an extremely generous gesture. It also appears to be bullshit.
When I clicked on those weird Facebook trending topics and saw the Bleacher Report post, it instantly seemed suspicious. "Islam Slimani: Algeria Will Donate Their World Cup Prize Money to Gaza." Just Gaza? Reading the article didn't provide more details, only "the people of embattled Gaza." Would Algeria just write "To: Gaza" on an envelope with money and hope it went to the people who needed it?
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Where did the only quote used—"They need it more than us"—come from? Slimani's Twitter and Facebook pages don't mention any donation. Maher Mezahi, who covered the Algerian national team for a few outlets, traced not just the quote, but the origin of the story.
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Mezahi pointed out that in Algeria's welcoming ceremony, one of the players hung a Palestinian flag over the side of the bus. This could have been the spark for the story.
Mezahi traced the first mention back to this random dude.
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And Mezahi believes a man named Waleed Abu Nada on Twitter added Slimani's quote, and was the catalyst for it getting picked up by actual outlets.
French outlet France Football did their part to debunk the donation story, but they also raised another question. I'm using Google Translate here, but an Arabic singer named Ahlam had allegedly promised the Algerian team $10,000 per goal. (This is also in dispute; other articles say she would gift a diamond-encrusted soccer ball if they won the World Cup.) Anyway, per the French article, the players don't want the money and would prefer it go to those in need:
"We do not need it, it would be better to donate to the children of Gaza," replied some Algerian players.
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Which Algerian players? Some! The same article from Albawaba that mentioned the diamond-encrusted soccer ball attributes a similar quote to Slimani, though according to its timestamp it came out after the France Football story, so it may have just been rehashing it. Even if the quote's true, though, that's a hell of a lot different than saying, "We're giving all our World Cup prize money to Gaza."
Bleacher Report has already updated their article, as have other sites. (Google "Islam Slimani Gaza" if you want to see the list of who wrote about it.) The article on 101 Great Goals, which B/R cited, links to a 404 now. Sorry, your faith in humanity cannot be restored with this dubious story.
Photo: APSaranac Pale Ale by The Matt Brewing Company (Saranac) Tasting Notes
Dave Jensen (beer47) Blocked Unblock Follow Following May 21, 2014
Saranac produces a very solid offering with their Pale Ale. It is classified as an English Pale Ale but it more like a hybrid of English and American styles.
This beer is made with a mix of American hops with Cascade and traditional English hops such as Fuggles, Bramling Cross, and East Kent Goldings. The result is a balance of pine and citrus with earthy and spicy notes. These flavors and aromas definitely play nicely together to produce a unique pale ale.
Date Tasted: Sunday, May 18, 2014 11:11:51 PM (PDT)
Tasting Notes:
Appearance: burnt orange
burnt orange Smell: floral, wet pine, a little grassy, a touch of peaches, tropical fruit, citrus, suitably malty
floral, wet pine, a little grassy, a touch of peaches, tropical fruit, citrus, suitably malty Taste: an even balance of sweet & bitter, slightly spicy almost like rye
an even balance of sweet & bitter, slightly spicy almost like rye Overall: a well done IPA
Rating: 3.5 |
, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show” — said via e-mail that this term is a departure from previous insults: “Like ‘latte-sipping,’ ‘Volvo-driving’ and the rest, ‘virtue signaling’ belongs chiefly to the right. But it’s not really comparable. For one thing, it’s a gerund, not a participle — that is, it functions as a noun and not an adjective. Second, it’s a clunky mouthful — it doesn’t trip off the tongue, it stumbles. And it’s abstract. It doesn’t bring a vivid image to mind — a car, a drink, a dish, a sport — but only describes the vague object of a certain kind of behavior, which the right believes is exclusive to the left.”
Clunky or not, virtue signaling has proven useful in discussing self-glorifying online behavior, regardless of politics. As lexicographer Orin Hargraves pointed out by e-mail, “It aptly describes what a lot of people’s Facebook status updates are about (probably mine, too).” Hargraves called the term “an artifact of the profusion of social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, in which there is no barrier to entry for anyone who wants to broadcast a sentiment (or ‘send a message,’ to use the familiar cliché).” Therefore “we need new terms to characterize the quality, content, or intent of such messages, and virtue-signaling falls right into that category. Another bunch of related and productive neologisms are the -shaming compounds: slut-shaming, fat-shaming, pet-shaming, and now prayer-shaming.”
Prayer shaming has a very close relationship to virtue signaling in that it shares a lexical form but has an opposite meaning. When people are scolded for offering their thoughts and prayers after a tragedy instead of actually doing something helpful — classic value signaling — the scolding is called prayer shaming. Comedian Anthony Jeselnik was ahead of the curve in prayer shaming, as his most recent standup special, “Thoughts and Prayers,” called out people who write inane, unoriginal platitudes on the day of a tragedy. Emily Brewster, an associate editor at Merriam-Webster, mentions another related word: “I like the academic — or even clinical — ring virtue-signaling has to it. It reminds me of the more quotidian humblebrag, which has done pretty well since it came on the scene in 2011. Both refer so efficiently to especially social media behavior that we encounter (or find ourselves engaging in) so often.”
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Humblebrag was coined by the late comedian Harris Wittels, and it is the closest lexical relation to virtue signaling. Wittels’s coinage highlighted self-aggrandizement cloaked in humility, such as when zillionaire Mark Cuban tweeted, “It was right around this date in November when I was 27 years old that I remember looking at a 0 dollar bank balance at the ATM... ” While Cuban likely meant to portray himself as someone who understands hard times and was once broke, the message that actually registers is how impressive it is that he became rich. Humblebragging and virtue signaling both involve a certain kind of social media post that says one thing on the surface (“I’m no big deal!” or “What is wrong with the world?”) but also says another (“I’m a very big deal!” or “I’m the last decent person left in the world”). It’s likely we’ll see more such words over time, as the free-for-all of online discourse gets fully described.
Virtue signaling is likely to be a top contender for the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year award, since it’s so applicable to the endless stream of social media chatter that few of us can resist. It’s also a great reminder that doing stuff is more important than saying stuff, and that we are all united — conservative or liberal, young or old — in finding our Facebook friends annoying.
Mark Peters is the author of the “Bull[expletive]: A Lexicon” from Three Rivers Press. Follow him on Twitter @wordlustAs Tight-Knit Jewish Communities Splinter, Shofar Takes Synagogue To The People
At a time when some people just can't make it to synagogue, rabbis are taking the shofar (the hollowed out ram's horn once used to call Jews together) to the old and the young.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown tomorrow, the Jewish New Year. For more than 2,000 years, a hallmark of Rosh Hashanah has been the blowing of the shofar, a ram's horn. It's piercing call, so reminiscent of the work of BJ Leiderman who writes our theme music, called people together in ancient times. Now, as Judith Kogan reports, the shofar makes house calls.
JUDITH KOGAN, BYLINE: The sound of the shofar is meant to be jarring.
(SOUNDBITE OF SHOFAR SOUNDING)
KOGAN: Rabbi Leanna Moritt of New York's Roosevelt Island Jewish Congregation explains.
LEANNA MORITT: We're asked to take stock of our life, to compare our is and our ought. And in that way, the shofar works as a tool - it's like a wake-up call.
KOGAN: This shofar is also said to express the cry for which there are no words. As Rabbi Chaim Prus of Beth Menachem Chabad in Newton, Mass., reflects...
CHAIM PRUS: It's not a beautiful instrument. It's not a beautiful, musical sound. But it really comes from the depth of the heart and the soul.
KOGAN: Jews who attend synagogue services will hear several distinct calls - the single moan of Tekiah...
(SOUNDBITE OF SHOFAR SOUNDING TEKIAH)
KOGAN:...The three shorter blasts of Shevarim, the sound of sighing or trembling...
(SOUNDBITE OF SHOFAR SOUNDING SHEVARIM)
KOGAN:...And the nine staccato blasts of Teruah, the uncontrollable sob.
(SOUNDBITE OF SHOFAR SOUNDING TERUAH)
KOGAN: Not everyone goes to synagogue, though. Formerly tight-knit Jewish communities have splintered, and many Jews are less religious than their parents and grandparents were. So the shofar, which used to call people to it, is now being taken to them says Rabbi Mark Sokoll, president of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston.
MARK SOKOLL: It's a central theme of our time, meeting people where they are at. Synagogues, Jewish community centers have had to become much more nimble and flexible in our thinking.
KOGAN: So during the month before Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Leanna Moritt travels New Jersey and blew a shofar for those too elderly or infirm to attend synagogue. She says that sound is meant to help them take stock of their entire lives.
MORITT: The shofar can help them connect the dots of different experiences or remind them of things that have been meaningful in their lives.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR KNOCKER)
MORITT: Hello.
KOGAN: Brooklyn-born-and-bred Florence Holtzman is 92 and living in a one-room apartment in Hoboken. I brought my shofar.
FLORENCE HOLTZMAN: Oh.
MORITT: Yeah.
HOLTZMAN: Are you going to blow it?
MORITT: You bet you.
KOGAN: An only child of refugees from Austria, she never married. She can hardly walk now, but hearing Moritt's shofar reminds her of her childhood during the Great Depression.
HOLTZMAN: It used to be if you were Jewish, you didn't say you were - kept it quiet - but not now, not here. You have to be proud of what you are, and I certainly am proud.
KOGAN: But in the Ukraine, Boris and Ina Sultanovich had to hide who they were.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOORBELL)
BORIS SULTANOVICH: Oh, hi.
MORITT: Hi.
B. SULTANOVICH: How are you?
KOGAN: Boris remembers that when his father died, he had to say Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, at 5 a.m., under the cover of darkness. The Sultanoviches emigrated in 1982, and Boris describes the first time he heard shofar in the United States.
B. SULTANOVICH: Oh, it was such a experience. We had such feelings that finally we don't have to hide our Jewishness because over there in Soviet Union, people suffered a lot.
KOGAN: Boris's wife, Ina, is hunched over in a wheelchair. She can't really get to synagogue. When Moritt pulls out her shofar, Ina's twinkling blue eyes convey a longing.
INA SULTANOVICH: Can you blow?
MORITT: Yeah (laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SHOFAR SOUNDING TEKIAH)
I. SULTANOVICH: I like it. I like it. I like it.
(LAUGHTER)
KOGAN: And with that, Moritt packs away her shofar and wishes them Shana Tova, Hebrew for good year.
MORITT: That sound can help them to find more peace because, really, at a certain point in your life, that's often what it is that people are searching most for - a sense that their lives haven't been in vain, that they've made a difference, that they're still vital.
KOGAN: For NPR News, I'm Judith Kogan.
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Circadian rhythm affects skin cancer risk
Cancer clock The risk of skin cancer from exposure to UV light waxes and wanes through the day with the circadian rhythm, a new study in mice has found.
Dr Aziz Sancar, of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues, report their findings online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Our research would suggest that restricting sunbathing or visits to the tanning booth to morning hours would reduce the risk of skin cancer in humans," says Sancar, and colleague Professor Sarah Graham Kenan from the UNC School of Medicine.
"However, further studies in humans are needed before we can make any definitive recommendations."
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in Australia and the United States, and is mainly caused by DNA damage as a result of UV light exposure.
UV damage is repaired by an enzyme in the skin called xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA) protein, which is active in both mice and humans.
Sancar and colleagues have found that in mice, XPA levels change throughout the day with lowest levels at 4am in the morning and highest levels at 4pm in the afternoon.
When experimental mice were irradiated with UV in the morning, they were five times more likely to develop tumours than when they were irradiated in the afternoon, the researchers report.
Mice, like humans, are on a 24-hour circadian clock, but unlike humans they are nocturnal so their clock runs counter to the human clock.
Sancar and colleagues predict that in humans, XPA levels are therefore likely to be highest in the morning and lowest in the afternoon.
They now plan to measure actual DNA repair rates in the skin of human volunteers to test the hypothesis that morning sun presents less of a skin cancer risk than afternoon sun.
'Fairly convincing'
Australian experts have welcomed the research.
"It looks fairly convincing," says Professor David Whiteman of the Queensland Medical Research Institute, who studies UV exposure and skin cancer risk in humans.
But he says even if it applies in humans, it might be hard to generalise, because humans are known to have a range of circadian rhythms with some being "night owls" and some "morning larks".
Professor Ian Olver, Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Council of Australia describes the idea that circadian rhythms alter cancer risk as "very interesting" but says it is unclear how it will affect public health advice if human studies do find a similar link.
Olver says there are 10,000 melanomas in Australia per year and 1830 people deaths from skin cancer.
"We have to be very careful when we change our messages that we don't make those figures any worse," he says.
Olver says it will be important to consider the intensity of UV radiation as well as the body's capacity to repair the damage it causes.
Experts believe UV B light presents the highest risk for skin cancer between 10 am and 3pm in Australia.
But, says Ulver, recent research suggests that UV A light can do more damage than previously thought in the morning and afternoon.
To add to the complexity, there are other biochemical triggers for cancer and DNA repair that are yet to be explored. There are also still gaps in our knowledge on the relationship between sunlight and vitamin D production.
"We don't yet quite know precisely how much sunlight you need and at what intensity to produce vitamin D," says Ulver.
But, he adds, "In general, in summer it's worth covering up for most of the day."A drug normally used to tranquilize livestock and elephants is now being ingested by human users to disastrous ends and may have contributed to a recent spate of overdoses in Cincinnati. It’s a powerful opioid called carfentanil, and is only the latest such drug with a funny name to burst onto the national scene: Fentanyl now rivals heroin as a leading cause of overdose deaths, and another drug called Opana fueled an HIV epidemic in Indiana. But as the opioid crisis cuts its widening swath across the country, an important fact often remains invisible: Heroin prohibition is driving the problem, not fixing it.
Legalizing and regulating unsavory drugs remains a controversial proposition. For many people, legalization and regulation seem to confer or imply approval. But the logic behind doing so is straightforward: the most dangerous things about opioid addiction, including ingesting drugs of unknown provenance and quality, and disastrously reorganizing one’s life to pay for a fix, are in large part byproducts of a drug’s illegal status.
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Prohibiting dangerous substances has not only clearly failed to keep people from using them, it has also made the use of those substances more dangerous. And it has incentivized the rise of more dangerous opiates, because drug traffickers benefit from packing the highest level of potency into the smallest shipment at the lowest cost possible. To the extent that people who take fentanyl largely would prefer heroin, access to regulated heroin used under medical supervision would keep many from dying by overdose, and would help drive more potent narcotic interlopers like fentanyl from the market.
This is a debate worth having, and a debate that can be won. Most people, if they really think about it, oppose heroin for common-sense reasons, not as an end but as a means. The idea isn’t simply that we don’t want people to use heroin. More importantly, we don’t want people to use heroin because it so often makes them sick, miserable or dead. So the goal should be to reduce, as dramatically as possible, the sickness, misery and death associated with the drug’s use. Heroin prohibition isn’t the way to do that. In fact, it causes more of everything we don’t want.
These are the basic arguments undergirding a philosophy known as harm reduction. It’s an approach that, now more than ever, is winning new adherents. Officials in some states and cities are exploring the creation of supervised drug use sites, which has shown evidence of decreasing overdose deaths in Vancouver, Canada. In Maryland, one lawmaker has introduced legislation that would make pharmaceutical heroin, overseen by a doctor, available to users in some cases. Just last year, the federal government finally lifted its ban on funding needle exchanges. Harm reduction measures don’t encourage people to use drugs. In fact, they can make it easier for people to seek and access treatment when they are ready — treatment that they’ll be in a better position to make use of if their lives haven’t been destroyed beforehand.
The drug war has lost credibility with the public because it is a demonstrable failure, and law enforcement has in many places shifted to handling drug addiction as a matter of public health. That’s a good first step. As a recent New York Times investigation makes clear, it’s not happening everywhere: Many rural and suburban areas are cracking down harder than ever, even as cities ease up. And some prosecutors, including United States Attorneys' offices under the Obama administration, are in some cases pursuing unusually harsh sentences against opioid dealers, in the mistaken belief that it will ease the crisis. Even when it comes to drug users, the U.S. is far from embracing decriminalization, as Portugal has done with great success.
Locking up drug dealers doesn’t stop the flow of drugs, and keeping drug users out of jail isn’t enough to keep them safe. The only way to confront the overdose crisis is to replace the underground criminal market with an aboveground legal market, turning a profit opportunity for drug cartels into a government-supervised public health endeavor. We can’t limit drug legalization to drugs we don’t think are that bad in the first place, like marijuana. Too many people are dying. The war against drugs, all drugs, is making things worse.(Reuters Health) - An experimental blood test accurately identifies people who do, or don’t, have celiac disease, even if they are following gluten-free diets, researchers say.
A blackboard is seen at Fonuts bakery, which offers unfried, gluten-free and vegan donuts in Los Angeles, California September 19, 2011. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects roughly one percent of people in the U.S. Those with the disease must avoid foods that contain the gluten protein from wheat, barley or rye. But far more than one percent of the population is following a gluten-free diet, which makes it harder to diagnose real cases of celiac disease.
The two main blood tests used to screen for celiac disease rely on detecting an immune response to gluten, but that immune response gradually disappears in people who avoid gluten.
“Unfortunately, many persons with gluten sensitivity go gluten-free without consulting their clinician for exclusion of celiac disease,” said lead study author Dr. Vikas K. Sarna’s from Oslo University Hospital in Norway. “In such cases, guidelines recommend... performing a gluten challenge involving daily consumption of gluten for up to 8 weeks, followed by an endoscopic procedure for a biopsy taken from the small intestine (duodenum). Our blood test may replace such a gluten challenge and duodenal biopsy.”
The new test is designed to detect immune cells in a blood sample that are specifically targeted at gluten proteins, even when the individual hasn’t been recently exposed to gluten.
Sarna’s team tried their test on 62 patients with celiac disease and 19 individuals without celiac disease who were on a gluten-free diet, 10 patients with celiac disease who were eating foods containing gluten and 52 healthy individuals following normal diets. They also used the currently available celiac tests on these participants for comparison.
The old tests detected celiac disease in 9 out of 10 patients who weren’t on a gluten-free diet. But the old tests identified celiac disease in only 4 of the 62 patients who’d been following a gluten-free diet.
The new test, by comparison, was 96 percent accurate in distinguishing celiac disease patients from people who didn’t have celiac disease but were still following gluten-free diets.
It was 95 percent accurate for distinguishing celiac disease patients who were eating gluten-containing foods from healthy individuals following normal diets, the researchers report in Gastroenterology.
“We calculated that our test is stronger to exclude rather than confirm the diagnosis of celiac disease in gluten sensitive persons,” Sarna said. “Although we need more research in this field, we propose that the test be used to exclude celiac disease in persons on a gluten-free diet,” he told Reuters Health by email.
“It is important to point out that this test is still not available for commercial use, although there is a huge demand of a test for celiac disease that can be applied for persons that are already on a gluten-free diet,” Sarna said. “I do hope that the promising results from our study can initiate commercial initiatives along with more research, to allow this test to be used in the general public in the near future.”
Several members of the research team have applied for a patent on this testing technology, and some disclose that they are consultants for companies. The clinical trial in the current study was paid for by the Research Council of Norway, the authors note.
“Researchers are actively working to identify tests that may allow for screening for celiac disease in patients on a gluten-free diet,” said Dr. Maureen Leonard from Harvard Medical School’s Center for Celiac Research and Treatment in Boston, who was not involved in the study. “These are not clinically available tests and require further work before they are accurate and available for clinical use,” she said in an email.
“Additionally, these tests may benefit only people with a certain genetic background,” Leonard said. “Therefore, the general public should be aware that before self-imposing a gluten-free diet they must be tested for celiac disease.”
Celiac disease must be confirmed with a duodenal biopsy, Leonard added. “If a patient begins a gluten-free diet prior to being screened for celiac disease, all available blood tests to screen for celiac disease and duodenal biopsies will no longer be accurate.”
SOURCE: bit.ly/2B7EeBP Gastroenterology, online November 13, 2017.• Igor Lebedev proposes legalised fights at 2018 World Cup in Russia • Nationalist MP told Euro 2016 hooligans: ‘Well done lads, keep it up!’
A Russian politician has proposed an unorthodox solution to the country’s problems with football hooliganism before hosting the World Cup next year – legalise it and make it a spectator sport.
Organised groups of Russian fans fought English supporters on the streets of Marseille during the European Championship last year.
Alexei Smertin named as Russia’s anti-racism inspector before 2018 World Cup Read more
That inspired Igor Lebedev, who sits in the Russian parliament, to draw up rules for what he calls “draka” – the Russian word for fight – with 20 unarmed fighters on each side in an arena. In a statement on the website of the nationalist LDPR party, Lebedev said organised brawls “could turn fans’ aggression in a peaceful direction”. He also claimed it would serve as an “example” for English fans, who he characterised as undisciplined louts and poor fighters.
“Russia would be a pioneer in a new sport,” said Lebedev, who also suggested fights between different fan groups could draw crowds of thousands. “English fans arrive, for example, and start picking fights. And they get the answer – challenge accepted. A meeting in a stadium at a set time.”
Some fan groups in Russia already hold illicit fights along similar lines, typically pre-arranged mass brawls in rural locations, away from police.
Russia’s Hooligan Army review – an appalling vision of men who seek honour in violence Read more
It is not the first time Lebedev has courted controversy with his views on hooligans. He lauded the violence in Marseille last year, telling Russian fans: “Well done lads, keep it up!”
In addition to his parliamentary duties as deputy speaker, Lebedev is on the board of the Russian Football Union. He is a longtime associate of the fan leader Alexander Shprygin, who was deported from France last year following the Marseille violence.
Despite his enthusiasm for football-related violence, Lebedev insisted that Russian policing meant foreign fans would not be in danger at the World Cup.
“We’ve taken all the safety measures, modernised legislation. Not a single tourist has any reason to fear travelling to our country in the summer of 2018.”Leftist CNN contributor Sally Kohn revealed how clearly the left hates free speech on Friday, telling an audience at the University of Missouri (MU) that free speech by upper and middle class whites should be limited because they didn’t understand their “white privilege.”
At a symposium revolving around campus free speech. Kohn debated CNN contributor Kirsten Powers, Kohn made it a habit to target the “Koch-funded” Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which has defended campus free speech, saying FIRE is part of a “broad conservative agenda” to protect conservative views, and free speech was only a vehicle for the promulgation of said conservatism.
In the same breath, Kohn ludicrously argued that disruptive protests that prevent the airing of political views are a form of free speech.
Powers argued that speech should be protected because words aren’t dangerous; Kohn responded countered that Powers was unaware of her own white privilege. She argued that speech that seemed innocuous to middle or upper-class whites could threaten poor and non-white communities.
In contrast to Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro’s mantra, “Facts don’t care about your feelings,” Kohn pontificated, “Feelings are valid. I’m never going to argue with people’s feelings.” She didn’t mind threatening conservatives, condoning the idea of conservatives feeling intimidated by peers or professors and thus reticent to express themselves, opining, “If they feel like they can no longer speak against positive social change, good.”
Kohn concluded, “They think [diversity] is dumbing down humanity, or the greatness and exceptionalism of America. I’m happy that’s under assault.”THIS is the incredible moment a group of Chinese archaeologists removed an ancient sword from its sheath for the first time in 2,300 years.
Experts uncovered the antique blade during a dig in China’s central Henan Province.
Henan Provincial Institute of Cu 6 Chinese archaeologists unearthed this sword in an ancient tomb
Henan Provincial Institute of Cu 6 After unsheathing the sword they were shocked to find it was still shiny and sharp
Henan Provincial Institute of Cu 6 Experts revealed the tomb it was found in was completely sealed off, helping to preserve it
The archaeologists excavated an ancient tomb belonging to an unknown man in the ruins of Chengyang city.
After taking the coffin to a laboratory and opening it up they found the sword – still in its scabbard.
The mud-caked artefact was painstakingly cleaned up before the experts from the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology carefully unsheathed it in front of the cameras.
Footage shows two men with latex gloves on delicately drawing the sword, which is believed to be from China's Warring States period (475 BC -221 BC).
Amazingly, as the blade emerges into the light for the first time in more than 2,300 years it still appears shiny, glinting back under the lab’s lamps.
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But not only was it clean – to the amazement of the archaeologists it was also still sharp.
A statement from the Institute confirmed their shock at the near-perfect condition of the blade, which had been buried for more than two millennia.
Team leader Wu Zhijiang told the Daily Mail ancient tombs in the region were often completely sealed from the outside world, meaning items in them were less likely to rust.
6 The blade was found in China's central Henan Province
Alamy 6 Archaeologists excavated the tomb in the ancient city of Chengyang
Henan Provincial Institute of Cu 6 The incredible sword dates back to China's Warring States period (475-221BC)
The sword, believed to be from the Chu Kingdom, dates back to a period in history when China was divided into eight states.
The small kingdoms fought each other for 250 years until finally one – the Qin – conquered all the others.
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Set Name Magic 2015 Core Set Number of Cards 269 Prerelease Events July 12-13, 2014 Release Date July 18, 2014 Launch Weekend July 18-20, 2014 Game Day August 9-10, 2014 Magic Online Prerelease Events July 25-27, 2014 Magic Online Release Date July 28, 2014 Pro Tour Magic 2015 August 1-3, 2014 Pro Tour Magic 2015 Location Portland, Oregon, USA Pro Tour Magic 2015 Formats Swiss: Standard
Magic 2015 Draft Top 8: Standard Official Three-Letter Code M15 Twitter Hashtag #MTGM15 Initial Concept and Game Design Aaron Forsythe (lead)
Max McCall
Shawn Main
Mike Gills
Jenna Helland Final Game Design and Development Billy Moreno (lead)
Shawn Main
Adam Lee
Tom LaPille
Sam Stoddard Languages English, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish Available in Booster Packs, Intro Packs*, Clash Pack*, Fat Pack* (* - Not available in all languages)
We will be announcing more about the new Clash Pack soon!
(Magic Online only available in English.)It seems to be fairly commonly believed that saving money has a deleterious effect on the economy. I was recently told that if everyone in the US saved, the entire economy would come to a complete halt. This is the obvious corrollary to the dumb Krugmanian idea that consumption drives an economy (sure, I realize it’s Keynesian, but Krugman is the diable du jour). I responded thus:
First of all it is not possible that there could ever be a situation wherein everyone in an economy saves. There will always be transactions of some kind, until there is only one person left alive.
Secondly, in the absence of a central bank, savings is what sets interest rates. When savings is high, interest rates come down (supply and demand works on everything). When those interest rates come down, businesses realize that now is the time to embark on investments in the factors of production. In other words: they expand. A steel mill, for example, might build a new furnace.
This is market regulation, without the government. The low interest rate, caused by saving, tells producers two things:
It’s time to expand. It’s financially feasible. The cost of borrowing money is cheap and When our investments in capital come to fruition, the public will have the money to buy the products we are producing.
So, savers, far from being a drag on the economy, are actually the ones who drive the economy.
What I described above, of course, is a laissez-faire economy. What we have today is not the free market. Savers are still important to the economy, but they do not drive the economy as they do in the free market.
In this central bank dominated economy, what is the purpose of savers? The function of savers in this economy is to have a moderating effect on the bust phase of the business cycle. If it so happens that the Fed arbitrarily drives down interest rates artificially, at the same time savings are high, then the inevitable bust won’t be as bad. There won’t be as much malinvestment in the economy to be cleared out, because the consumers will have the money to procure the products that the producers manufactured.
Incidentally, something like the real estate bubble could never happen in a laissez-faire economy, because if the public suddenly started investing absurd amounts of money in a particular commodity, soon enough the savings would start to become depleted. As that happened, the interest rates would climb, and the bubble would be deflated even before it really got going.
But when you have a central bank that can artificially push down the interest rates, that free market check on outrageous, irrational investing is gone.Police in western China’s Sichuan province detained a senior Tibetan monk this week without explanation, leaving followers and friends unsure of his present whereabouts and concerned for his well-being, sources said.
Tulku Lobsang, a monk of Boroe monastery in Sichuan’s Sershul (in Chinese, Shiqu) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture had been summoned by police on July 21, a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
“They called him to come to their office in Dartsedo, and when he arrived, police in plain clothes took him into custody,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“No reason was given for his detention,” the source said.
Lobsang had been accompanied by the monastery’s manager and “several other persons,” who were sent by police back to Boroe to retrieve Lobsang’s identity card, which he had neglected to bring with him, he said.
Boroe monks and laypeople from neighboring villages immediately began to offer prayers for Lobsang’s safe return, while senior monks and community representatives went to Dartsedo to ask unsuccessfully for his release, the source said.
No word has yet been received on Lobsang’s whereabouts or any charges made against him.
Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Rigdhen Dolma. Written in English by Richard Finney.As the early autumn sun begins to set on the Yamuna river, hundreds of Indian women swathed in white and carrying traditional earthenware lamps file through winding streets to the edge of the holy waters. The women, chanting as they walk through the streets of Vrindavan to mark the Hindu festival of Diwali, are widows who have left their families or have been abandoned by them. Until recently, they were kept hidden from society and virtually forbidden to celebrate. But that is now changing. Local residents cheered the women on as they passed through the streets of the temple-filled town, many proudly wearing brand-new saris donated by a local organisation. Later they lit their lamps and offered prayers on the riverbank before heading back to their ashram to celebrate, some dancing late into the night. “These lights, crackers and dancing reminded me of happier times with my family,” said 60-year-old Meena Pradhan, who came to the town after the deaths of her husband, son and a daughter 10 years ago. The celebrations were held on Tuesday and were organised by Sulabh International, a group that has been helping the thousands of widows who flock to Vrindavan in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh International said the women should continue to defy the tradition that widows should not celebrate Diwali and other festivals.Of the world's biggest employers, who has shed the most jobs?
Correction to this article
UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, announced 3,500 “staff reductions” on August 23rd in efforts to save costs. Last week, Bank of America reported it would cut 3,500 jobs (adding to the 2,500 it had already made this year) and last month Cisco, the world's largest maker of networking equipment, announced it was shedding 6,500 jobs. But of the world's biggest corporate employers (our chart excludes state behemoths like China's army) the US Postal Service shed the most jobs between 2009 and 2010, cutting its workforce by 6%. The contrast between the two charts below is striking: the biggest employers includes several Chinese state-backed companies that may be unfamiliar to readers outside China. The companies that have shed most jobs, on the other hand, are almost all Western outfits with famous names.
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Correction: An earlier version of this chart and text incorrectly stated that Tesco had shed the most jobs between 2009 and 2010. This was not the case. In fact, Tesco increased its workforce by 3,500 jobs. We apologise for the error.Well I’ve made the jump. In my last post on the subject, I was looking for ways to ditch eBay and start my own store, accepting bitcoin.
And the winner is…
I ended up choosing Shopify. I had considered Square and, if I wasn’t in Australia I might well have gone with them. They have great products and services to support your business, but in the end they aren’t available to me in Oz so I went with their competitor.
On a side note, there’s a lesson there for those businesses who want to take the global-readiness of cryptocurrency and offer it as part of their business model: it’s no good thinking globally but only being available to businesses in one country or region. This is a problem relating back to bank payments though, so I really don’t hold it against Square which is why I would still tell you to check them out if you’re in America.
I also looked at etsy, but it didn’t have the cryptocurrency integration I was looking for. A blog-based shop was also an option, but required a bit more work in following up on payments and controlling stock.
Shopify has some fine points to recommend it:
1. It’s cheap. You can start small, like I am, with a $14/month plan and free themes to get a professional look on a hobbist’s budget.
2. It’s based on the wordpress platform, so if you are one of my fellow bloggers you will already be comfortable with the process. Even if you are not, check it |
but display sleep is fine
Apple's note on the matter springs from the "Virtual reality for Mac" section. In the section, Apple notes that the HTC Vive VR headset is supported on Mac with "the new iMac with Retina5Kdisplay, the new iMacPro coming in late 2017, or any supported Mac paired with an external GPU."Following that sentence, is a link to footnote 3 on the same page, noting that the external GPU expansion capability is "planned for spring 2018."AppleInsider has briefly examined eGPU support in macOS High Sierra, and has discovered that third-party hardware and video cards work the same as the developer's kit should. There are notable pre-release testing issues according to Apple's developer notes, including:Apple's developer kit for external Thunderbolt 3 GPU testing costs $599 and includes a Sonnet external GPU chassis with Thunderbolt 3 and 350-watt power supply, an AMD Radeon RX 580 8-gigabyte graphics cards, a Belkin USB-C to 4-port USB-A hub, and a promo code for $100 towards the purchase of an HTC Vive VR headset. Macs with Thunderbolt 2 ports are compatible with third-party eGPU enclosures, but Apple lists it as an "unsupported configuration."To go along with Apple's VR and eGPU initiative, Valve launched its own first beta of SteamVR for the Mac on Monday, giving early testers the ability to sample virtual reality experiences on compatible Macs.AppleInsider will be examining the Apple eGPU developer's kit and will further examine support in the coming days. MacOS High Sierra's first release to the general public is expected in the fall of 2017.The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday released a new bulletin that said the U.S. is facing a significant, ongoing terror threat.
"We continue to face one of the most challenging threat environments since 9/11, as foreign terrorist organizations exploit the Internet to inspire, enable, or direct individuals already here in the homeland to commit terrorist attacks," the bulletin said.
DHS has issued five iterations of the terror threat bulletin since December 2015.
Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke said she directed the organization to make an update to extend this new bulletin for six months.
"Our enemies remain focused on attacking the United States, and they are constantly adapting. DHS and its partners are stepping up efforts to keep terrorists out of America and to prevent terrorist recruitment and radicalization here at home, and we urge the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity," Duke said in a statement.WASHINGTON — Time Warner Cable is the subject of a network neutrality interconnection-related complaint that appears to assert that a peering issue can be subject to bright-line rules that the Federal Communications Commission, in its Feb. 26 Open Internet order, had suggested did not apply.
Following through on its signal that a network neutrality complaint against TWC was in the works against Time Warner Cable, network and edge services provider Commercial Network Services on Monday (June 22) filed what it called an informal complaint, saying TWC was violating the FCC's "no paid prioritization" and "no throttling" rules.
The complaint is targeted at interconnection issues, which have their own, separate, case-by-case complaint process. But while the bright-line rules against throttling and paid prioritization are ostensibly not being applied to interconnection, CNS is arguing that by allegedly "opting to use more congested traffic routes rather than pay for interconnections, TWC is failing to fulfill obligations to its subscribers."
"By refusing to accept the freely available direct route to the edge-provider of the consumers’ choosing, TWC is unnecessarily increasing latency and congestion between the consumer and the edge provider by instead sending traffic through higher latency and routinely congested transit routes,” CNS said in its complaint. “This is a default on their promise to the BIAS consumer to deliver to the edge and make arrangements as necessary to do that."
CNS also argued that TWC violated the bright-line rule against paid prioritization by creating a paid fast lane through its peering policy.
"In preparing this informal complaint, I have read and digested the neutrality order many times over and I have faith the commission will move quickly in making this right," CNS CEO Barry Bahrami said. "For this reason, I have submitted this as an informal complaint. However, if by submitting an informal complaint we in any way wave our rights to re-file as a formal complaint then I respectfully ask you to return this complaint so I may re-file it as a formal complaint.
The complaint could be an early test case for how the FCC deals with peering complaints that don't fit neatly into its planned categorization.
TWC has said its interconnection policy is just and reasonable and is confident the FCC would reject any complaint based on the idea that "every edge provider around the globe is entitled to enter into a settlement-free peering arrangement."At a quarter to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, less than three hours after his team clinched the American League pennant, the manager of the Kansas City Royals left Kauffman Stadium in search of dinner. Ned Yost piloted his family toward the Capitol Grille on the Country Club Plaza. Awaiting him was a reception he had neither expected nor ever before experienced.
Before Yost could dine on steak, lobster mac and cheese and French fries, he feasted on a wave of adulation. The reaction was immediate, intense and emblematic of the good feeling inspired by the team’s berth in the World Series. Once upon a time, Yost used a fake name at Starbucks to avoid recognition. Now he cannot dodge it.
“I walked in, and the whole place went nuts,” Yost said. “I mean, everybody came out of the bar, everybody came out of their seat in the dining area. We just couldn’t get past that desk there. We were high-fiving, hugging, taking pictures. It was a tremendous experience.”
The evening called for a victory lap. The Royals have stormed through October, with eight victories in eight playoff games, the only team ever to complete that feat. They bounced the Orioles out of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday and ignited a celebration that swept both east and west across the plains.
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The next morning, Yost rose before the sun. By 6 a.m. he was on the phone with his close friend Jeff Foxworthy. And his boss, general manager Dayton Moore, was up at 4:45 a.m. There was business to attend to, even as a city and region woke up from the hangover induced by this baseball club.
When the Royals clinched a berth in the American League Wild Card Game on Sept. 26, they ended the longest postseason drought in the major North American sports. When they recovered from a four-run deficit against Oakland in the play-in game, they infused themselves with a confidence that has yet to waver. The victory over the Athletics ignited this unprecedented winning streak.
So much has changed in these two weeks. Once lampooned for their lack of offensive firepower, the Royals now receive garlands for their defense. The Wall Street Journal branded Yost as a “dunce” before this series started. But he out-foxed Orioles manager Buck Showalter during the past four games. Yost displayed an evolved sense of bullpen deployment as his club rolled.
On Thursday afternoon, Moore and Yost settled into chairs in the ground floor of Kauffman Stadium. On a table before them sat the 2014 William Harridge Award, given each year to the champions of the American League. Moore glanced at the trophy before answering a question about its meaning.
“It’s a lot of pride,” Moore said. “But at the same time, we know it’s a really special opportunity moving forward. And we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
Yost remarked on the beauty of the trophy. The day before, owner David Glass had also basked in the hardware’s glow. But, Yost relayed, Glass reminded of the ultimate goal. “He said, ‘I’d sure like to get the one that’s round with all the flags on it,” Yost said. “I said, ‘Just hang on.’”
The Royals must wait until Oct. 21 to begin trying to procure their next trophy. The Giants and Cardinals play the fifth game of the National League Championship Series on Thursday night. Both Moore and Yost insisted they had no preference in their opponent. The team took three of four from St. Louis in June and swept San Francisco in August.
The team has yet to make its rotation official, but it is reasonable to expect that James Shields will start the first game and Yordano Ventura will start the second. The alterations to their 25-man roster figure to be minimal. For these next few days, the club can enjoy the honeymoon.
In more than a decade as a coach of the Braves, Yost reached the World Series five times. This experience tops them all. During the ninth inning on Wednesday, he could not stop his legs from shaking. When the final out was recorded, he leapt higher than he could ever remember.
“There’s no comparison to managing your team,” Yost said. “Coming in and going through what Dayton and I have gone through the last five years. Believing in these young guys. Watching these young guys grow. And watching them develop. And having the patience to withstand the pressure of wanting them to hurry up.
“And understanding that these guys have a timetable, and when it’s right, it’s going to hit. To watch it grow and develop in front of your eyes, this is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in baseball.”Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at the Hofstra University debate on Monday in Hempstead, New York. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Donald Trump has never held political office, which explains a lot of his misconceptions about executive power and his forgetfulness Re the existence of Congress. And, since that means he’s never held an official title, it also gives Hillary Clinton a nice tool for undermining Trump’s swagger. Throughout Monday’s debate, Clinton called Trump by his first name, while he mostly called her by her appropriate political title: Secretary Clinton.
From her first recognition of his presence (“Donald, it’s good to be with you”) to her few pointed zingers (“Donald, I know you live in your own reality, but those are not the facts”), Clinton reduced her opponent to a casual first-name sparring partner. This is a man who loves his last name so much, he’s embroidered it on tie labels, stamped it on steaks, and splattered it in gold all over a chain of tacky hotels. Clinton’s refusal to use it must be grating at his quivering ego.
It also reverses the typical way politicians’ names are used in campaigns, wherein men get called by their last names (serious and professional) and women get called by their first (casual and low-ranking). In this debate, Clinton is the experienced, poised politician and Trump is the whining, pestering schoolboy. John Oliver proposed that we call Trump “Drumpf” to take the strength out of his name. Clinton’s strategy is better, because it’s not an explicit or petty insult; it’s his real name but spoken in a way that unmistakably says he doesn’t deserve her respect. She may not be able to convince Trump’s supporters that he’s a lying racist, but Monday night, she reminded them that he’s no white knight—he’s just Donald.
Read more Slate coverage of the 2016 campaign.My name is Lorenzo M. Durán, I was born in Spain, in 1969. Although I had been drawing, painting and sculpting little things since I was a kid, I decided to become a full-time artist when parenthood, unemployment, and midlife crisis visited me (at the same time!) in 2006, pushing me to think about what I had done with my professional life and what I would really want to do with it. Fortunately, I was given lots of time to think deeply about it all and decided to combine 2 of my true passions: Art and Nature.
First I started painting some oils, but all of the sudden I saw a caterpillar having lunch (a leaf) and the trace left behind its body suggested that I could cut my designs on tree leaves with a scalpel, just as many artists had been doing in paper cutting art. That idea became an obsession and from 2006-2008 I developed a technique to meet my goal. A couple of years later (2010-2011) my leaf cutting artwork called many people's attention, and all of the sudden my first pieces appeared in lots of media (Daily Mail, Huffington Post, BBC, El Mundo, etc.), some BoredPada stuff also published a couple of posts (thanks!). My wife and I have raised our daughter (who’s now 10) working together in the creative field, and I'm thankful for those 3 things that pushed me to take this way.
From those first leaf cuttings my work has evolved in several directions until now, but my passion for Nature and Art has remained through all the way. Here I post some of my first pieces and other most recently finished.
More info: lorenzomanuelduran.esThe Red Sox set multiple records in their acquisition of David Price
Matt Vaccaro Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 1, 2015
Earlier today the Boston Red Sox made the first major splash of this winter’s free agency, inking Toronto ace David Price to a 7 year, $217 million deal. It beats the previous record contract signed by Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers last year by $2 million, making Price the highest paid pitcher of all time.
But not only did this monster deal break a league record, it smashed a club record for the largest contract ever given to a pitcher. The previous holder of that distinction? Teammate Rick Porcello, who agreed to a 4 year, $82.5 million deal earlier this year. This stood out to me, as the Red Sox have never been shy in their spending, perennially among the highest total payrolls in the league. Also $100 million contracts aren’t particularly uncommon when it comes to netting a great, or even just good, pitcher. So it surprised me to see that the Sox had never broken the century mark in their pursuit of a starter.
One caveat is that in 2006 the Red Sox did spend a total of $103.5 million to acquire Japanese starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, however $51.1 million of that was spent on acquiring his exclusive negotiation rights from his Japanese club, the Seibu Lions.
But what about 2015 dollars? After all, Pedro Martinez signed his deal 17 years ago, how does his deal compare when accounting for inflation? Though his contract does break the $100 million line, pushing the adjusted value past that of Porcello and John Lackey, it still doesn’t break the total spent on the acquisition of Matsuzaka.
With Price’s deal totaling almost double that of the next highest even when considering inflation, it’s clear that it is far and away the biggest single investment the franchise has ever made in it’s pitching staff. Whether it’s return will prove worthy will be determined by Price’s performance on the mound in 2016 and beyond.SANAA (Reuters) - A Yemeni committee tasked with demilitarizing the capital has given 48 hours to armed opponents and backers of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to begin withdrawing after months of street fighting, state news agency Saba said on Wednesday.
Bodyguards of Yemeni members of parliament (MPs) carry weapons outside the House of Representatives parliamentary building in Sanaa January 11, 2012. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The presence of armed elements in Sanaa, defying an earlier deadline to leave their positions by the end of December, underlines the difficulty of restoring normality to the country, which was paralyzed for most of 2011 by protests against Saleh.
Tribal fighters led by Saleh’s opponents and Republican Guard troops commanded by the veteran leader’s son are still deployed in several areas of Sanaa, including the northern district of Hasaba, scene of some of the heaviest fighting.
The 48 hours begin on Thursday morning, Saba said. It was unclear if the new deadline would prove more effective than the last.
The body has no forces to ensure the deadline is met, but a government source told Reuters the panel would ask the international community to put pressure on any side that refused to withdraw.
The committee said it would also begin re-opening roads blocked off by rival forces during the unrest, warning it would “hold accountable” anyone who tried to hinder the process, without elaborating.
Under a plan drawn up by Yemen’s wealthier neighbors and signed by Saleh in November, the opposition and the ruling General People’s Congress party (GPC) shared out cabinet posts between them, forming a unity government to steer the country towards presidential elections in February.
Jamal Benomar, the U.N. envoy who helped clinch the deal, was due to arrive in Sanaa later on Wednesday to push for its full implementation.
Any successor to Saleh faces a host of challenges, including a rebellion in the north, a southern separatist movement, and al Qaeda’s most active wing, based in Yemen.
MILITANTS ATTACK MINIBUS
Men suspected of links to al Qaeda opened fire on a minibus carrying intelligence officers to work in the southern town of Aden on Wednesday, killing at least one officer and wounding five, an official, witnesses and medics said.
It was the latest in a series of attacks on security officers in the south. On Tuesday at least 12 militants and three government soldiers were killed in two clashes in the region, according to Yemeni security officials.
“Al Qaeda’s fingerprints seem to be all over this incident,” a security official told Reuters of Wednesday’s attack.
He said two of the wounded were in serious condition. He had earlier reported eight were killed or wounded in the attack.
The attack came amidst a power transition in which Saleh handed power to his deputy after signing a Gulf-brokered peace deal meant to end 10 months of mass protests against his 33-year rule.
The unrest has emboldened groups linked to al Qaeda’s Yemen-based regional wing, which the United States has called the most dangerous branch of the militant network, to expand their hold over parts of the province of Abyan in southern Yemen.
Yemeni troops have been fighting to dislodge the militants from the provincial capital, Zinjibar, and the town of Jaar.
Neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, and the United States have long seen Saleh as a bulwark against the Islamist group’s Yemen branch, which has claimed responsibility for operations that include a failed plot to blow up a U.S.-bound passenger plane in 2009.
Washington and Riyadh are keen for the Gulf-backed power transfer deal to work, fearing that a vacuum in Yemen may give militants space to thrive near key oil and cargo shipping lanes in the Red Sea.MARIO is a Super Mario World ROM hack pasta by SMW Central user Adam. The hack patch can be downloaded here. The patch itself is made by SMW Central user M A R I O, whose avatar is a SMW Mario without a face. He (she?) used to not to be seen as inactive (one month of no activity makes you inactive on SMW Central), as he (she?) posted mysterious and eerie things every now and then, just before he (she?) would turn inactive. As of recent, the SMW Central account has been disabled.
You can find the original thread here. *Note: You CAN download that link in the thread*
The story
(Note: This is a true story, and sums up what was going through my mind as I was playing this, and I had no idea I was about to be bullshitted the way I was when I played this and I can say it is by far the creepiest hack I've played. If you were on IRC you would have heard me talking about it as well, but anyways it's late at night, and I don't have a lot of time, and I need to get to sleep, so this is all I have time for...)
So, it all happened, on tonight of all nights. I was bored, obviously contemplating what I thought I could do to waste time as I chatted with the people in #smwc. We had good times, and shared a few laughs together. Out of boredom, I decided to patrol the "Hacks waiting to be moderated" section. Seems that we had quite a bit, 33 if I recall correctly. The first few hacks I saw when I sorted them by date were a couple really horrible ones with bad screenshots to boot.
Naturally showed these hacks to the centralites currently on #smwc. We were laughing at how bad some of them were, but then I got to a hack called "MARIO". Just that, nothing more, nothing less. The description seemed quite odd, as if some Japanese hacker was trying to translate the original plot of Super Mario World into English and failing horribly. I showed this to Kieran and he started laughing at the description. It read as follows:
As you play the role of Super Mario plumber, verify that you are beautiful Purinsesutozutouru again Bowser kidnapped the evil king. It is your job to save her! This hack includes six levels of very long.
I simply dismissed this as someone trying to act Japanese and release a crappy hack with some edits, or so, that's what I thought this was, at first...
Curiosity got the best of me. I decided to download the hack, not knowing what I was in for, since the single screenshot of the hack was the title screen with nothing but the letters "MARIO" from Super Mario World's title screen. I thought it was a little odd how there were no dates or anything either, as hackers usually place their names and dates on the titles to mark when the project was started.
So, when I opened the hack, I was greeted by 2 files. One called 3007014, a simple.txt file 27 KB in size, and the IPS file, simply named "MARIO". For some odd reason I wanted to see what the author of the hack had to say, but when I opened the hack in Notepad, there was nothing but indistinguishable symbols and letters and punctuation, sort of like how when you open a rom in a text editor like Notepad. Seems like the author just completely copied his ROM to.txt form, though I could be wrong. Taking a closer look, at the top of the.txt file mixed in with the gibberish I found the only thing that looked like English there. Here is a piece of what I found:
ÿØÿà JFIF H H ÿþ 1find me find me find me find me find me find meÿÛ C
To be honest, I didn't know what to make of this, and I thought it was to simply waste some of my time by making me find some text in the gibberish file. That, I'm willing to bet, no one will ever be able to make sense of.
I decided that, because my interest was growing steadily, I would start looking through my horribly disorganized download folder for a copy of a clean ROM, which I had downloaded a great deal of time before the events of tonight unfolded, and an IPS patcher; of course my choice for the job was Lunar IPS.
So, I then proceeded to move the ROM and the IPS patcher to the folder with the hack. I patched the ROM, not knowing what to expect next, and I quickly hurried to drag it to ZSNES and play what I thought was to be terrible in the form of a ROM image. I noticed on boot up that the author had taken the time to change the header of his hack. Instead of the usual "super marioworld" you normally see when booting up a rom in ZSNES, it just had the letters "MARIO" there again. At this point I gained a little hope, because normally people who do horrible half-assed edits to the ROM generally don't know enough to change a header title. I thought I wasn't wasting my time with this, and my mood brightened slightly at the thought of seeing what the author had to offer in his interesting little hack.
So, the title screen loaded, exactly like it would with Super Mario World, except it had just "MARIO" on the title like I had mentioned earlier. Something else had grabbed my interest moreso than the unusual absence of layer 3 tiles on the title screen. Mario's normal bright colored and happy palette seemed, how can I put it... "dull". What was once violet-like red was now what seemed like grey with a slight red tint to it, and I'm fairly sure his pants were looking more grey than blue too... I thought this was strange, and I wondered why he had decided to give Mario such a dull palette... Regardless as to what his intentions were, I felt that something was... wrong. Not in the sense that the palette was slightly bad, but that the hack was empty, like something had happened. Upon pressing start and selecting a new file, like a lot of other countless Mario hacks I have played in the past, there was some sort of intro screen that basically described the entirety of the plot in a short paragraph just small enough to fit into a small black box. I began reading, and for the most part, the message stayed the same, but there was one key factor that made this interesting. Apparently the main antagonist of this hack wasn't Bowser at all... it was... Mario?!
The message read as follows:
What the...? "This wasn't the original message from Super Mario World," I thought to myself. Normally I wouldn't think anything of this, seeing as how, over my nearly 2 years at SMWCentral, I have played countless hacks and have seen many different intro messages, but this one really stuck out. At this point, I definitely knew there was something odd about this hack. Upon letting the intro level music play, I pressed the start button on my controller to finally get to the overworld and begin my journey into this unknown hack.
Upon entering the overworld, everything seemed normal. Same old level paths, same old music, but the level names were different. Instead of "YOSHI'S HOUSE" like it always has been every time I've ever played Super Mario World, it was now simply just "YOSHI'S". The "HOUSE" part was gone. I thought that this was strange, and I began to lose hope in the hack because it had seemed like barely anything had changed at all from the original. I was hoping to see something new. Well, unluckily for me, I got my wish, as you'll see when you read on. I decided to enter the level out of curiosity. When I entered, the whole house that's normally there was gone. No more smoke, no more fire, no more little birdies, no more treehouse. All that was left was the message box. I decided to hit it. Upon opening, the message I expected to be there was replaced with what seemed like binary.
Apparently it says "notepad".
At this point, I was on IRC telling everyone about how the hack was starting to weird me out, which in itself yielded some sarcastic responses, but hey, I expected it. Anyways, after this my interest level in the hack skyrocketed, and along with it my paranoia. Oh, boy, was in in for a fun surprise. So, I decided to head left. Upon reaching what was before known as "YOSHI'S ISLAND 1", the level was now labelled "never come back". Now I thought things were going to be all kaizo death trap, because generally that is what people name their levels in kaizo hacks to make sure the player doesn't go there. To my surprise, it wasn't quite that way, though, I wish that it had been. Upon entering level 105 I was greeted by the insanely loud clown car sound that Bowser's flying vehicle makes right before Peach falls out. Of course, with my headphones being moderately high, the sound scared the living shit out of me, which wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so nervous beforehand. I decided at this time it would be best if I turned the volume on my headphones down, as to not get anymore unpleasant surprises such as that one.
When I entered the level, other than the music, everything seemed to be the same, except for the fact that the little Koopa that slides on the ledges wasn't there anymore, nor was the Banzai Bill. The Dragon Coin was still there; however, for some odd reason, I wasn't able to collect it, or rather any Dragon Coins at all. The author made certain of that. I also noticed that there was a brown used block near the spot where the Banzai Bill normally shows up. I can only assume this was a revisit to the level after I had beaten it like I heard in some half-assed creepy stories in other Mario games. Now I was wondering why things were like this, making me wonder about the intro message. Had Mario done something previously to Dinosaur Land? Was this in Bowser's point of view? I quickly dismissed the latter option, because it seemed kind of stupid. So that left me thinking that Mario at one point in time in the author's story did something, but what?
What did Mario do? My mind was nothing but rushing thoughts at this point. However, I quickly dismissed them and ventured further into the level, only to find that all blocks had basically been hit, coins had been collected (save Dragon Coins, those were still there and unobtainable), that there were no enemies, and that I could no longer go down pipes. "What kind of bullshit am I playing here?" I kept thinking to myself. At this point, I felt uncomfortable. I decided to keep venturing. Eventually I came across a message box, which I wasn't surprised was still in the level. Being the idiot I am, I went and hit the box. Upon hitting it, I was greeted with the familiar black box once again. The message was edited, obviously. As I had figured that this was a given at this point. It reads as follows:
Now, I thought things were starting to get the vibe that the author was a twisted and warped individual, and that I was right about Mario having done something. At this point I was basically rushing to get to the end of the level, so I just scurried by, and then I came across another message box, however this one was just a blank box with "POINT OF ADVICE" at the top with nothing else in it. I quickly disregarded it and headed off further to the right hoping to free myself of the hell that was once level 105.
Upon reaching the end I saw a Fire Flower in the top block where the 4-way block intersection used to be, however it was too high for me to reach by normal means, so I just continued onward, like the blind, curious idiot I am would do. So I finally beat the level, and as usual the path to the Yellow Switch Palace was unlocked. I decided to head up the path that normally leads to the Yellow Switch Palace, and I found that when I entered the main overworld, every other landmass and decoration besides the ghosts from the Ghost Houses and Yoshi's island itself were gone. Nothing really changed at the Yellow Switch Palace except for the switch message. All that changed was that -SWITCH PALACE- was changed to -MARIO WORLD-. Boring. Anyways, just when I thought I was done with this abomination that calls itself a hack, I found that Yoshi's Island 2 has also been edited. "Oh, joy!" I thought to myself. <sarcasm/>
Upon reaching Yoshi's Island 2, I found that it had been renamed to YOSHI'S HOUSE, the original name of level 104. I decided to enter and found that the palette of the level had been changed along with the background. They seemed to have been changed to the same palette as Yoshi's Island 3, you know, greenish tan and such, except the background was pushed down some and was now a rotting brown color, and that the vegetation on the FG was now no longer present. I decided to explore the level a bit and came across the trail of Koopas, that countless players have used a shell to rack free 1-Up's with. I decided to ignore them and go see if any more of the level was changed. I eventually came across the "?" that holds Yoshi and decided to free him. Upon freeing him, I got this message:
This had me wondering what kind of sick and twisted hack I was playing. I had thoughts of all possible scenarios of Mario attacking Dinosaur Land horribly and causing irreversible damage. The author had me hooked with his sick little game, and like any other idiot, I took the bait and kept coming back for more...
Somewhere not far off from the Yoshi "?" Block, I found a message box, in the same place I remember that it always had been, though, if I've learned anything at all from playing this, it's that whatever had to be in that message box message was not going to be even remotely normal in the slightest. This made me hesitant to hit it, but I ended up doing so anyways. I wanted to find out more. The message I was greeted with was as follows.
"What the fuck?!" I thought to myself. What the hell did this even mean? Change my mind? What would I change my mind about anyways? Was this about Mario and whatever he did, and about how people were trying to convince him to stop? Was Yoshi talking to me through message boxes? Or, was it about me? About me playing the hack, asking me, as if the hack was trying to talk to me through message boxes. Either way, whether it was for more backstory on what Mario had done, or if it was questioning my decision to keep going, I decided to keep progressing despite the obvious signs that I should have quit playing the hack a while ago. As I progressed further, I found that I was right, all vegetation was now gone, and nothing was left at all, save a few enemies, like Chucks and moles and such, even the pipes were gone. I came across another message box. Like all other times before, I decided to hit it. I was greeted with yet another cryptic message...
"The selfish way out?" What the hell? Was he calling me selfish for continuing to play the hack despite the warnings? Had Mario made some kind of selfish decision that only benefited him? Was Yoshi still trying to talk to me? What the hell was this guy trying to tell me? At this point I was creeped out to the point that I was shaking slightly, a mix of anticipation, fear, and the fact that my room was terribly cold last night. I closed the message box and once again proceeded further. The area with the moles seemed the same, except for the fact that the block next to the vine block was gone, along with the happy clouds and Dragon Coin the vine allowed access to. This made me feel gloomy, to say the least, not so much frightened as I was depressed... it's a feeling I couldn't really explain well. From this point on, it was basically just a big empty stretch of land to the end of the level. I proceeded quickly, I wanted to get the fuck out of there, as I felt that I had spent enough time looking around. So, me and Yoshi (I still had him at the time) opened up the next path on the overworld. It too was changed. What was once Yoshi's Island 3 now read as "Yoshi's Island 7". Memories of Super Bobido World flooded my mind, how the levels would take giant leaps in number order which made it seem ridiculous, though at this time I didn't quite find it as humorous, due to common sense and obvious reasons explained earlier. I entered the level. As I entered, I was welcomed by a solid black background, and a blue and grey colored floor. The place seemed frozen... lifeless and barren. There was nothing in the level at all, save the goal point.
Just a clear stretch of land with nothing else at all. I quickly lost interest and finished the level, this was what seemed like the most empty and creepy level in the game, though as you'll read on, it gets far worse. With the level beaten, a new path opened up. Yoshi's Island 4 was now just "leave now". Now I hesitated as to whether I would stop playing, but my interest kept me going further. At this point #smwc was nothing but me posting findings and messages from the hack, so others could experience what I was experiencing. The channel sadly was unusually inactive, seemed like no one really cared, or wasn't around. I felt alone. I proceeded into the level. For the most part, everything seemed the same, save for the fact that there was now no water at all to keep me from falling in pits without using Yoshi as a sacrifice. The level was also void of all enemies as well.
Whenever I got to an area that seemed too far for me to jump, I found that I could just walk right across on the air, thus getting rid of the need to use Yoshi as a sacrifice. It's apparent that the hack wanted me to keep him, I could tell that much. I was able to get to the pipe that usually leads to the exit level. I went in and found that the room was exactly the same, everything in the right place and nothing edited... or so I thought. The message box once again broke the mood of that brief moment of relief I had gained upon entering the pipe. At this point I was questioning whether I should keep going to see how it ends, or quit now while I still have a bit of common sense left. The message box was sort of indistinguishable, and I couldn't really make sense of it. For a moment I tried to figure out what the box meant but eventually I just gave up and beat the level. I figured that box wasn't worth the time anyways. With the level beaten, the path to the first world castle opened, now renamed from "#1 Iggy's Castle" to "#1 GO BACK". I sure did feel welcome here. <sarcasm/>.
I decided to completely ignore the level name, as I just wanted to get this over with and to be done with it forever. What seemed like a normal castle intro was made especially creepy, given the fact that I had to dismount Yoshi. I felt for the first time that I was actually abandoning him, and I wish I had taken him with me. The inside room of the castle looked strange. There was this darkish blueish greenish black lava on the ceiling, and there were goal points that looked like pillars. Aside from that, next to each pillar, there was an increasing amount of message boxes next to each pillar the further I got. The room was basically just a big hallway with no enemies or anything of the sort. Every message box I pressed either gave me a blank box with |
-goal from the 15, it still never felt safe. Carolina still had one more shot. (Ellington scored again.)
As the game worked its way into the second overtime, I was strangely relaxed. Or at least, I wasn't a quivering mess on the floor of my section. Losses happen, and this one never quite felt like it was in the bag. Missouri forced a 40-yard field goal, and even though Carolina's Elliott Fry made it, it still meant Missouri had a chance to close the game. And on the first play of Mizzou's possession, Marcus Murphy broke off left tackle for 17 yards…
…and, from my perch in the 61st row, there was a single instant, a split second in time, in which it looked like Murphy was going to stay upright after a defender tried to bring him down by the ankles. I didn't see that there was another defender there to secure the tackle. I just saw daylight and touchdown and victory and holy shit, we survived.
That was the moment I was still reliving on the car ride home and into Sunday morning. Not the missed field goal that ensued. Not the fourth-and-15 conversion. Nothing else. Just that single flash in which I instinctively allowed myself to believe Missouri had won. "YYYYYYYEAAAAHH--AWWWWWWWWW."
Those are just the worst. The most painful losses are the ones that not only taunt you with what-ifs, but also convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt, even for just a tenth of a second, that your team won the game.
One of the pluses to having a renowned journalism school is that its influence spreads like a branch of a tree, like a pulse from a nerve. Missouri is everywhere you look among print and television journalists. It's pretty fun randomly seeing ESPN's John Anderson, for instance, dropping in a homerific line during SportsCenter. But the school of journalism has also produced a swath of writers who enjoy nothing more than telling you just how their school is cursed. It happened before Saturday's game, and of course it happened after. Mizzou's cursed, they'll tell you. Our pain is deeper than yours, but it's okay because we know the pain's coming, and that makes it better. Something like that.
I'm over curses. I wrote about it on Friday at Rock M Nation, and I still believed it after Saturday's test of faith.
Being a sports fan, especially a college sports fan, is basically agreeing to be hurt. Not a lot of us get to root for teams that win the national title or even get to the title game. Those of us who do, probably don't get to do so more than once or, if blessed, twice. Some of us were born into winning fanbases at just the right time. But most of us aren't Alabama fans in the '00s, or Nebraska fans in the '90s, or Oklahoma or Miami fans in the '80s. Most of us are Missouri fans, or Michigan State fans, or Oregon State fans, or South Carolina fans, or Iowa State fans, or Virginia fans. We all have lists of terrible defeats. The more I get exposed to other fanbases and program histories because of my job, the more I realize that Missouri just isn't as unique as we want to think in the pain department.
Granted, Mizzou will always have a place in history because of the Fifth Down and the Flea Kicker. And granted, Andrew Baggett could have just missed the field goal in the second overtime; bonking it off the uprights was especially jarring. But losing a big game because you lost a lead and missed a field goal in overtime? Pretending that doesn't happen to anybody else is selfish.
I doubt Texas Tech fans were overly sympathetic to Missouri after both their team and its undefeated record fell a touchdown short in Norman. I doubt Virginia Tech fans paused to think, "Wow, Missouri really has it tough," after the Hokies lost by three at home to Duke. I doubt Louisville fans, still reeling a bit from last Friday night's last-minute home loss to UCF, thought, "Maybe our own pain isn't as bad as I thought!" Hell, South Carolina itself blew chances and lost a game via a last-second field goal just last weekend. And the team that beat South Carolina last weekend, Tennessee, suffered a loss to Missouri almost identical to this one (granted, with minimal stakes) last November, right down to the double-digit road comeback, long fourth-down touchdowns, and game-ending field goal by Baggett (he made that one).
Pain is all that is guaranteed when we become fans.
If anything, fans of those schools just thought, "I feel your pain."
We show off our scars to each other as a form of brotherhood. Pain unites us. Pain is all that is guaranteed when we become fans. Hell, even Alabama fans can regale you with stories of pain, and they've collectively suffered less than any fanbase. We've all been there. And if you don't feel enough pain after a loss, that might be a sign that your team is losing too much. That this Missouri loss felt so bad is a morbid sign of progress, confirmation that the Tigers are back on the right track after last year's trip-ups. If the loss had moved Missouri to 3-5 instead of 7-1, the feeling would have been one more of anger or resignation. This was pure, soul-crushing heart break. The best kind.
Late last season, I wrote one of my favorite pieces, "The circle of pain."
You want to flee the scene, but you cannot. You stomped to your car, with a faster pace than normal, fueled by a combination of anxiety, hours-old tailgate alcohol and "What just happened?" rage, only to find yourself in an endless line of traffic. Maybe you then weave through the lot and cut in line and anger other already-angry drivers. Maybe you just sit in your car, resigned to defeat, for a good hour. But you cannot escape your brain, and you cannot escape the fact that your team just lost a game you didn't think it would lose, and at home, no less. A week ago, you were an Alabama fan, facing an interminable drive back to Birmingham, or Mobile, or Atlanta, or wherever you live when Tuscaloosa isn't once again serving as your temporary home. This past Saturday night, you were an Oregon fan, facing the same drive, only to Portland. Maybe Seattle. Your suffering, almost identical to that of your Alabama cohort, is a rite of passage, passed along in its entirety like evil in a comic book, transferred via handshake. That you took on this pain, that your team lost to Stanford, freed Alabama fans. Their team is right back where they were until last Saturday, when their team unexpectedly lost to Texas A&M. Welcome to college football, where the only thing as fleeting as life is death.
Missouri was involved in that piece, but only marginally so. This time around, the Tigers are the headliner. Hurts so good. Next week, it'll be someone else's turn. At least, it better be someone else's turn.
Five other thoughts from Saturday
1. More of that, please, Ohio State
Six hundred eighty-six yards? A 408-120 rushing yardage advantage? A 42-7 halftime lead over a not-terrible Penn State squad?
You can count on one hand the number of times Ohio State has actually looked the part of a top 5 team since Urban Meyer took over last season; the Buckeyes are now 20-0 under Meyer, which is impressive even considering the competition, but they've mastered the art of looking just good enough.
For one Saturday, however, Ohio State may have been the best team in the country (or at least, the best one not residing in Tuscaloosa). It won't make a difference with the BCS' awful, neutered computer rankings (in which a one-point win looks just like a 49-pointer), but it could make the title race that much more interesting, especially if one of the top three teams loses in the coming weeks.
(You know who also looked pretty ridiculously good? Michigan State. Yes, Illinois, whatever. But in a 42-3 win over the Illini, the Spartans gained 477 yards and allowed 128. Illinois gained 63 yards on a field goal drive to open the game, then gained 65 yards the rest of the day. We could yet end up with a pretty intriguing, watchable Big Ten title game. Just saying.)
2. Alabama at its best is just hypnotic
Bubble screen to Amari Cooper on the second play of the game, touchdown. Force a three-and-out. Two more passes (including one by a hurdling Kevin Norwood), five rushes by T.J. Yeldon, touchdown. One big Tennessee gain and a turnover on downs. Twelve plays, 66 yards, touchdown. Ballgame. In its last two games, Tennessee nearly beat Georgia, then did beat South Carolina. The Vols are still a work in progress but have proven that if you give them some chances, they'll take advantage of them. Alabama gave them nothing.
Kenyan Drake's fumble with 2:36 remaining in the second quarter was almost the first Alabama mistake. To that point, the Tide had given Tennessee two first downs, scored four touchdowns on four possessions, and picked off Justin Worley at midfield. And when Tennessee actually put a solid drive together after Drake's fumble, Landon Collins picked Worley off along the sideline and scored on an 89-yard return.
This was ALABAMA Alabama right here, a refined, polished version of the Tide we've been seeing a lot more of lately. Life with a vulnerable Alabama was pretty fun, but we'll find out on November 9 against LSU if there's actually any vulnerability left. It didn't look like it on Saturday.
3. The BCS underbelly is fascinating
When you think back to preseason expectations, the current BCS top five really has minimal surprises at this point. Alabama was No. 1 in August and is No. 1 now. Oregon was No. 3 and is No. 2. Ohio State was No. 2 and is No. 4. Stanford was No. 4 and is No. 5. Florida State was inexplicably No. 11, and they're the surprise of the group at No. 3.
But then look at the next five teams. No. 6 Baylor was (also inexplicably) 27th in the preseason, No. 7 Miami was 29th, No. 9 Missouri and No. 11 Auburn were not receiving any votes, and No. 10 Oklahoma was basically ranked 16th out of respect. Unless there are some upsets among the top tier, these surprises will fly under the radar and be happy with a Orange or Sugar Bowl bid. But if November is particularly crazy, there are still some unexpected teams ready to crash the BCS party.
4. Plus-414
At halftime of the Baylor-Kansas game, Baylor was up, 38-0. Total yardage: Baylor 505, Kansas 91. Couldn't save that one until tomorrow's Numerical. Yes, Kansas is still terrible. But that would be impressive even against Pittsburg State.
5. Tulane and Duke are 6-2, by the way
And Boise State and USC are 5-3. Just wanted that in print.
More from SB Nation college football:
Follow @SBNationCFBFollow @SBNRecruiting
• Oregon jumps Florida State for No. 2 in new BCS standings
• SEC thriller in World Series country: Steven Godfrey at South Carolina-Mizzou
• New bowl projections: Alabama-Oregon, and A&M to BCS?
• You have to see what Ohio State’s band did
• FSU, Georgia, Michigan State favored in Week 10’s big games
• Long reads: Chip Kelly’s New Hampshire laboratory | Why we love college footballThe reason behind the rise of cow-vigilantes is the illegal Cow Slaughter Houses are on killing rampage.
See the proofs yourself, it is just that the secular paid media does not show these reports.
Only in UP, illegal Cow Slaughter's Kill 11 including, 5 Police Men, 2 Dalit's & 2 Young Women.
Cattle smugglers kill a police sub-inspector in Bareilly on 10th September, 2015
A sub-inspector died after being shot by some alleged cow smugglers in Bareilly. The incident took place when sub-inspector Manoj Mishra and a constable saw some persons taking away 50-60 cattles.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/1...
Police officer crushed to death by cattle smugglers in Jaunpur on 5th August, 2016
A Police Sub-Inspector Triloki Tiwari was killed after cattle-smugglers allegedly drove a pick-up van over him during a vehicle check in Jaunpur.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/in...
Illegal Cow Slaughter Houses Mafia kill police constable in Bhadohi on 1st June 2013
A 27-year-old police constable Ashok Kumar Yadav was killed and six policemen were injured when the jeep in which they were chasing suspected cattle smugglers was hit by them.
The incident was reported in Aurai area of Sant Ravi Das Nagar (Bhadohi) district. Bhadohi Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar Dixit said "the police team chased them and overtook the truck, But the suspects did not stop at the toll booth,bulldozing their way through the barrier & then hitting the police team.
http://indianexpress.com/article...
Cow smugglers kill 2 UP Police Men in Mathura on February 20, 2015
Two policemen, including a head constable, were killed in Mathura and many others injured when they were trying to nab cow smugglers under Chatta tehsil. The vehicle ran over Ghan Shyam
and then collided with the police van resulting into injuries to head Constables Ram Vakil and Rajeev and Bhanu Pratap. Head Constables Ram Vakil & Ghan Shyam died on spot.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news...
Illegal Cow Slaughter houses gang kill Dalit leader in Agra on February 27, 2016
Dalit VHP leader Arun Kumar Mahaur who was shot dead as he was running a relentless campaign against cow slaughter. VHP leaders asked for Strict action against those who are behind Mahaur’s murder, Otherwise, the entire Dalit community can begin an agitation.
http://indianexpress.com/article...
Cattle smugglers kill woman after she tries to stop them from stealing cattle on 11th November 2016 in Etah
Unidentified bovine thieves killed a 20-year-old woman in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, when she caught them red-handed for stealing the cattle from backyard barn.
Identified as Yasoda, the resident of Asrauli village of Dehat kotwali area of Etah, the victim was taken to local community health center, where she was declared brought dead. The incident
took place, at around 3am.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...
Bovine smugglers mow down dalit man to steal his cattle in Firozabad district on 19th June 2016
Unidentified bovine smugglers ran over and killed a dalit man in Firozabad district when he tried to stop them from stealing his cattle. Identified as Dinesh Kumar (35) of 'Jaatav' community
and resident of Pilkhatar Jait village of Fariha area, the victim was taken to local community health center, where he was decalred brought dead.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...
Cattle smugglers kill two in UP minister's village in Bareilly on 7th February 2014
Two residents of the Bhagwat Saran Gangwar, minister's village Ahmedabad in Bareilly were killed by a gang when villagers tried to stop them from taking away the livestock of local residents for illegal slaughtering. In the first incident, an elderly person named Chokhey Lal was allegedly shot dead on Thursday night. The battered body of another resident was recovered from a spot nearby on the same night when he went in pursuit of the gang that had swooped down on the village.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...
16-year-old girl shot by Cow smuglers in Etah districts on June 1st, 2016
Sixteen-year-old girl shot in Ahmadabad village of Etah districts when the victim Nirdesh Singh caught the accused men stealing her two cows. After the incident, tension prevailed in
the village and police force was deployed in the area for preceding 24 hours.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...
Where as Akhikesh government, After announcing a compensation of Rs 45 lakh to the family of Dadri victim Mohammed Akhlaq, Uttar Pradesh government has now started the process of allotting four houses to the surviving members of Akhlaq's family. What about compensation to those who are killed by cow slaughterer's.
All Reports:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/1...
http://www.hindustantimes.com/in...
http://indianexpress.com/article...
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news...
http://indianexpress.com/article...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.c...Pollster Frank Luntz acknowledges that he took money to help shape Marco Rubio’s political career, a fact that he did not disclose while praising Rubio on Fox News and on social media.
In a profanity-laden interview, Luntz tells Breitbart News that he worked for Rubio when the young politician was preparing to become Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.
Luntz tweeted positively about Rubio and negatively about Donald Trump after Saturday night’s Republican debate in South Carolina, while also disparaging the entire debate itself as too confrontational.
.@MarcoRubio just gave the perfect foreign policy response: 3 specific questions, 3 specific regions, 3 specific details.#GOPDebate — Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) February 14, 2016
Trump does not need to attack Bush to oppose Bush. Someone needs to tell him to chill out. #GOPDebate — Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) February 14, 2016
Luntz first raised alarms when he held a staunchly pro-Rubio focus group on Fox News after the last debate before the Iowa caucus, where establishment favorite Rubio took 23 percent of the vote for a third-place finish. Luntz admitted to Breitbart News that he once accepted payment to work for Rubio.
“Yeah, nine years ago,” Luntz admitted. “Nine years ago.”
Luntz defended the supposed impartiality of his post-debate focus groups.
“Why was it until debate number seven that I said Marco Rubio was the clear winner?” Luntz asked.
“Megyn, you asked probably the toughest question of the debate. You gave the candidates no room to wiggle. You pressed him. And he responded,” Luntz gushed to Megyn Kelly in that pre-Iowa focus group, awkwardly referring only to Rubio before even mentioning him by name. “I want to begin with the most important and impactful moment of this debate. It was your challenge of Marco Rubio. And watch how well he did on immigration.”
The focus group, featuring pre-selected ordinary Americans, was seen as a love letter to Rubio.
Sonny Bunch, executive editor of the pro-Rubio blog Washington Free Beacon, used Luntz‘s over-the-top focus group to claim that Rubio did extremely well in the debate.
https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/692923036866088963?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But Breitbart News research has subsequently revealed Luntz‘s financial history with Rubio.
A high-level former elected Florida Republican told Breitbart News that Luntz worked closely over the summer of 2006 with Rubio’s twelve-person leadership team to prepare Rubio for his new elected role as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.
Luntz held a series of focus groups in Orlando, and showed people tapes of the thirtysomething legislator. Rubio and his aides would also sit in on some of the sessions, presenting bits of speeches to the focus group participants and also learning firsthand from their observations.
The meetings helped Rubio to write his book “100 Innovative Ideas For Florida’s Future,” but they also helped him to deliver his “American Exceptionalism” speech that Rubio finally trotted out before a national audience when he accepted victory in his November 2010 Senate race in Florida. Rubio has subsequently returned to themes from that speech in many of his public statements.
Luntz was hired by Rubio’s team, but the insider did not remember whether Luntz was paid by Rubio personally or by the Republican House leadership organization in Florida, which Rubio at the time controlled.
This all raises serious questions about Luntz‘s credibility and also about Fox News’ role in favoring Rubio over the other candidates. The legendary mainstream Washington magazine National Journal even picked up the scandal in a feature entitled “Luntz Plays Favorites With Marco Rubio.”
Luntz refused to release the names of his focus group participants to Breitbart News so that we could verify the extent to which Fox News helped to select them.
“I’ve never released the names of anyone,” Luntz said, noting that he’s done “a thousand” focus groups. “I’ve never released the names.”
Luntz repeatedly attacked Breitbart News. “You are so far up Trump’s ass,” Luntz said, calling this reporter an “asshole.” “You’re full of shit.”
“If I do release the names I will only release it to a reputable news outlet.”
Though Luntz did not officially declare Rubio the winner of any debates until the last one before the Iowa caucus, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough noticed that Luntz helped to damage Donald Trump in the early rounds of the debate schedule.When Spotify launched its new (and free) mobile radio functionality for iOS back in June, the company hinted that its Android counterparts would get it shortly but didn’t offer up any more detail than that. Well fandroids, that wait is over — Spotify just announced on its official blog that a newly-released update has finally brought that wallet-friendly feature to the service’s Android app.
The streaming radio feature — which lets users create stations based on a selected song, artist, or album — first made its debut in the desktop client back in December. It’s all very Pandora-esque, save for a few nifty enhancements. When users stumble upon a song they like for instance, they have the option of saving the track to a separate “Liked From Radio” playlist instead of scrambling to write down its name before it’s too late. What’s more, users can create an unlimited number of stations, as well as give tracks the ol’ thumbs up to influence future music choices.
Perhaps more important is the fact that its iOS launch was the first time non-paying users could access Spotify’s music catalog for any considerable amount of time; those users were previously stuck with a 48-hour free trial. Sure, those users have to put up with ads from the likes of Verizon Wireless, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Red Bull, and more, but that’s arguably a small price to pay in exchange for access to Spotify’s sizable catalog.
As for why the long-awaited feature is only now making its way to Android, product manager Donovan Sung noted that it was an issue of balancing priorities. According to him, one of the reasons Radio for Android spent an extra month in the oven was because the team was “focused on making the Android app a lot better” first.
Just a week before the mobile radio feature made its debut on iOS, the company had pushed out a major update to its Android app that finally brought many of service’s most notable features to Google’s mobile platform — think social functionality, 320kbps audio streaming, playlist folders, and the like. With that update, the app finally shed its beta trappings, so it’s clear that implementing the mobile radio feature was a secondary priority at the time.poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201706/1460/1155968404_5486268150001_5486247014001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump says his immigration actions are 'liberating towns' from gangs
President Donald Trump painted a grim picture of the homeland Wednesday, saying his actions to crack down on illegal immigration in the United States were "liberating towns" from gangs such as MS-13.
"We're freeing up towns, actually we're liberating towns, if you believe we have to do that in the United States of America," Trump said, speaking in the Cabinet room alongside families who said their children were killed by people in the country illegally. "But we're doing it and we're doing it fast."
Story Continued Below
The remarks came with a call for Congress to pass the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which would pull federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration officials. The cities say their policies allow immigrant communities to trust police and report crimes without fear of deportation.
"We will cut federal grant money to cities that shield dangerous criminal aliens from being turned over to federal law enforcement," Trump said.
Breaking News Alerts Get breaking news when it happens — in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The president also called for Congress to pass Kate's Law, which augments criminal penalties for those who return to the United States illegally after deportation. The bill is named after Kate Steinle, who was killed in San Francisco by a gunman who had previously been deported after being convicted of a felony.
Trump's remarks were followed by the parents of deceased children sharing their stories, a frequent fixture of Trump campaign rallies in 2016.This story is part of ESPN The Magazine's Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!
Detroit Pistons
Overall: 31
Title track: 35
Ownership: 44
Coaching: 27
Players: 59
Fan relations: 50
Affordability: 21
Stadium experience: 65
Bang for the buck: 36
Change from last year: +53
IIt took a while (try seven years,) but Detroit finally revved up its engines in the playoffs. If you want to know what a "hungry fan base" looks like, just take a gander at the Pistons' 53-spot pole vault from last year. This team is armed with the NBA's "Next Big Thing" and one of the league's youngest nuclei, and you get the sense that fans know their journey is just getting started.
What's good
Stan Van Gundy has been making the right turns over his entire tenure as Pistons coach and president, so it's no surprise that he earned one of the team's highest rankings, at 27th. It was just two years ago that the Pistons were ranked No. 105 in these rankings and experiencing their third consecutive sub-30-win season. Now, the team boasts a young, playoff-caliber roster with some cap space. While everyone else is playing small ball, Van Gundy can't get enough of the bigs: Drummond, Marjanovic, Leuer, Ellenson, Morris, Baynes. This roster earned a 48-spot jump this year, thanks partly to its play, sure, but also because of things such as participation in "Slow Roll Detroit," which saw the team bike around the city with fans last year.
What's bad
For all that has gone right for the Pistons of late, one thing can't be ignored: location, location, location. The Palace is more than 30 miles from downtown Detroit and 45 miles from the city's busiest airport. In other words, it would require a 40-60 minute drive to get from The Palace to Ford Field or Comerica Park. The Pistons wrapped a three-year, $40 million renovation job in time for the 2014-15 season, and that addressed the scoreboard, sound system and Wi-Fi. It bumped the stadium experience ranking up 21 spots this year, to 65th, but that's still the Pistons' worst placing. Now, if only they could find a large enough flatbed truck to transport the whole arena some place more convenient.
What's new
Last season, the NBA blessed the Pistons with zero national TV appearances. Only the Nuggets and 76ers were also completely blacked out, and the Pistons recorded more wins than those two combined. Oops. At least fans were treated to tickets that were almost $25 below average! With average stubs at $31.42, Motown is looking at the third cheapest seats in the league. That isn't a bad price to see Andre Drummond make us rethink what we know about basketball and physics (see: 25-and-29 vs. the Pacers, four offensive rebounds in 11 (!) seconds against the Bucks, five fouls against in nine seconds vs. the Rockets). Good news, Detroit fans: Drummond isn't going anywhere, after signing a five-year, $130 million deal this offseason. Combining great play, cheap prices and a long-awaited successful season? That'll get you a 53-spot bump in bang for the buck.
Next: Golden State Warriors | Full rankingsThe Energy Information Administrations says jump in energy use is expected to be driven largely by places like China and India. Renewable energy to grow the most, but fossil fuels still dominate.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Global energy use is expected to jump 53% by 2035, largely driven by strong demand from places like India and China, according to a report Monday.
Combined, developing nations currently use slightly more energy than those in the developed world, according to the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration. By 2035, they are expected to use double.
"Concerns about fiscal sustainability and financial turbulence suggest that economic recovery in the [developed] countries will not be accompanied by the higher growth rates associated with past recoveries," the report said. "In contrast, growth remains high in many emerging economies, in part driven by strong capital inflows and high commodity prices."
The 53% rise is slightly more than the 49% increase the agency predicted in last year's report.
Accompanying the surge in energy use is a correspondingly large jump in greenhouse gas emissions. EIA sees energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rising 43% by 2035.
The projections, in the agency's 2011 International Energy Outlook, are based on current policies. They could change substantially if countries like the United States and China passed stronger laws restricting carbon dioxide emissions.
Higher or lower energy price projections can also influence the report's findings.
EIA assumed slightly lower oil prices in calculating this year's report. The agency predicts oil prices to reach $108 per barrel in 2020 and $125 per barrel in 2035.
Last year EIA thought oil would be at $133 a barrel by 2035. EIA's numbers do not include price increases attributed to the normal rise in inflation.
Fossil fuels will continue to be the dominant fuel choice in 2035, the agency predicts, with renewables constituting just 14% to the world's overall energy consumption.
But that's a substantial jump from renewable energy consumption in 2008, which stood at 10%. That growth rate makes renewables the fastest growing of all the energy sources, the report said.
The agency noted that most future renewable energy supply will continue to come from wind and hydropower. It did not include biofuels like ethanol as part of its renewable catalog, instead lumping it in with liquid fuels like oil.
EIA does not expect solar power to become a significant energy source by 2035. That runs counter to the opinion of solar power supporters who foresee rapidly declining prices for solar panels in the coming years.
The agency predicts nuclear power will go from about 5% of overall energy consumption in 2008 to about 7% in 2035. The vast majority of new nuclear plants are expected to be built in China. EIA did not factor in how last year's nuclear disaster in Japan might impact nuclear power plant construction.
Natural gas continues to make up nearly a quarter of the world's energy consumption, driven by increasing development of shale gas.
EIA projections for natural gas use by 2035 are 8% higher in this year's report compared to last year's, largely due to shale gas development.
Natural gas from shale, which is found in a different type of rock than most previous natural gas developments, has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to new drilling and extracting technology.
The technology involves cracking the shale rock with pressurized, water, sand and chemicals -- a process knows as hydraulic fracturing, for "fracking" for short.
But the process has many people concerned over its effects on the groundwater, and shale gas development has been put on hold or stopped in some locations.
Despite the concerns, EIA predicts shale gas and other unconventional forms of natural gas will make up three quarters of U.S. natural gas production by 2035, up from about half today. Similar patterns are expected in China and Canada.Scientific efforts to create new high performance, efficient energy storage technologies may be taking a pretty big leap forward, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering. The research team, led by Professor Rodney S. Ruoff, has created a new porous, three-dimensional carbon that they say can be used like a “greatly enhanced supercapacitor”.
In a statement, the team likens a supercapacitor to a sprinter. It can discharge a bunch of energy very quickly, but it also runs out of energy quickly because of its limited storage potential. Comparatively, a battery is more like a marathon runner which can store a lot more energy but, because of the way batteries store energy, they are slower to discharge it. The team believes that the continuous, three-dimensional porous network that is created within their new sponge-like carbon is an optimum electrode material for supercapacitors because, apparently, it is an excellent conductor of electricity and the massive amount of surface area that it offers within a very small space will allow supercapacitors to store much more energy. To put this new carbon’s attributes into perspective, Professor Ruoff explains that just one gram of the material contains 3,100 square meters of surface area per gram. Two grams of the material has roughly as much surface area as a football field.
Eric Stach, a material’s scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and co-author of a paper about the material that will be published in Science magazines online publication, says that this enhanced storage capacity combined with a supercapacitor’s existing attributes of rapid discharge and lengthy life-cycle make this new form of carbon “particularly attractive for meeting electrical energy storage needs that also require a quick release of energy — for instance, in electric vehicles or to smooth out power availability from intermittent energy sources, such as wind and solar power.”
Professor Ruoff says that the process used to make the material is readily scalable to industrial levels, which would suggest that the new carbon could be quickly implemented into new energy storage devices that are used in everything from energy grids to electric cars and even consumer electronics.Many frequent fliers complain they're time-consuming or invade their privacy. The world's airlines say they shouldn't be used for primary security screening. And questions are being raised about possible effects on passengers' health. "The system takes three to five times as long as walking through a metal detector," says Phil Bush of Atlanta, one of many fliers on USA TODAY's Road Warriors panel who oppose the machines. "This looks to be yet another disaster waiting to happen." The machines — dubbed by some fliers as virtual strip searches — were installed at many airports in March after a Christmas Day airline bombing attempt. The Transportation Security Administration has spent more than $80 million for about 500 machines, including 133 now at airports. It plans to install about 1,000 by the end of next year. But the machines are running into complaints and questions here and overseas: • The International Air Transport Association, which represents 250 of the world's airlines, including major U.S. carriers, says the TSA lacks "a strategy and a vision" of how the machines fit into a comprehensive checkpoint security plan. "The TSA is putting the cart before the horse," association spokesman Steve Lott says. • Security officials in Dubai said earlier this month they wouldn't use the machines because they violate "personal privacy," and information about their "side effects" on health isn't known. • Last month, the European Commission said in a report that "a rigorous scientific assessment" of potential health risks is needed before machines are deployed there. It also said screening methods besides the new machines should be used on pregnant women, babies, children and people with disabilities. The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in October that the TSA was deploying the machines without fully testing them and assessing whether they could detect "threat items" concealed on various parts of the body. And in March, the office said it "remains unclear" whether they would have detected the explosives that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate on a jet bound for Detroit on Christmas. TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee says the agency completed testing at the end of last year and is "highly confident" in the machines' detection capability. She also says their use hasn't slowed screening at airports and that the agency has taken steps to ensure privacy and safety. The TSA is deploying two types of machines that can see underneath clothing: One uses a high-speed X-ray beam, and the other bounces electromagnetic waves off a passenger's body. Passengers can refuse screening by the machines and opt for screening by a metal detector and a pat-down search by a security officer, the TSA says. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more TOP TRAVEL STORIES Most read Most e-mailed TOP TRAVEL STORIES Most read Most e-mailed(Update - See ‘What Cord Cutters Need to Know About ATSC 3.0 – Part 2’ HERE)
First of all...
If you follow cord cutting closely, you may have heard about a new broadcast standard called ATSC 3.0. Promising to deliver ultra-high definition (UHD) |
ENDA supporters among House Republicans. Paul Singer, a Republican billionaire and hedge fund manager, recently founded the American Unity PAC, which devotes itself to "promoting and protection inclusive republicans." Singer recently announced plans to dedicate $375,000 towards lobbying House Republicans to support ENDA. Additionally, an 11-member bipartisan coalition of pro-LGBTQ groups, called Americans for Workplace Opportunity, which includes American Unity PAC, has formed to lobby House Republicans to support the measure. The group is targeting 48 House Republicans who are the most likely to support ENDA, and are conducting local organizing efforts in each member's district to shore up political support.
Any support from House Republicans, however, may come at the considerable cost of additional concessions in ENDA for religious businesses and individuals. Republicans, in fact, have already managed to extract significant exemptions in the recent version of ENDA passed by the Senate. These exemptions extend not only to houses of worship, but also to religiously affiliated hospitals and universities even though these institutions do not operate with a religious function.
Instead of entertaining further exemptions, LGBTQ advocates should look to best practices from the successful campaign to overturn the ban on gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving openly in the military. As a part of this effort, LGBTQ advocates employed a strategic media campaign that publicized the stories of service members who experienced discrimination as a result of the ban. This strategy propelled individuals like Dan Choi, who was expelled from the military after publicly coming out, into the national spotlight, helping highlight the discriminatory implications of the ban for the American public, as well as lawmakers in Congress.
A similar strategy would benefit efforts to pass ENDA, and attract additional cosponsors, but has yet to be implemented in a large-scale way. For example, multiple news outlets reported on the story of Kylar Broadus, who shared his experience in front of a Senate Committee in 2012 of being "constructively discharged" from his job at a financial institution after announcing his gender transition. (Broadus also made history that day by becoming the first openly transgender individual to testify before the Senate). A media campaign featuring individuals like Broadus -- who have experienced workplace discrimination firsthand -- will help humanize the problem for the American public, and help influence potential ENDA holdouts in Congress.
The recent Senate passage of ENDA marks the closest we've come to achieving workplace protections for LGBTQ individuals since the fight began 40-years ago with the introduction of the Equality Act. However, whether ENDA's passage can finally be secured in the near future, without significant amendments, will depend on the ability of LGBTQ advocates, such as those involved in the Americans for Workplace Opportunity coalition, to outmaneuver rightwing opponents with robust organizing and pro-LGBTQ messaging frames.Five men suspected of smuggling drugs across the border ambushed a Pinal County sheriff's deputy Friday in a remote area south of Phoenix, underscoring the border-related violence that has catapulted Arizona and its new immigration law onto the national stage.
The Pinal Sheriff's department told The Associated Press that the hunt into the early morning hours Saturday but no arrests had been made.
The rugged desert area where the shooting took place, near the junction of Interstate 8 and Arizona 84 in south-central Arizona, is considered a high-traffic drug- and human-smuggling corridor.
A massive hunt of 100 square miles that included helicopters with night-vision equipment and more than 200 officers, including SWAT teams, from 13 agencies was still pursuing the shooters late Friday.
More than one helicopter came under fire during the evening as officers rescued Deputy Louie Puroll, who had been shot with an AK-47-type weapon around 4 p.m., according to the Sheriff's Office.
Puroll suffered a flesh wound above his kidney that tore off a chunk of skin. He was treated at Casa Grande Regional Medical Center and released Friday night.
"Here we see the tactics have changed and become more dangerous," Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said. "This has reached a critical mass for law enforcement."
Babeu said he has "called out for help" from federal officials to no avail. He said smugglers know "the police are after them and the fact they are firing upon us changes the game."
Gov. Jan Brewer also weighed in, saying in a Twitter message sent out Friday evening: "Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Pinal County Deputy shot during a stop. Contrary to what some leaders say, our borders are not secure."
Brewer could not be reached to discuss it further.
The shooting occurred exactly one week after the governor signed the toughest anti-illegal-immigration law in the country, triggering a firestorm of state and national controversy. The legislation has been hotly debated, and it has put Arizona in the spotlight over how border states deal with rampant illegal immigration.
The legislation has sparked protests and calls to boycott the Grand Canyon State from opponents, while supporters argue it should be emulated nationwide. Babeu, a frequent critic of federal immigration policy, is a strong supporter of the law.
Babeu was joined by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another supporter of the law, at a command-post news conference late Friday at an I-8 truck stop.
Arpaio said that, in 90 days, when Arizona's new law takes effect, he will be enforcing it "100 percent," and he worries that violence common with drug cartels in Mexico will come to the U.S.
"I think this is one incident that proves that it's going to happen in the future," Arpaio said. "I predict it's going to get worse because of the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border."
Pinal County Lt. Tami Villar said Friday's incident "sends a very powerful and loud message that we have a problem."
She added that the shooters are Hispanic men who "appear to be undocumented."
Villar said Puroll, 53, was attacked about 5 miles south of I-8. She said the veteran deputy is assigned to patrol the area known for drug smuggling.
Babeu said Puroll was tracking the smugglers, who left behind large quantities of marijuana.
Babeu said up to 30 rounds were fired at the deputy, who returned fire with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and a handgun.
Villar said the attackers were armed with long guns and at least one handgun. She said gunfire aimed at the helicopters came about an hour after the initial incident. An unknown amount of marijuana apparently handled by the shooters remained in the desert.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office dispatched a helicopter and members of its SWAT team to Pinal County to assist in the case, said sheriff's Lt. Brian Lee. The Arizona Department of Public Safety also sent two helicopters and a SWAT team.
About 70 Maricopa County sheriff's employees also responded to the scene. Lee said most had been involved in a crime-suppression sweep in west Phoenix earlier in the day.
The Border Patrol also sent agents to help with the investigation, said Mario Escalante, a patrol spokesman. The nearest Border Patrol station in the area is in Casa Grande.
Republic reporters Allison Hurtado, JJ Hensley, Megan Boehnke and Daniel Gonzalez contributed to this article."It is especially important in a school environment, where there is sensitive private personal data relating to children and young people, that those responsible really make sure that personal data is handled in a legal manner," said Ingela Alverfors at the Data Inspection Board in a statement.
The school in question is the Rudbeck school in Sollentuna in northern Stockholm which uses the Google Apps for Education service which requires all teachers and pupils to open a Google account.
The Data Inspection Board has established that the school lacks an agreement with the US firm to cover the protection and management of personal information. The agreement would cover instructions and stipulate limits for handling data.
The school has therefore been instructed to establish such an agreement with Google in order to ensure the privacy and integrity of the students in its care. If the school declines to do so then they have been told to stop using the service.
The Local/pvs
Follow The Local on TwitterAs this Guardian-Observer list reaches its halfway mark with a gay Englishman and a polemical African American social scientist (Lytton Strachey and WEB Du Bois), having now plundered more than a century of Anglo-American prose, and with at least two more centuries to come, it’s a good moment to take stock. What does “classic” really mean? And, further, how does the definition of “nonfiction classic” stand up to scrutiny?
There are many answers to these questions. “Nonfiction classics” certainly have different meanings at different times. For instance, a 20th-century classic will be distinct from an 18th- or 19th-century classic, chiefly because its literary and cultural milieu is different.
In fiction, Italo Calvino says that a classic is “a book that has never finished what it wants to say”. Ezra Pound identifies “a certain eternal and irresponsible freshness”. TS Eliot, much more demanding, observed in The Sacred Wood that “no modern language can hope to produce a classic, in the sense I have called Virgil a classic”. Alan Bennett wryly notes: “Definition of a classic: a book everyone is assumed to have read and often thinks they have read themselves.”
In assessing its classic status in this way, we bump into a new and troubling question: “Is nonfiction the new fiction?” There are some very good writers who will argue that this is so, but I disagree. I have written, and still maintain, that nonfiction (which can sometimes successfully bring together many genres) is not, strictly speaking, a genre of its own. Creatively, yes, using narrative techniques borrowed from fiction, it’s possible to give some kinds of nonfiction the aura of a distinct new genre. But, at the end of the day, nofiction disintegrates into philosophy, memoir, history, reportage, and poetry, etc. This is particularly true of “nonfiction classics” from the 18th and 19th centuries, as we are about to find out.
And yet when it comes to choosing “classics”, nonfiction still answers to the same considerations as classic fiction. One simple test might be: is it still in print? One thing is certain: the classic in all genres must, uniquely, express something about its subject in a way that was previously unexpressed. It must, in Pound’s famous injunction: “Make it new.” Read it for the first time now, and still be thrilled by its vigour, originality and wisdom.
Our nonfiction list, winding into the past and now approaching the year 1900, has reached a hinge moment. In living memory (which is, very roughly, where the first 50 titles have been located) our criteria have been shaped by popular and literary critical fashion, by a changing marketplace and changing technology, by bestseller lists, and by hype. In the 20th century, a familiar palette of blurbish adjectives (which will have less and less meaning with the passage of time) gave shape and colour to a moving target: provocative, outrageous, prophetic, groundbreaking, funny, disturbing, revolutionary, moving, inspiring, life-changing, subversive…
Another list in other hands might produce a different spectrum of tones and values, but these have been my selections, inspired by the obvious and inescapable fact that this particular list first appeared in the pages of a British national newspaper during 2015-16.
Your list-maker, then, is a creature of his or her times. They will have the appetites of a butterfly collector, the instincts of a gambler and the mind of a missionary or saboteur – perhaps with more than a hint of the cultural dictator. They are also part anthologist and part antiquarian.
As I have written before, any such list of nonfiction “classics” is peculiarly idiosyncratic and personal. Unlike fiction, which remains a discrete and well-defined genre with established criteria, as manageable and satisfying as a spacious country house garden, we have to recognise that “nonfiction” is the wild west. To put it another way: choosing it becomes an infuriating case of “as I please”, driven by whim and caprice as much as taste.
There’s an additional difficulty. As every week’s roster of below the line comments indicates, almost any selection of “classic nonfiction” from library shelves that includes history, film, biography, cookery, politics, fashion, sociology, art history, reportage, feminism, drama, biology, philosophy, economics and poetry (which I’ve controversially included because poetry is catalogued as “nonfiction” by most libraries) is going to seem either perverse and disappointing, or stupid and enraging, or downright baffling. There is no accounting for taste, and when the sky’s the limit, one person’s taste can turn out to be very unaccountable indeed.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Germaine Greer in 1970: The Female Eunuch ‘turned the world upside down’. Photograph: Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images
If a nonfiction classic is whatever takes your fancy, according to your own self-imposed criteria, then the subtitle to such a project is going to be “anything goes”. It could be a book that reported a great revolution – John Reed’s Ten Days That Shook the World – or a masterpiece of magazine journalism that exposed the truth about a humanitarian catastrophe, such as John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Some of the classics catalogued so far have caused shock and outrage: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, for example, or Edward Said’s Orientalism. Others, notably Isaiah Berlin’s The Hedgehog and the Fox, I’ve listed as a diversion, to vary the pace. Still others – Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch – have broken down barriers and turned worlds upside down. Some titles (A Grief Observed; A Room of One’s Own) have expressed a new idea sotto voce; others at maximum decibels: The Feminine Mystique; The Double Helix; The Making of the English Working Class. Some classics live on, imperishably, as works of sheer entertainment: How to Cook a Wolf, Eminent Victorians and Goodbye to All That. Some classics were written in extremis and carry their scars all too visibly (Dispatches; Birthday Letters); others are more reflective (The Uses of Literacy; Awakenings). Every one is original and speaks for itself.
At this juncture, I have also to concede that my criteria were often in a state of flux from week to week. Working backwards, one’s choices inevitably reflect the contemporary zeitgeist. In the 20th century, two world wars, in particular, have influenced several of my selections, for better or worse. The passage of time will undoubtedly winnow a lot of titles inspired by the Great War once that apocalypse takes its long-term place in history. Under this heading, I also concede several regrets and (not quite the same thing) some tough decisions.
Regrets include George Steiner’s Language & Silence; Malcolm X and Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Nancy Mitford’s Noblesse Oblige; Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism; Richard Mabey’s Flora Britannica; and William Goldman’s Adventures in the Screen Trade.
Some tough decisions were very tough: Cyril Connolly had to be on my list, but to prefer Enemies of Promise over The Unquiet Grave was painful. JM Keynes’s The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936 in the depths of the Great Depression, is beyond question a landmark volume of the 20th century. But every nominated author is only allowed one title, so I chose the less well-known but more readable Keynes essay The Economic Consequences of the Peace. Finally, I agonised about excluding the late John Berger’s Ways of Seeing. In or out? According to the rules of this series, he was not eligible: his classic text, which derived from a television series, is the work of several hands, including the producer Mike Dibb, with Sven Blomberg, Chris Fox and Richard Hollis. So he’s not listed here, which is probably unfair.
Then there’s what I came to think of as the “Thorstein Veblen question”. The neurotic author of The Theory of the Leisure Class (as well as the far-seeing The Engineers and the Price System, 1921), Veblen is remembered as a cantankerous theorist with a penchant for the wives of his colleagues on the Stanford campus. Among many phrases, he coined “conspicuous consumption”, and is a guru of American technology, but his books now seem weirdly dated. Veblen – in or out? In golfing parlance, he did not survive the cut.
The year 1900, now imminent, marks a turning point. With the benefit of hindsight, as we move into the 19th century, we enter a new library of books winnowed by posterity and tested by the vicissitudes of more than a century of literary taste. Moreover, books that are at least a hundred years old are no longer so encumbered by the circumstances – tides of history; whirlpools of contemporary opinion – in which they were written and read. A modern classic may easily turn out not to be literature and slowly get forgotten; a 19th- or 18th-century classic will be literature almost by definition. As survivors from another age, such books have a consequence or a significance that several of the books listed so far do not. Among 20th-century titles, it’s more difficult to achieve both influence and true greatness, though The Waste Land and Waiting for Godot are both titles with a strong claim on posterity. In the 19th, 18th and 17th centuries, the classics are more widely scattered. This is probably a good thing. I have just 50 slots left for the next two centuries.
This list has another year to run. It will, no doubt, continue to provoke and infuriate. That’s partly its modus operandi. But, more seriously, it will also continue to mine a treasury of prose that has been seasoned by adversity, guarded by devoted readers of all kinds, and cherished for expressing the shock of the new.After rescuing Deckard Cain inside the Cathedral, he and the player use the waypoint to rendezvous at New Tristram, in front of The Slaughtered Calf Inn.
There Cain talks about the Texts of the End Days from the tomes of Zakarum. It clearly mentions the Lord of Lies — which for those who missed it is one of the seven Great Evils: Belial, the Lord of Lies. Ohh, you don’t know who Belial is? No, it’s not a new character. Check out the story of The Dark Exile — from the Diablo 1 (1996) manual.
Duriel, the Lord of Pain
Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish
Belial, the Lord of Lies
Azmodan, the Lord of Sin
Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred
Baal, the Lord of Destruction
Diablo, the Lord of Terror
Of these seven evils, we have already faced five –except for Belial and Azmodan. Check out the dialogue straight from Diablo III closed beta:
Deckard Cain: The Skeleton King was once our beloved lord, Leoric. He was driven mad by Diablo’s evil. He lost both of his sons — and his very soul — before he was finally defeated. Now it seems he’s risen to plague this land once again.
Monk: Nonetheless, the Skeleton King bars my path to the fallen star.
Deckard Cain: The key to defeating him lies in his old crown. Seek out our blacksmith Haedrig; he knows of its whereabouts.
Leah, you should not dismiss the signs so lightly. Do you not believe the evidence of your own eyes?
Leah: Horros have visited Tristram before and it endured.
Deckard Cain: But what of the texts? The Zakarum tomes warn of a falling star. The Horadric Scrolls spoke of the dead rising and the Lord of Lies. The Prophecy of the End Days says that at the end of all things, the first sign shall appear in the Heavens!
Leah: Yes, you’ve been telling me about the texts since I was eight years old, Uncle. I just don’t think we should read too much into them.Why You Should Never Use MongoDB
Disclaimer: I do not build database engines. I build web applications. I run 4-6 different projects every year, so I build a lot of web applications. I see apps with different requirements and different data storage needs. I’ve deployed most of the data stores you’ve heard about, and a few that you probably haven’t.
I’ve picked the wrong one a few times. This is a story about one of those times — why we picked it originally, how we discovered it was wrong, and how we recovered. It all happened on an open source project called Diaspora.
The project
Diaspora is a distributed social network with a long history. Waaaaay back in early 2010, four undergraduates from New York University made a Kickstarter video asking for $10,000 to spend the summer building a distributed alternative to Facebook. They sent it out to friends and family, and hoped for the best.
But they hit a nerve. There had just been another Facebook privacy scandal, and when the dust settled on their Kickstarter, they had raised over $200,000 from 6400 different people for a software project that didn’t yet have a single line of code written.
Diaspora was the first Kickstarter project to vastly overrun its goal. As a result, they got written up in the New York Times – which turned into a bit of a scandal, because the chalkboard in the backdrop of the team photo had a dirty joke written on it, and no one noticed until it was actually printed. In the NEW YORK TIMES. The fallout from that was actually how I first heard about the project.
As a result of their Kickstarter success, the guys left school and came out to San Francisco to start writing code. They ended up in my office. I was working at Pivotal Labs at the time, and one of the guys’ older brothers also worked there, so Pivotal offered them free desk space, internet, and, of course, access to the beer fridge. I worked with official clients during the day, then hung out with them after work and contributed code on weekends.
They ended up staying at Pivotal for more than two years. By the end of that first summer, though, they already had a minimal but working (for some definition) implementation of a distributed social network built in Ruby on Rails and backed by MongoDB.
That’s a lot of buzzwords. Let’s break it down.
“Distributed social network”
If you’ve seen the Social Network, you know everything you need to know about Facebook. It’s a web app, it runs on a single logical server, and it lets you stay in touch with people. Once you log in, Diaspora’s interface looks structurally similar to Facebook’s:
There’s a feed in the middle showing all your friends’ posts, and some other random stuff along the sides that no one has ever looked at. The main technical difference between Diaspora and Facebook is invisible to end users: it’s the “distributed” part.
The Diaspora infrastructure is not located behind a single web address. There are hundreds of independent Diaspora servers. The code is open source, so if you want to, you can stand up your own server. Each server, called a pod, has its own database and its own set of users, and will interoperate with all the other Diaspora pods that each have their own database and set of users.
Each pod communicates with the others through an HTTP-based API. Once you set up an account on a pod, it’ll be pretty boring until you follow some other people. You can follow other users on your pod, and you can also follow people who are users on other pods. When someone you follow on another pod posts an update, here’s what happens:
1. The update goes into the author’s pod’s database.
2. Your pod is notified over the API.
3. The update is saved in your pod’s database.
4. You look at your activity feed and see that post mixed in with posts from the other people you follow.
Comments work the same way. On any single post, some comments might be from people on the same pod as the post’s author, and some might be from people on other pods. Everyone who has permission to see the post sees all the comments, just as you would expect if everyone were on a single logical server.
Who cares?
There are technical and legal advantages to this architecture. The main technical advantage is fault tolerance.
If any one of the pods goes down, it doesn’t bring the others down. The system survives, and even expects, network partitioning. There are some interesting political implications to that — for example, if you’re in a country that shuts down outgoing internet to prevent access to Facebook and Twitter, your pod running locally still connects you to other people within your country, even though nothing outside is accessible.
The main legal advantage is server independence. Each pod is a legally separate entity, governed by the laws of wherever it’s set up. Each pod also sets their own terms of service. On most of them, you can post content without giving up your rights to it, unlike on Facebook. Diaspora is free software both in the “gratis” and the “libre” sense of the term, and most of the people who run pods care deeply about that sort of thing.
So that’s the architecture of the system. Let’s look at the architecture within a single pod.
It’s a Rails app.
Each pod is a Ruby on Rails web application backed by a database, originally MongoDB. In some ways the codebase is a ‘typical’ Rails app — it has both a visual and programmatic UI, some Ruby code, and a database. But in other ways it is anything but typical.
The visual UI is of course how website users interact with Diaspora. The API is used by various Diaspora mobile clients — that part’s pretty typical — but it’s also used for “federation,” which is the technical name for inter-pod communication. (I asked where the Romulans’ access point was once, and got a bunch of blank looks. Sigh.) So the distributed nature of the system adds layers to the codebase that aren’t present in a typical app.
And of course, MongoDB is an atypical choice for data storage. The vast majority of Rails applications are backed by PostgreSQL or (less often these days) MySQL.
So that’s the code. Let’s consider what kind of data we’re storing.
I Do Not Think That Word Means What You Think That Means
“Social data” is information about our network of friends, their friends, and their activity. Conceptually, we do think about it as a network — an undirected graph in which we are in the center, and our friends radiate out around us.
When we store social data, we’re storing that graph topology, as well as the activity that moves along those edges.
For quite a few years now, the received wisdom has been that social data is not relational, and that if you store it in a relational database, you’re doing it wrong.
But what are the alternatives? Some folks say graph databases are more natural, but I’m not going to cover those here, since graph databases are too niche to be put into production. Other folks say that document databases are perfect for social data, and those are mainstream enough to actually be used. So let’s look at why people think social data fits more naturally in MongoDB than in PostgreSQL.
How MongoDB Stores Data
MongoDB is a document-oriented database. Instead of storing your data in tables made out of individual rows, like a relational database does, it stores your data in collections made out of individual documents. In MongoDB, a document is a big JSON blob with no particular format or schema.
Let’s say you have a set of relationships like this that you need to model. This is quite similar to a project that come through Pivotal that used MongoDB, and was the best use case I’ve ever seen for a document database.
At the root, we have a set of TV shows. Each show has many seasons, each season has many episodes, and each episode has many reviews and many cast members. When users come into this site, typically they go directly to the page for a particular TV show. On that page they see all the seasons and all the episodes and all the reviews and all the cast members from that show, all on one page. So from the application perspective, when the user visits a page, we want to retrieve all of the information connected to that TV show.
There are a number of ways you could model this data. In a typical relational store, each of these boxes would be a table. You’d have a tv_shows table, a seasons table with a foreign key into tv_shows, an episodes table with a foreign key into seasons, and reviews and cast_members tables with foreign keys into episodes. So to get all the information for a TV show, you’re looking at a five-table join.
We could also model this data as a set of nested hashes. The set of information about a particular TV show is one big nested key/value data structure. Inside a TV show, there’s an array of seasons, each of which is also a hash. Within each season, an array of episodes, each of which is a hash, and so on. This is how MongoDB models the data. Each TV show is a document that contains all the information we need for one show.
Here’s an example document for one TV show, Babylon 5.
It’s got some title metadata, and then it’s got an array of seasons. Each season is itself a hash with metadata and an array of episodes. In turn, each episode has some metadata and arrays for both reviews and cast members.
It’s basically a huge fractal data structure.
All of the data we need for a TV show is under one document, so it’s very fast to retrieve all this information at once, even if the document is very large. There’s a TV show here in the US called “General Hospital” that has aired over 12,000 episodes over the course of 50+ seasons. On my laptop, PostgreSQL takes about a minute to get denormalized data for 12,000 episodes, while retrieval of the equivalent document by ID in MongoDB takes a fraction of a second.
So in many ways, this application presented the ideal use case for a document store.
Ok. But what about social data?
Right. When you come to a social networking site, there’s only one important part of the page: your activity stream. The activity stream query gets all of the posts from the people you follow, ordered by most recent. Each of those posts have nested information within them, such as photos, likes, reshares, and comments.
The nested structure of activity stream data looks very similar to what we were looking at with the TV shows.
Users have friends, friends have posts, posts have comments and likes, each comment has one commenter and each like has one liker. Relationship-wise, it’s not a whole lot more complicated than TV shows. And just like with TV shows, we want to pull all this data at once, right after the user logs in. Furthermore, in a relational store, with the data fully normalized, it would be a seven-table join to get everything out.
Seven-table joins. Ugh. Suddenly storing each user’s activity stream as one big denormalized nested data structure, rather than doing that join every time, seems pretty attractive.
In 2010, when the Diaspora team was making this decision, Etsy’s articles about using document stores were quite influential, although they’ve since publicly moved away from MongoDB for data storage. Likewise, at the time, Facebook’s Cassandra was also stirring up a lot of conversation about leaving relational databases. Diaspora chose MongoDB for their social data in this zeitgeist. It was not an unreasonable choice at the time, given the information they had.
What could possibly go wrong?
There is a really important difference between Diaspora’s social data and the Mongo-ideal TV show data that no one noticed at first.
With TV shows, each box in the relationship diagram is a different type. TV shows are different from seasons are different from episodes are different from reviews are different from cast members. None of them is even a sub-type of another type.
But with social data, some of the boxes in the relationship diagram are the same type. In fact, all of these green boxes are the same type — they are all Diaspora users.
A user has friends, and each friend may themselves be a user. Or, they may not, because it’s a distributed system. (That’s a whole layer of complexity that I’m just skipping for today.) In the same way, commenters and likers may also be users.
This type duplication makes it way harder to denormalize an activity stream into a single document. That’s because in different places in your document, you may be referring to the same concept — in this case, the same user. The user who liked that post in your activity stream may also be the user who commented on a different post.
Duplicate data Duplicate data
We can represent this in MongoDB in a couple of different ways. Duplication is any easy option. All the information for that friend is copied and saved to the like on the first post, and then a separate copy is saved to the comment on the second post. The advantage is that all the data is present everywhere you need it, and you can still pull the whole activity stream back as a single document.
Here’s what this kind of fully denormalized stream document looks like.
Here we have copies of user data inlined. This is Joe’s stream, and it has a copy of his user data, including his name and URL, at the top level. His stream, just underneath, contains Jane’s post. Joe has liked Jane’s post, so under likes for Jane’s post, we have a separate copy of Joe’s data.
You can see why this is attractive: all the data you need is already located where you need it.
You can also see why this is dangerous. Updating a user’s data means walking through all the activity streams that they appear in to change the data in all those different places. This is very error-prone, and often leads to inconsistent data and mysterious errors, particularly when dealing with deletions.
Is there no hope?
There is another approach you can take to this problem in MongoDB, which will more familiar if you have a relational background. Instead of duplicating user data, you can store references to users in the activity stream documents.
With this approach, instead of inlining this user data wherever you need it, you give each user an ID. Once users have IDs, we store the user’s ID every place that we were previously inlining data. New IDs are in green below.
This eliminates our duplication problem. When user data changes, there’s only one document that gets rewritten. However, we’ve created a new problem for ourselves. Because we’ve moved some data out of the activity streams, we can no longer construct an activity stream from a single document. This is less efficient and more complex. Constructing an activity stream now requires us to 1) retrieve the stream document, and then 2) retrieve all the user documents to fill in names and avatars.
What’s missing from MongoDB is a SQL-style join operation, which is the ability to write one query that mashes together the activity stream and all the users that the stream references. Because MongoDB doesn’t have this ability, you end up manually doing that mashup in your application code, instead.
Simple Denormalized Data
Let’s return to TV shows for a second. The set of relationships for a TV show don’t have a lot of complexity. Because all the boxes in the relationship diagram are different entities, the entire query can be denormalized into one document with no duplication and no references. In this document database, there are no links between documents. It requires no joins.
On a social network, however, nothing is that self-contained. Any time you see something that looks like a name or a picture, you expect to be able to click on it and go see that user, their profile, and their posts. A TV show application doesn’t work that way. If you’re on season 1 episode 1 of Babylon 5, you don’t expect to be able to click through to season 1 episode 1 of General Hospital.
Don’t. Link. The. Documents.
Once we started doing ugly MongoDB joins manually in the Diaspora code, we knew it was the first sign of trouble. It was a sign that our data was actually relational, that there was value to that structure, and that we were going against the basic concept of a document data store.
Whether you’re duplicating critical data (ugh), or using references and doing joins in your application code (double ugh), when you have links between documents, you’ve outgrown MongoDB. When the MongoDB folks say “documents,” in many ways, they mean things you can print out on a piece of paper and hold. A document may have internal structure — headings and subheadings and paragraphs and footers — but it doesn’t link to other documents. It’s a self-contained piece of semi-structured data.
If your data looks like that, you’ve got documents. Congratulations! It’s a good use case for Mongo. But if there’s value in the links between documents, then you don’t actually have documents. MongoDB is not the right solution for you. It’s certainly not the right solution for social data, where links between documents are actually the most critical data in the system.
So social data isn’t document-oriented. Does that mean it’s actually…relational?
That Word Again
When people say “social data isn’t relational,” that’s not actually what they mean. They mean one of these two things:
1. “Conceptually, social data is more of a graph than a set of tables.”
This is absolutely true. But there are actually very few concepts in the world that are naturally modeled as normalized tables. We use that structure because it’s efficient, because it avoids duplication, and because when it does get slow, we know how to fix it.
2. “It’s faster to get all the data from a social query when it’s denormalized into a single document.”
This is also absolutely true. When your social data is in a relational store, you need a many-table join to extract the activity stream for a particular user, and that gets slow as your tables get bigger. However, we have a well-understood solution to this problem. It’s called caching.
At the All Your Base Conf in Oxford earlier this year, where I gave the talk version of this post, Neha Narula had a great talk about caching that I recommend you watch once it’s posted. In any case, caching in front of a normalized data store is a complex but well-understood problem. I’ve seen projects cache denormalized activity stream data into a document database like MongoDB, which makes |
order to focus on renewables and grids, though Starace disagrees with that strategy: “I don’t think it makes sense, scale is important in our business.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Enel SpA’s combined cycle thermodynamic solar power plant in Priolo Gargallo, Italy. Photograph: Alessandra Benedetti/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Another major European utility, Vattenfall, is selling its large German coal mines and power plants, again to focus on renewables. Greenpeace is looking to make friends with them too, suggesting they will raise the money to buy – then close – the coal assets.
And the former boss of another big German utility RWE npower, Volker Beckers, said last year that the fossil-fuel powered energy system had “reached its natural end”: he now chairs a renewable energy fund and a smart grid company and is a trustee of Forum for the Future, the sustainability advisory outfit founded by environmentalist Jonathon Porritt.
Even in the US, where Enel operate, but which Starace says is “behind the curve” on the shift to low-carbon energy, utilities are embracing limits on carbon emissions, not fighting them like coal companies and at least 16 states. Economics are dictating the move towards a low-carbon energy system, say utility bosses like Dominion chief executive, Tom Farrell. “Everybody is moving in this direction anyway,” he told the Wall Street Journal recently.
In a few weeks, the world’s nations will meet in Paris at a crunch UN climate change summit, aiming to agree a deal to halt global warming. The most important outcome for Starace is making clear that the low-carbon economy is an inevitability. “What industry needs is a direction clearly indicated by an agreement by the big countries,” he says. “Once the direction is set, that’s it and we are OK.”
The transition to clean energy “can happen much faster and in a less complex way with some good regulatory frameworks”, Starace says. “Or it can take a long time and waste a lot of money the other way around.”The National Assembly voted in the Protection of Information Bill on Tuesday with 229 votes.
There were two abstentions and a 107 votes against it.
The Bill was adopted by majority vote after a division was called by the opposition Democratic Alliance.
All opposition parties present in the House voted against the measure, while hundreds of black-clad activists protested against it outside the gates of Parliament and elsewhere in the country.
Editors who attended the parliamentary session staged a walk-out after the Bill was voted in.
The hotly contested Bill was first introduced in 2008 by then-intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils.
The Bill was meant to replace a piece of apartheid-era legislation that governed the classification of state secrets. Kasrils sought to create legislation that would protect state secrets but also uphold the constitutional principal of transparent governance.
It included a provision that would allow whistleblowers to leak information that was in the public interest without fear of reprisal.
According to Kasrils, this version of the Bill was never tabled in Parliament and was scrapped by ruling party representatives at the committee stage after he resigned from government in September 2008.
When the Bill reappeared, its provisions were even more draconian than before. The new draft sought to create a law that would allow any organ of state, from the largest government department down to the smallest municipality, to classify any document as secret and set out harsh penalties of up to 25 years in jail for whistleblowers.
It came under heavy fire from all quarters of civil society, who said it would obstruct the free flow of information, usher in a new era of secrecy and pose a threat to democracy.
Media and civil organisations insist that the Bill should include a public interest defence, as enshrined in state secrecy legislation in Canada. Such a defence would enable journalists and others who published classified information under pain of prison to argue in mitigation that they had done so in the public interest.
In September, the ruling party agreed to withdraw the Bill and to start a process of public participation to address some of the concerns that had been raised. The move was welcomed by civil organisations and the media but as the months passed it became clear that no real attempt at public participation had been made.
Instead, the Bill made a sudden reappearance on the parliamentary programme and state officials went on the offensive, with State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele claiming that groups opposing the Bill were “local proxies of foreign spies”.
The DA called the consultation process a “farce” saying the ANC had only consulted in five of the eight provinces under its control. Consultations were still going ahead the night before the Bill went to Parliament. In Mangaung, 100 residents turned up for the hearing but the ANC MP who was meant to conduct the hearing failed to appear. Instead, fliers about the Bill were handed out, a choir entertained the crowd and then food was served.
Kasrils condemned Cwele’s statements as “disgraceful” and said such “inflammatory statements” would encourage members of the intelligence services to “adopt a mindset already noted for excessive secrecy, exaggerated fears and paranoia”.
Shortly before his death earlier this year, struggle stalwart Kader Asmal urged Parliament to take the Bill “back to the drawing board” and urged South Africans to join him in rejecting the legislation.
“It is unsatisfactory to expect the Constitutional Court to do the work that Parliament should be doing. I feel that the executive has not given sufficient attention to the constitutional provisions and the way that the limitation of this right to freedom of expression is reasonable and justifiable in a democratic society,” he wrote.
Sources within Parliament say that, despite protest from media and civil groups from around the country, the passing of the Bill is a foregone conclusion and that it may become law before the end of the year.
The Bill will now go to National Council of Provinces and then back to the National Assembly before the president signs it and it gets gazetted.
If this is the case, those who oppose the Bill would need to challenge it in the Constitutional Court.—Additional reporting by Sapa
The passing of the Protection of State Information Bill came as no surprise, raising the threat to media freedom. View our special report.You either love change or hate change and there's not much in between. So, at AmeriCommerce, we figured why not go all in? And that's just what we did with our new and totally re-imagined admin console. So, brace yourself for one giant leap forward - completely re-thought and absolutely improved.
While the change is dramatic, we don't take all the credit for the inspiration. You guys, our customers and prospective users, have been telling us for a while that you wanted a new admin and what you wanted in it – and here we are.
This beta release of the admin is fully featured and available to both new users and current users by upgrade request.
Intuitive Interface
Dive in faster and manage your store quicker with this intuitive, clean, and easy to use admin console. Not only do the pages load faster, they are also easier to use and understand.
You'll notice special attention placed on design and UI/UX patterns making the app easier to learn and embrace. The navigation, content areas, viewing and editing controls are all standardized so you can easily predict what's behind every click. Advanced users can find additional tools with one simple click of the "more actions" button allowing all same power just without all the visual noise.
Beyond the layout and structure of the admin, you'll find a simple color palate that helps guide and inform your steps along the way. The primary action for each page is now illustrated by one singularly orange button so you'll always be clear on the primary purpose of the page you are on. And, in general, you can look for the color blue to help you dial in on your active selections, useful information and helpful navigation.
By using a consistent UI pattern the admin area is much easier to use and understand providing a far greater user experience.
In the slides above, look for:
Simplified layout and navigation.
Adaptive design for tablet friendly or desktop friendly layouts.
Concise visual areas with clear purpose.
Easily accessible help text, overview information, and setup helper.
Access to powerful features and tools without a lot of visual noise.
Simple Navigation
A simple navigation is no easy task with an ecommerce app like AmeriCommerce with features and tools that range from marketing to order management, shipping to taxes, and from design to customer management. Even still, the new admin consolidates sections and greatly improves how quickly you can get to critical areas of your store. In fact, now you can get to key areas of your admin within just a few clicks.
The new approach to navigation makes it easier to familiarize yourself with your store tools along with the main sections of the app. It also means you’re less likely to lose context of where you are in the system as you manage your store.
It’s never been easier to feel at home and be clear on where to go for all your store management tasks from customers to products and settings to themes.
In the slides above, look for:
Simple Navigation with fly-out menus for the primary sections of the app.
Easy to use sub-menus within the primary sections.
Reduced “jumping” of sections via new “in context editing” menus.
Touch friendly navigation and retina friendly icons for tablet users.
Cool New Tools and Capabilities!
Along with the new and intuitive design come some really nice additions to the admin experience. Now you’ll be able to manage your store more effectively and easily.
Look in the slides above for these 8 new tools and capabilities!
1. Dashboard Customize your dashboard with any of the pre-configured dashboard widgets with sales data, visitor data, and a lot more. You can drag and drop dashboard widgets in any location you prefer and easily add more widgets or remove widgets from your dashboard to make it fit your needs. Your dashboard is now a useful springboard into sales, orders, trends or big picture reporting. 2. In Context Editing Throughout the app, you can edit, add new, or view more information without leaving the page you are on via a handy slide out editor. While it may seem trivial, this new feature dramatically accelerates your store management and ability to enter new information or edit related information based on the task at hand. For example, easily add a new order while viewing details on a customer or create a new category while editing a product – all without leaving the initial page you were on. 3. Search and Filtering Highly visible search tags now easily show the things you have searched for and allows you to quickly clear individual search terms on every listing page in the application. These pages can also now be searched via multiple filters to help you find the items you need. 4. Photo Editing Tweak, enhance, crop, colorize, and manipulate photos directly in the app using Aviary's integrated photo editor. 5. Simple WYSIWYG Editor With the new WYSIWYG editor you can easily format, align, and style text and content in various area of the app. And if you use custom merge codes, you can click the “insert merge code” button and select the merge code you want to use in the content of your post – all within the simple WYSIWYG editor. 6. Drag and Drop File Manager Managing the files and folders on your store has never been more simple, yet powerful. Easily move files and folders within the new file manager. The new file manager makes it easy for you to navigate your files, change location of files, edit files, download files and add new files to your store. 7. Drag and Drop File Upload Now you can drag and drop files from your computer for easy uploading or simply browse your hard-drive or pull from an online location. Uploading files is fast, secure and visually enhanced! 8. Drag and Drop Menu Builder When building your site navigation, use the new menu builder to create primary navigation menus, sub-menus and more. The new drag and drop menu builder lets you easily manage and modify your menu structures within an intuitive console that is a replica of the menu you see on your site, just drag the menu items where you want them to be!
Are You Ready for the New Admin?
With these changes, the AmeriCommerce admin becomes faster, easier to use, and adaptive for desktop and tablet users. Along with the addition of new features, all the same great features for running multiple stores online, Facebook shop, embedded ecommerce tools, and all your order and customer management become even easier to use.
If you’re a current customer or prospect and you’re ready to see the new admin in action, simply email us at supportrequest@americommerce.com and ask for it! We’ll provision a store with the new admin just for you!Mark Steyn visited with Brian Lilley on SunTV to discuss the year in jihad in Canada and beyond. Interestingly, one common theme of the year was how western governments and media insisted upon ignoring the ideology of Islam as being causal, even as the bodies piled up. Even when jihadists declared that following Islam was their motivation, the politically correct voices of the west insisted the perp was mentally ill or disaffected from society — anything except acting according to jihadist principles.
Canada was stunned by the attack in Ottawa on October 22, where Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a guard at the National War Monument on Parliament Hill, was shot down by a Muslim bent on jihad.
MARK STEYN: Corporal Nathan Cirillo did not need to die, and I think that is the appalling tragedy that whatever you say to his family in the end if we had a different approach to these things, if we took the ideological threat more seriously and if we didn’t just simply maintain a legalistic law enforcement approach to it, then I think these things would go very differently. We choose not to get the message that the guy wanted to put a bullet through not only Corporal Cirillo but through the heart of the Canadian state, and that’s why he chose that target, and we should take these guys at their word when it comes to this stuff, that the fellow in Sydney, he got more furious as the siege went on because he was watching the sappy multiculturalist TV station across the street denying anything, he said he was doing it in the name of the Islamic State and they were saying ‘Oh no, it’s not an Islamic State flag, it’s just any old common Muslim flag, this is nothing to do with terrorism.’ At a certain point, we should respect our enemies enough to take them at their word.” BRIAN LILLEY: “...We have apologists still saying, ‘No, it was mental illness.’ I don’t know how you diagnose someone who’s dead all of a sudden turn around and say, ‘No they have mental illness and that’s why they did this.” STEYN: “You don’t need a vast intelligence operation, as you say, these guys are on social media, they’re doing it out in the open and the reason we don’t take it seriously is because we’re trained to look the other way, exactly the way that the check-in desk clerk did at Portland Airport in Maine on September 11th thought that Mohammed Atta was creepy and suspicious and then, ooh, a politically incorrect thought, better not do anything about it or I’ll be tied up in sensitivity training for six months and so Mohammed Atta got on the plane and 3000 people died, because we have been trained to look the other way.”
For more on the failure to stop Atta, see here and here.The Saudi government declined to comment about the chateau to the Times, but has disputed reports that a Saudi royal purchased the da Vinci on behalf of Crown Prince Mohammed.
In light of the anti-corruption arrests, the chateau and yacht purchases send signals that are inconsistent with Crown Prince Mohammed's social and economic reforms, said Robert Jordan, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia under President George W. Bush.
"The lack of judgement and the lack of self-awareness that this reflects I think is shocking," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday.
"There will be members of the royal family, others in the community, who are saying, 'Wait a minute. This guy is just the biggest hypocrite in the world.' So, I think he's got to be very careful to balance that," said Jordan, now an adjunct political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
But others say Crown Prince Mohammed's spending habits and his corruption crackdown are separate issues, and those who conflate them might fuel misconceptions about public opinion Saudi Arabia.
Crown Prince Mohammed is trying to rein in widespread corruption, not discretionary spending by the future king, said Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University. He says Saudis don't consider splashy purchases to be corruption, nor do they typically object to wealthy princes investing in assets with tangible value like overseas property, yachts or artwork.
"This is not a guy who is going to Monaco and dropping $100 million on gambling," Haykel told CNBC on Wednesday. "That would be a very different kind of story."
While Western media are focused on the purchases, the average Saudi is more concerned about the introduction of a new value-added tax and the ongoing reduction in fuel subsidies, said Haykel, who recently traveled to Saudi Arabia. These Saudis worry that their incomes will not rise to meet higher costs.
Haykel says wealthy Saudis who say they built their fortunes through legitimate channels are "ecstatic" that Crown Prince Mohammed cracked down on allegedly corrupt princes and officials. They see the type of corruption he is targeting, like bribe-taking and skimming funds for development projects, as a burden on the system, Haykel said.
Still, Haykel says Crown Prince Mohammed has not clearly communicated his motives for the crackdown either at home or abroad.Keita Gotō
Keita Gotō (五島慶太, Gotō Keita, 18 April 1882 – 14 August 1959) was a Japanese businessman who built the Tokyu Group into one of the leading corporate groups in Japan.
Education and civil service career [ edit ]
Gotō was born as Keita Kobayashi in the village of Aoki in Nagano Prefecture. After graduating from high school in the nearby city of Matsumoto, he returned to his native village as a grade school teacher. In 1902 he entered what is now the University of Tsukuba, and in 1907 entered the law department of Tokyo Imperial University. After graduating, he entered the Agriculture Ministry at the relatively late age of 29, and three years later transferred to the Ministry of Transport, where he was involved in supervising the national railway system.
In 1912, while still working in the Agriculture Ministry, he married the daughter of an engineer and subsequently assumed her family name, Gotō.
Business career [ edit ]
In 1920, Gotō was offered the post of Director of the Musashi Railway, a struggling company in need of capital to finance its expansion. He accepted and by 1924 had acquired a controlling interest in the company, using the profits from other railway ventures in the Tokyo area. This was the first of many acquisitions in which Gotō bought weak companies and transformed them into profitable members of a growing railway and real estate group. It was also around this time that he persuaded the Tokyo Institute of Technology to relocate along his railway from its former campus, which had been damaged in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Over the next 10 years, this was followed by relocation assistance to several other schools and universities, including the Nippon Medical School and the high school of Tokyo Gakugei University. Together with numerous new residential developments along the railways, this strategy brought steady passengers and increased the value of the company's real estate holdings.
By the time of his death in 1959, his strategy of aggressive acquisitions had built the Tokyu Group into one of Japan's largest corporate empires, with businesses ranging from railways and department stores to hospitals, schools, and leisure and entertainment companies.
Gotoh Educational Corporation [ edit ]
The Gotoh Educational Corporation which Gotō established and served as the first Director-General continues his philanthropic legacy managing eight private educational schools including Tokyo City University. The Tokyo City University and affiliated schools currently serve the educational needs of over 12,000 students[1].
Art collection [ edit ]
In his later years, Gotō was a noted collector of Japanese and Asian art. His collection included several National Treasures, including calligraphy, ceramics, and one of the four surviving 13th-century Tale of Genji illustrated handscrolls. The collection is now preserved in the Gotoh Museum in Tokyo.
References [ edit ]Wahab Riaz has said that England's middle order is "fragile", ahead of the first Test at Lord's, and believes Pakistan can put pressure on them.
Wahab felt much rested on the shoulders of Alastair Cook, and Joe Root, who has been promoted to No. 3, with the next two positions being filled by James Vince and the recalled Gary Ballance.
Vince managed just 54 runs in four innings in his debut series against Sri Lanka, while Ballance is set to play his first Test in a year, having earned a surprising call-up as England reshuffle their order.
"We know that England is struggling with their middle order, Joe Root is one of their best players and he has to take the responsibility, so that's why he is at No.3," Wahab said. "But I think the other batting is fragile. If you get Cook and Root quickly, you can really put pressure on them, but you can't take things easy against them."
While Wahab, who went a long way in cementing his Test spot with a fiery spell of reverse swing on the second afternoon against Sussex, is correct to pinpoint the uncertainty around the No. 4 and 5 positions heading into the series, England's lower middle-order has been prolific of late. However, they are likely to be tested more by Pakistan's attack - sharp left-arm pace complemented by the legspin of Yasir Shah - than they were by the Sri Lankans.
Jonny Bairstow, who has been in stellar form, has led the way, while Moeen Ali struck a career-best 155 against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street. Moeen will be followed by Chris Woakes who has made half-centuries in Tests and ODIs this season. Ben Stokes, who was left out of the squad for the first Test as he continues his return from knee surgery, is expected to be back for the second Test at Old Trafford.
The statistics back up the recent divide between England's top order and the security provided by those lower down: since May last year, their average for positions 1-5 is sixth in Test cricket (Pakistan's batsmen average 14 runs more per wicket, albeit in far fewer Tests, and all of them in Asia) but for positions 6-11, England are top of the pile.
Ahead of the squad being named, there was a suggestion that Stokes could be included to play as a batsman while Jos Buttler's name was also linked to a batting position following his impressive limited-overs form. Buttler subsequently broke a finger playing for Lancashire, so will now not be an option during the Test series, but Pakistan's coach Mickey Arthur said he had been preparing for that duo to be in the line-up.
"We obviously looked at the squad with a lot of interest," Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. "Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler are guys that can take the game away of us, so, though it's not a relief, we were preparing for an England middle order of Bairstow, Stokes and Buttler. But the guys that have come in have earned their opportunity and must have done something right, so certainly won't take them lightly."This article will consist of three parts. In the first, we will look at how regions and populations have varied in their technological, economic, and scientific advancement going from the ancient world to the present. Then I will review research showing that modern national wealth can be predicted based on how advanced a society was long before the industrial revolution or even recorded history. Finally, I will draw out some important implications that this research has on immigration and history.
Technology and Science
First, let’s look at how technologically advanced various groups have been throughout human history. One way of measuring technological advancement is by creating a list of goods and abilities the possession of which signals being on the cutting edge of technology for a given time period and then counting how many of these items a given society has.
This is the approach taken by Comin, Easterly, and Gong (2010) who constructed the following basket of goods by which to judge civilization’s technological progress between 1000 BC and 0 AD:
And this was the basket of goods used for 1500 AD:
Here is the average score of different populations for each era:
Comin, Easterly, and Gong (2010)
A lot could be said about this table, but in relation to other data we’ll see in this article the important thing to note is that in 1000 BC and 1500AD European people were more technologically advanced than any other group and in 0 AD they tied with Asia.
The above table is based on every population with each region that Comin et al. could find data for. However, Comin et al. also looked at what regional comparisons looked like when only judging a region based on its most advanced civilization. Here are those results:
Comin, Easterly, and Gong (2010)
Here, we see that the most advanced Asians had better technology than the most advanced Europeans in the year 1000 BC and 0 AD and that it may not have been until as late as 1500 AD that the most advanced civilizations in the world came to be European ones.
1500 AD is prior to the industrial revolution, most of the transcontinental slave trade, and colonialism, and, consequently, this data contradicts several popular notions about what caused Europeans to become the most technologically advanced peoples on earth.
Comin et al. were concerned with how much technology populations had. This is distinct from asking how much technology populations invented. When one population invents something, it will be spread all over the civilized world. This process of technological diffusion did not, however, happen equally in all places. Some areas, such as ancient China and the Mediterranean, have always been centers for international trade. Because of this, they were ideal places to be the recipients of technological diffusion. Other populations, such as northern Europeans or, even more extremely, Sub-Saharan Africans, were geographically and culturally isolated from much of the ancient world and, as a result, did not trade technology with them to nearly the same degree.
Murray (2004) represents the most rigorous attempt to measure innovation by region throughout history. Murray collected 183 comprehensive encyclopedias, histories, etc., of innovation in various fields and made a list of those individuals who were included in at least 50% of the qualified sources within a given field. Murray found that this measure had an extremely high degree of statistical reliability (.93) by showing that arbitrarily breaking the sources into two groups produced two sets of basically identical results. Murray also showed that the same results emerged when he compared sources from different parts of the world, suggesting that eurocentrism did not significantly plague the analysis. Thus, he found that the relevant material showed a strong degree of consensus on which people and events have been historically important in science.
Murray called individuals included in 50% or more of the sources “significant individuals” and events mentioned in 50% or more of sources “significant events”. His analysis included all such individuals who lived, or events which took place, between the years 800 BC and 1950 AD. His results, grouped by continent, can be seen below:
Breaking down this analysis by year, we can see that Europe drove innovation in the BC period, declined in scientific productivity around 100 AD, and then retook its place as the main engine of global scientific advancement around 1500 AD.
Broadly speaking, Comin et al.’s and Murray’s data sets agree as far as they put Europe at the top of technological advancement in the BC period and then show a European decline which ended by 1500 AD. Where they differ is in the degree of Europe’s relative technological superiority during these periods. Comin et al.’s data showed that Europe has often had the best technology in the world, but not massively so. Murray’s data shows that Europeans have been behind nearly every important scientific advancement of the last 2000 years. Thus, the combination of these data sets implies that non-European nations, especially Asian ones, have benefited far more from technological diffusion than has Europe.
Finally, Murray’s data shows that not all European nations have contributed equally to innovation. Actually, almost all of European innovators have come from just a few nations: Britain, France, Germany, and Italy:
Wealth
Now that we have looked at technological progress, let’s turn to economic development. The leading authority on ancient GDP estimates is the economist Angus Maddison. Below, we can see his estimates for wealth per person for the years 1 AD to 1950 AD expressed in 1990 dollars:
(Maddison 2007)
There are several important takeaways from this chart. First, Western Europe was the richest region in the world for nearly all the last 2,000 years. The only exception is 1000 AD. Secondly, Western Europe has virtually always been richer than Eastern Europe. This was true long before communism came into the picture. Third, in 1 AD Africa was richer than Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia. In 1 AD Africa was also richer than Africa in 1820 AD. Progress is not inevitable.
The Pre-Historic Roots of Development
So far, I have been comparing rather macro level populations such as “Europe”, “Asia”, and “Africa”. If we break populations down into smaller units, roughly corresponding to the size of individual nations, we can make even more definite statements about the long term consistency of wealth and technology.
Of course, most nations that were around 1,000+ years ago no longer exist. However, we can still test how well the ancient advancement of people in a given geographical area predicts the advancement of people who live in that same area today.
For instance, a nation’s score on Comin et al.’s index of technological progress in 1000 BC predicts its current level of wealth.
Comin, Easterly, and Gong (2010)
Granted, these correlations are not very strong, but this is because we have not adjusted for ancestry. Ancestry adjustment means that rather than predict an area’s current advancement based on the advancement of the people who lived there in the past we predict it based on the advancement of the descendant populations of the people who there now.
This adjustment can make a big difference. For instance, the technological advancement of the ancestors of the current populations of Australia, Mexico, and the United States, in 0 AD is very different than the technological advancement that was present in Australia and North America in 0 AD. Adjusting Comin et al.’s technological index for ancestry vastly improves its predictive power. After doing so, there is a substantive relationship between ancient levels of technology and modern levels of both wealth and technology.
Comin, Easterly, and Gong (2010)
Ancient levels of technology are not the only early predictor of modern success. For instance, the number of years an area has had agriculture or a state correlates with their 2005 GDP per capita at.23 and.26. Adjusting for ancestry raises these correlations to.46 (agriculture) and.48 (state history) (Spolaore and Wacziarg, 2013)
In fact, these variables, in addition with a population’s latitude, and whether or not it is either on an Island or landlocked, can statistically explain 52%-59% of the current variation in national income.
Spolaore and Wacziarg (2013)
Similarly, the genetic distance between a population and the United states, in conjunction with the previously mentioned geographic variables, statistically explains 50% of current national variation in wealth. If you add to this model the percentage of a nation that is European, 55% of national wealth variation can be statistically accounted for.
Spolaore and Wacziarg (2013)
As with all statistical associations, this does not prove causality. However, the direction of causality can only run one way; It is not possible that current wealth variation caused differences between populations thousands of years ago. Thus, these statistical associations only leave open the possibility that some ancient variable, either the ones measured in these models or one’s correlated with them, causally explain most modern differences in national wealth.
Moreover, the fact that these models are improved when adjusting for ancestry shows that whatever ancient variable impacted these populations did so in a way that sticks with them when they migrate.
Conclusion
We do not yet know why Western Europe has driven humanities civilizational progress to the degree that it has. IQ no doubt plays some role, but East Asians have higher IQs than do Western Europeans. The same is probably true of self-control.
Individualism separates the West from Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia and it predicts modern national wealth (Last, 2016). Moreover, the more individualistic a U.S immigrant’s nation of origin is the wealthier they tend to be and the more likely they are to have a career involved with scientific research (Gordonichenko and Ronald, 2012; Hasen, 2013). Given this, individualism seems like a good candidate for one of the factors which can explain this historical trend, but it is almost surely not the only one.
Uncertainty about this “X factor” (or “West factor”) has profound implications for immigration policy. Given the data reviewed here, it seems plausible that the West could lose whatever it is that makes it so special via immigration from not Western places. It seems that this would be true whether immigration was coming from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, or even Eastern Europe.
This data also lends itself to an interesting historical possibility. As we’ve seen, there was a time when Africa was richer than both East Asia and Eastern Europe. While surely not the only cause, it may be that these places are richer than Africa today partly because they are more able to incorporate advances from the West. This differential ability to benefit from Western advancement, in turn, may have a wide variety of cultural, geographic, and genetic, causes.Mohamed Salah’s visa has been confirmed, meaning he is eligible to play for Liverpool with immediate effect.
The Egypt international, who joined the Reds from AS Roma in June, returned to Merseyside this morning having spent Wednesday attending a meeting at the British Embassy in Paris.
Due to standard immigration procedure, Salah needed to leave the United Kingdom and return again before he could play for his new club.
That process has now been completed, meaning the 25-year-old is available for selection to Jürgen Klopp after missing Wednesday’s 4-0 pre-season friendly win over Tranmere Rovers.
The Reds return to action on Friday, when they travel to the DW Stadium to take on Wigan Athletic.
You can watch Liverpool versus Wigan live and in full on LFCTV and LFCTV GO. Click here for details on how to sign up for either service.Please enable Javascript to watch this video
RICHMOND, Va. -- I don’t know about you, but for the past year I’ve been watching the construction of the bus rapid transit PULSE line running down the middle of Broad Street and wondered, what in the world is taking them so long?
If this had been Singapore, they would’ve built it in two weeks.
But a check with some of the other cities that are doing the same thing – or have done it – reveal we’re not doing so bad after all.
Richmond is one of 30 cities that has gotten big federal dollars for eco-friendly bus rapid transit systems that resemble Richmond’s old streetcar system of yore.
Construction on ours, which began with utility work in August 2016 and station work in January, will cost a little more than $47 million dollars, with a total price tag of $65 million.
The contractor, Lane Construction, in on time, but didn’t earn a nice $3 million bonus for finishing early, according GRTC spokeswoman Carrie Rose.
The city had hoped to be done by the end of the year, but that likely won’t happen.
If they’re not finished by the end of June, the contractor faces $4,450 dollar-a-day fines, Rose said.
“Currently the project is on time and in budget,” she said.
Now consider Cleveland, Ohio, which won an international award for its years-old HEALTH rapid bus system. It runs right down the middle of their main drag - Euclid Avenue - for seven miles, a half-mile shorter than our route.
It took three full years and $200 million, more than three times the cost of ours.
It has been credited with transforming Cleveland’s center city.
And consider the 10-mile A.R.T. rapid bus line in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that runs down their Broad Street, Central Avenue. They’re 14 months in with months more to go. Its construction will cost $83 million with a total budget of $126 million, which includes things like design and buses.
One section of it opened this past Sunday.
Complaints about the project there and construction tie-ups and delays have made our grumbling seem tame. There’s even an A.R.T. Blues song that does a pretty good job of showing how the line runs through the city.
We like to think we’ve cornered the market on the dysfunction blues in RVA, but in the past few years this town has shaken them off, in my opinion.
It appears we’re going mighty fine I do suppose (to quote Johnny Cash) with our PULSE budget and construction pace - at least comparatively.
So how do these things work?
The jury is out in Albuquerque, which sounds like it has the same complaints, resistance and fears that we have here.
But reports out of Cleveland are fairly glowing, with seemingly few issues with the stops being in the middle of the street, as they are with most of these federally funded BRT systems.
This could be really cool for our booming city if we give it a chance - and get it done.The federal Conservative government, in case you hadn’t noticed, is very fond of slapping consumer-friendly slogans on its legislation and announcements. “More choice, lower prices,” boasted the banner on the podium last spring when the government announced that it was loosening the restrictions on the wireless telecommunications industry.
The Canadian Dream as lived by young Stephen Harper, left, with his father Joe and brothers Grant, middle, and Robert in Leaside. ( canadian press file photo )
It seems to be tougher to come up with a banner or slogan, though, to accompany all the measures the government has been taking since 2008 to “cool the housing market,” as they say in the business pages. That’s because there’s nothing really consumer-friendly about making it more difficult for people to buy a home. And that’s a problem, politically, for any party — not just Conservatives — who are setting themselves up to champion the beleaguered middle class in the next election. What’s happening in the housing market, in other words, is as much a story for the political pages as it is for the business pages.
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repinevich Jr., a military expert at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “It’s like when you jump out of an aircraft with a parachute, the first five seconds are ‘so far, so good.’ But you’re still waiting for the chute to open.”
White House and Pentagon officials said that Mr. Obama spent a substantial amount of time with military officials on the new strategy, which they defined as six meetings he had on the strategy with military leaders and regional commanders between September and late December. Although other presidents have been deeply immersed in military policy, for Mr. Obama the time commitment appears to signal an interest in a policy that turns the page from President George W. Bush ’s wars.
“Certainly it indicates a level of interest on the president’s part, over and above what we’ve seen from him before,” Mr. Krepinevich said.
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The new strategy document finally defines away the Defense Department’s historic requirement to have the ability to fight and win two wars at once — a measure that one official said “has been on life-support for years.”
The strategy released under Mr. Obama in 2010 said the military was responsible for “maintaining the ability to prevail against two capable nation-state aggressors.”
In contrast, the strategy released Thursday said the military must be able to fight one war, but is responsible only for “denying the objectives of — or imposing unacceptable costs on — an opportunistic aggressor in a second region.”
Senior Pentagon officials said that viewing military requirements through something as static as the two-war model had become outdated, and that the true measurement was whether the Pentagon could field a force capable of carrying out a wide range of military actions to protect the nation’s interests.
Pentagon officials made it clear that the department’s priorities in coming years would be financing for defense and offense in cyberspace, for Special Operations forces and for the broad area of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.The NATO summit has highlighted concerns over military deterrence against Russia in eastern Europe, but Western powers should be preparing for non-military disruptive actions from Russia, says expert Mark Galeotti. Such actions include support of political movements hostile to the European Union, the penetration of strategic industries, and potentially cyber-attacks via proxies, he says. The driving force behind the tensions and ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Galeotti says, is Moscow’s deep-seated fear of losing sway over its long-standing client to Western powers. Moscow is not looking for a "transforming global struggle with the West," he explains, but does seek the freedom to impose its will in its Eurasian backyard.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a signing ceremony in Mongolia, September 3, 2014. (Photo: B.Rentsendorj/Courtesy Reuters)
What are Russia’s motives right now?
Russia’s game has never been about eastern Ukraine. Eastern Ukraine is not Crimea, and not something Putin cares about particularly. Instead, eastern Ukraine has always been the instrument by which Moscow puts pressure on Kiev. The Russians are terrified, wrongly perhaps, that Ukraine would fly out of its hands and into the grasp of the West. That’s been the driving force behind this crisis.
Moscow’s aim is to ensure that Kiev acknowledges that it is within Moscow’s sphere of influence at least to some degree and make some kind of commitment that it would not become a member of NATO or the European Union or some other Western alliance.
I understand that NATO does not want Ukraine as a member now, but the EU and Ukraine did sign an associate membership, right?
The EU, in abstract, thinks that Ukraine would someday fit into its membership in terms of its culture and such. But you have to acknowledge that Ukraine is still a state in the process of being constituted. One of the tragedies is that since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine essentially has been through more than twenty years of failed state building.
Its economy is in an appalling state, especially at the moment. The EU’s richer countries are not looking to have another economic basket case they would have to subsidize for years to come. Although the EU was willing to give Ukraine this [associated membership] agreement, in part because Ukraine was asking for it, that is a long way from any real enthusiasm to bring Ukraine into the fold because that would involve massive, massive expenditures trying to bring Ukraine up to the EU’s economic standards.
Where does the current situation leave U.S.-Russian relations?
Obviously the Crimea, and now the eastern Ukraine crisis is a very serious challenge to Russian-American relations. But I regard it more as a symptom than a cause.
The "reset" ended up, for all its good intentions, emboldening the Kremlin into thinking the West was essentially weak. Because it carried with it expectations of Russia’s move toward a Western liberal-democratic model, it raised a lot of hackles among the more nationalist circles in Moscow. They saw it as a sort of soft power effort at regime change. In some ways, [the intervention in] Crimea and Ukraine happened precisely because Russia had already become disillusioned by its relationship with the West, and believed the West was weak.
I was in Moscow last winter when the sanctions regime started, [and] I didn’t meet a single Russian official or policymaker [who] thought the West would have the moral strength to maintain sanctions for six months. I think people now have to reassess those beliefs. But at the time, there was a sense that the West was both cynical and weak.
Can you describe the Russian military? How strong is it?
The Russians in effect have two militaries. It has put a disproportionate amount of its massive additional military spending into bringing about a certain number of elite, interventionist forces and raising them to modern standards. These are not equipped or trained as well as American, British, or German soldiers, but they are a far cry from the pathetic forces deployed in Georgia in 2008. So "the little green men" we have seen in the Crimea, the forces which could be as many as three thousand in the eastern Ukraine are professional, relatively well trained. But we are only talking about maybe 10 percent of the total Russian military.
And then you have the large majority, which is still relatively untrained, primarily conscripts who are on one-year terms—which is a very short term for them to be taught anything—still beset by problems of indiscipline, alcohol, drug abuse, and violence. The broad army has a poor quality officer corps and no real non-commissioned corps. These are all right for static security duties, and in major land wars these are precisely the people you need for cannon fodder. So Russia has modernized a small portion of its military, which is fine for bullying smaller, weaker neighbors, but it does not mean that Russia could conceive of going toe-to-toe with NATO or China.
Obama had a highly publicized trip to Estonia on his way to the NATO Summit in Wales, in which he promised that the new NATO countries would benefit from Article Five [of the NATO charter] if they were ever attacked. Is there is a real threat to NATO countries?
Certainly the Russians are not going to do anything that would trigger an Article Five response. The Russians realize that they are the weaker power and, therefore, as any successful guerrilla knows, you try to make sure the battle is fought on your terms. They operate through proxies; they encourage local discontent; they try to ensure they have at least a certain amount of plausible deniability.
For instance, you can look at what happened in 2007 in Estonia, which has been an exemplary member of the alliance (it spends 2 percent of its Gross National Product on military) and regards itself as being on the frontline with NATO in the new cold war or hot peace, however you call it. Estonia was hit by a massive cyber-attack which, if not carried out by agents of the Russian state, was encouraged, coordinated and facilitated by Moscow, and was probably carried out by so-called patriotic hackers. At the time, there was a discussion of whether this was an Article Five attack, but because it was hard to determine where any specific cyber-attack comes from, the decision was not to go that route.
So what NATO will face is not an overt military offensive. We are not going to see the eastern Ukraine model applied in Estonia or Romania. But we will see an escalation of intelligence activity, and more support of political movements hostile to the EU or which espouse factional nationalism. We will see penetration of businesses, particularly in strategic industries, by Russian companies or Russian front organizations. It means we will be facing a different kind of pressure from Moscow, which does not speak to the kind of things that NATO can respond to.
Is this really a new Cold War? How would you describe it?
I glibly threw out the "hot peace" line, and in some ways that says it. Moscow is not looking for a major world transforming struggle with the West because it knows that it would probably lose such a struggle. Nor does Moscow have some great ambition to reshape the rest of the world. The Cold War was driven by an ideological premise. The West was for democracy and liberal markets; the Soviets were for state socialism and wanted to export that.
The Russians are not looking to export anything now. More than anything else, they want freedom of maneuver to maintain their current hybrid, pseudo-democratic authoritarian oligarchy. At home, they want to have the freedom to impose their will in their immediate hinterland of Eurasia. They don’t want to be restrained by international institutions like the United Nations.
The Russians are saying "let us do our own thing." It is more of a hot peace. They are not out for war. On the other hand, Russia will be aggressive. It will become confrontational. The Russians will use methods we will regard as reprehensible.
Discuss Putin. We know he is a former KGB agent. But now he seems to be acting unpredictably.
Unpredictability is something he has fostered. But we have to acknowledge that he has changed. In his first two terms as president, he was an aggressive nationalist who clearly was trying to reassert control over a Russia that in the 1990s had wobbled dangerously towards anarchy. But in terms of his foreign policy, he was very intensely pragmatic. He would talk nationalistically, but he was perfectly willing to cooperate with international institutions when it was in Russia’s interest. Time and again he used the rhetoric of cooperation.
That seems to have changed. It began when he was the notional prime minister. Now we see that Putin is increasingly concerned about his legacy, which he sees not only in a strong Russia, but one that is truly sovereign and independent.
Secondly, he sees the threat of a still very small, but a more liberal middle class inside Russia that was involved in the protest movements of recent years. He sees them as the result of outside influences on Russia.
He has genuinely become more nationalist, believing that Russia has some great historical mission, and his circle around him is not one to question that. He has lost all the people in his inner circles who criticized his policies, who disagreed with him, who told him hard truths. He is now surrounded by like-minded people who know the way to Putin’s heart is to basically reflect back to him what he thinks and says. Therefore, he has much less of an idea of what the world is these days.
So you now have a ruler who can pretty much operate without control, who is increasingly concerned with a mission to bestow on Russia the legacy that it is protected from creeping cosmopolitan influences from outside. And he doesn’t tolerate anyone around him who is willing to question his vision of the world.A Brilliant Madness is the story of a mathematical genius whose career was cut short by a descent into madness.
At the age of 30, John Forbes Nash, a stunningly original and famously eccentric MIT mathematician, suddenly began claiming that aliens were communicating with him and that he was a special messenger. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Nash spent the next three decades in and out of mental hospitals, all but forgotten.
During that time, a proof he had written at the age of 20 became a foundation of modern economic theory. In 1994, as Nash began to show signs of emerging from his delusions, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Economics. The program features interviews with John Nash, his wife Alicia, his friends and colleagues, and experts in game theory and mental illness.BMW and Nissan announced in late 2015 that they would team up with electric car charging network EVgo to bring more fast charging stations to the U.S. That partnership has now added 174 new DC Fast chargers in 33 states, and 50 more are planned for 2017. The partnership aims to promote the adoption of EVs in the U.S.
Each station offers 50-kilowatt DC Fast charging for both SAE Combo (CCS) and CHAdeMO specs. The BMW i3 takes the SAE Combo plug, while the Nissan Leaf uses CHAdeMO. Fast charging can juice a car up to 80 percent in 25-30 minutes, and the capability is standard on 2015-2017 BMW i3 EVs but optional on the Leaf. The new chargers are located near shopping areas and restaurants, and have been placed along "convenient, well-traveled routes," according to Nissan. These latest chargers bring EVgo's total number of dual-port DC Fast charging stations to 668 across the U.S. BMW recently partnered with Volkswagen and Chargepoint to install 95 DC Fast chargers along key U.S. corridors.
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"Infrastructure for all is a key strategic priority for us as we continue expanding the network of dual-port quick chargers across the country," said JeSean Hopkins, senior manager, Nissan EV Infrastructure Strategy & Business Development, in a release. "We look forward to ongoing teamwork and the continued build-out of public quick-charge stations."
By the end of the partnership, BMW and Nissan estimate that upwards of 90 percent of i3 and Leaf owners will have easy access to an EVgo quick charging station. The remaining 50 chargers will be installed throughout the year.
Source: NissanAllen, Skipper Earn SEC Props
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Arkansas junior quarterback Austin Allen has been named the SEC Player of the Week while senior offensive lineman Dan Skipper earned the league’s Offensive Lineman of the Week, announced by the conference office on Monday morning.
Allen not only completed 17-of-29 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns in the win at No. 15 TCU, but also ran in the game-winning touchdown during the second overtime and caught the game-tying two-point conversion to force overtime. Skipper helped pave the way for 400 yards on offense and used his entire 6-foot-10 frame to block TCU’s game-winning field goal with 10 seconds left to earn his second career SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week award.
The pair of weekly SEC awards gives Arkansas three honorees through the first two weeks, as senior Deatrich Wise earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week following the opener.
Making just his second career start, Allen orchestrated a critical fourth quarter touchdown drive for the second week, connecting with senior Keon Hatcher for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:03 remaining before hauling in the two-point conversion on a pass from Hatcher. Allen continued his hot play in overtime, delivering a perfect strike to tight end Jeremy Sprinkle for a 19-yard touchdown in the first extra frame before plowing through defenders into the end zone from five yards out in the second overtime for the game-winning score.
Protecting Allen’s blindside at left tackle, Skipper made his 36th consecutive start along the offensive line. The Arvada, Colorado product graded out at a team-best 90 percent as sophomore running back Rawleigh Williams III eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground. Williams’ longest run of the day was a 37-yard gain in the first quarter that opened up right behind Skipper.
Following Arkansas’ late touchdown and two-point conversion that tied the game at 28-28, TCU was able to get into field goal range for a game-winning attempt, but Skipper was able to come up with his sixth career block.
Ranked for the first time since the second week of 2015, No. 24 Arkansas will face Texas State at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network Alternate channel.Is Kirsten Gillibrand now a progressive? Or is she just Hillary 2.0?
Marys Room Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 19, 2017 Unlisted
In 2017 there already has been much talk about who will be the leader of the Democratic Party, and who is best fit to run in 2020. We’ve seen Biden, Warren, Harris, Cuomo and of course Sanders make headlines. With all of these candidates eager to make their case, Kirsten Gillibrand has been dropped as another potential. Her emergence into the political sphere as an advocate for the #RESISTANCE is no coincidence.
So is Gillibrand, with Senate and House experience, the candidate that can champion progressive values and lead democrats to victory? Recent signs point yes, and she has even gone against conventional wisdom by making a strong statement against the Clintons.
In a New York Time’s podcast interview, when asked if Bill Clinton should have stepped down, Gillibrand responded with “Yes, I think that is the appropriate response.”
The Clinton-Lewinski scandal has been a scar on the party. Too many Democrats have been silent on this, and we know why. Donna Brazile said it plain and simple, “it’s a cult.” It’s easy for Brazile to make such a drastic statement but shocking to hear it from a senator in Hillary’s former seat. How dare Gillibrand not have complete and absolute loyalty? Could this be one of many recent attempts to distance herself from the establishment?
A couple months ago Gillibrand co-sponsored Bernie Sanders’ Medicare-for-All bill — along with Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker & other likely 2020ers.
Another important way she has distanced herself from her centrist friends are her votes against almost all of Donald Trumps horrific nominees, with the exception of Nikki Haley.
While Gillibrand has been able to align with the #Resistance opposing Trump, voting with Bernie on Medicare-For-All and making a taboo statement against the Clintons, we cannot discount her votes in the Senate and House for a few good deeds in 2017. Can she pass as a progressive or is she really just following in the steps of Hillary?
It is reasonable to say we all make mistakes. Just as Hillary was a member of the Young Republicans, Gillibrand interned at Republican U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato’s Albany office (courtesy of her father’s connections).
But how did she fair in the House?
In 2006 she ran in a conservative district where Gillibrand campaigned as a moderate Democrat. The American Conservative stated,
“Gillibrand won her upstate New York district by running to the right: she campaigned against amnesty for illegal immigrants, promised to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, and pledged to protect gun rights. After winning by six points, she joined the conservative-leaning Blue Dog Coalition.”
She boasted her voting record to be “one of the most conservative in the state.”
As a congresswoman Gillibrand was not supportive of gay marriage, and only backed civil unions for gay couples. Does this flip-flopping of a former Senator on LGBTQ rights sound familiar?
Gillibrand’s record in congress on immigration is closer to Trump than what the Democrats espouse today. From the New York Times,
“Ms. Gillibrand, a Democrat, opposed any sort of amnesty for illegal immigrants, supported deputizing local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws, spoke out against Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to allow illegal immigrants to have driver’s licenses and sought to make English the official language of the United States.”
To her credit, she did later reverse her positions in 2010, stating, “I did expand my views on immigration, mostly because I did not have a large immigrant community in my district.” While some may value this approach, appeasing your district, this teetering becomes a recurring pattern throughout her career.
When running for senate in 2010, she had a 100% rating from the National Rifle Association and The Daily Beast at the time described her as a “bizarro version of Sarah Palin.” Soon after the election she was downgraded to an ‘F.’
Her positions on foreign policy though have remained consistent, falling in line with the Clinton neoliberal agenda. In 2008, she supported funding for the Iraq War and was the only New York Democratic member of the House to vote with the Republicans. Joining forces with Marco Rubio she urged Obama to block the Palestinian Authority to have the ability join the International Criminal Court.
In 2015 Gillibrand voted to expand government surveillance. The CISA bill allows corporations to send consumer data to the government.
So you could dive even deeper into Gillibrand’s politics, whether it’s foreign policy in the middle east, internet privacy, Clinton connections and you won’t find much difference from her Senate predecessor. She is in many ways Hillary 2.0 and seeking opportunities left and right to win the hearts and minds of voters.
On the other side it can be argued that Gillibrand is moving in the direction we want her to move. She was once a conservative Democrat but is now portrayed as an essential part of the resistance. So as progressives, how do we gauge our support? Should we look at a candidate’s most recent record? Their ability to politically “evolve” on certain issues? Do we have a litmus test for certain positions? Some argue yes and some say we can’t afford to be “purists.” Like Hillary (and many centrists) they can be pulled, but it is a hard and long game of tug-of-war.
To determine a 2020 candidate it is more than just the bills you voted ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on. Sure, it’s easy for Gillibrand to vote for Medicare For All when Democrats are in the minority and there is no way it will come to pass, yet. As progressive voters it’s key we measure the candidates accomplishments. What progressive accomplishments does a candidate have under their belt? Gillibrand has been able to keep her head above water and go where the wind blows, but we’re still waiting for her accomplishments to show.This weekend, the highly anticipated seventh installment in the Star Wars saga has been released by director J.J. Abrams and the folks at Disney and Lucasfilm. EA had the marvelous idea of releasing the newest Star Wars Battlefront game right before The Force Awakens came out (and coincidentally, right before the holidays), but was this a wise decision? What we ended up getting was an incomplete version of what could have been the best Star Wars game of all time with a $50 season pass which includes 16 new maps and four new game modes, four times as many maps as are in the original title. This a complete ripoff! But that’s beside the point. Should EA have waited, given the game a little more development time, and released it after Episode VII?
Spoilers aside, a new group arises from the ashes of the Galactic Empire 30 years after its demise: The First Order. The Resistance, a fringe group/offshoot of the New Republic battles The First Order to maintain peace in the galaxy. How cool would it be if Battlefront incorporated aspects of the galactic setting of The Force Awakens alongside the era of the Original Trilogy? And while we’re talking about that, why not throw in the Clone Wars era. Whether you love or hate the prequels, the battles in the Clone Wars were spectacular (just play Battlefront II). With a bit more development time, the game would even be able to have a campaign mode, which was one of the highlights of the original games. A Star Wars game and campaign spanning three generations of Star Wars history would be spectacular and well worth the wait, even if EA was so keen on releasing it to coincide with both the film’s release and the holidays.
Meanwhile, how’s that working out for them? GameStop’s CEO Paul Raines has come out and said that sales were lackluster.
“We’re not going to quantify it in terms of actual numbers, but we had high expectations that diminished somewhat as it got closer and it failed to hit those lowered expectations.”
When I boot up a brand new game and the first thing I see is an ad for a $50 season pass, not to mention the fact that the future DLC has a much wider variety of maps than what the game launched with, I wonder why I even spent $60 on the initial game to begin with. Four maps is absolutely pathetic and there is no defending it. EA and DICE, a developer I once respected, completely dropped the ball with this and turned what could have been one of the most memorable games in recent memory into a cash-in. This is incredibly sad, both as an avid gamer and as an avid Star Wars fan. A campaign mode spanning the Clone Wars all the way up to before The Force Awakens begins? That’s roughly 50 years of Star Wars history to work with and DICE could have made the definitive Star Wars game. Instead we’re left with, well, a barebones title with four maps, no campaign, and a $50 season pass that gives us at least four times as much content as the game launched with.
If the initial sales indicate anything, fans simply aren’t putting up with this kind of behavior anymore from developers and publishers. Releasing an incomplete game is unacceptable and paying in excess of $100 for the finished version of a game is beyond ludicrous. EA should be ashamed of themselves, and hopefully fans will not buy the DLC and send the company a message. Star Wars is one of those special franchises with a very unique fanbase who don’t tolerate these kinds of practices. The franchise has even birthed its own official religious sect, called Jediism. For all we know the game is finished but EA is holding back the rest of the content to release it as DLC, which is again, sickening.
Star Wars is a magical franchise. If the game had waited a few months and incorporated aspects from both the prequels and the sequels, it would have been both the definitive Star Wars and Battlefront game. Instead, EA played it safe, stuck with the Original Trilogy setting, and released a measly four maps for the game, with no campaign mode whatsoever. There is so much missed potential here for a title that people have been waiting ten years for (almost exactly). EA may rectify things via DLC, but the damage is already done. Hopefully this sends a message to other developers and publishers that this kind of practice is not going to be tolerated.Fandom is awash with speculation about who will be returning for the finale of Russell T Davies' stint at the helm of Doctor Who. But who would we like to see resurrected from the show's original 26-year run? Here's our somewhat dubious list of ten supporting characters we'd love, via the miracle of time travel or divine resurrection, to make a return appearance. Fear not though, despite the recent Jedward mania we won't stick the siblings from 'The Twin Dilemma' down on the list!
Sabalom Glitz
This intergalactic rogue, whose wardrobe seemed to come from the Duran Duran 'Wild Boys' video set, provided plenty of comedy moments alongside the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. He was last seen heading off in a spaceship with Bonnie Langford. Assuming the poor guy hasn't ejected himself into outer space to escape her, a return for the character would be most welcome. He'd show Captain Jack what moral ambiguity is all about.
Alpha Centauri
Television is far less innocent now than it was in the 1970s. When this curiously designed 'hermaphroditic hexapod' made its debut appearance in 'The Curse Of Peladon', there wasn't much of an outcry about it resembling a huge, veiny nad on its legs. Add in six arms, a cape, a bulging eye and a high-pitched laugh, and you have a very bizarre creation indeed. We'd love to know how this alien delegate would fare on our TV screens in the 21st century!
The Meddling Monk
Rumours have surfaced that this playful character, originally portrayed by Carry On legend Peter Butterworth, is slated for a return in the near future. We hope so - his antics alongside the First Doctor were a treat to watch, as he tinkered with history for his own amusement and not any grand pretensions of world domination. It's a habit that the time-travelling monk found impossible to kick.
Sil
Despite his repulsive laugh, slithery features and tendency to exploit the impoverished, Sil was a loveable addition to the programme. Anyone who tries to turn The Doctor's companion into a bird creature - purely for his own entertainment - deserves some credit! Whether the immoral creature was dealing arms or working for a mining company, he was eyeing up the profits and guzzling his beloved marsh minnows. It's time to bring him back - as an exec for a British bank!
Sergeant Benton
A semi-regular on the show between 1968 and 1975, Benton was a dependable figure for UNIT and ably assisted three consecutive Doctors to fend off a variety of alien threats. Armed with good humour and a flashy smile, he was a bit of a ladies' man too. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart said in 1983 that Benton was now a used car salesman, so perhaps he's still out there waiting to flog The Doctor a pimped-up version of his beloved Bessie?
Richard Mace
With his theatrical pretensions, this pusillanimous highwayman assisted The Doctor during his battle with the Terileptils in 'The Visitation'. "I have appeared before some of the most hostile audiences in the world," he proclaimed, although this was nothing compared to the threat he soon encountered. Played by the flamboyant (and sadly late) Michael Robbins, he was last seen trying to fend off the flames of The Great Fire Of London.
Lytton
Played with a cold swagger by the late and great Maurice Colbourne, intergalactic mercenary Lytton would have shot his own grandmother just to keep his trigger finger supple, according to the Sixth Doctor. Working both with and against the Daleks and Cybermen in two '80s adventures, he ultimately faced a grizzly demise. After a shocking revelation was unearthed, causing The Doctor to eat humble pie, he was partially cyber-converted and died a heroic death. Legend.
Bellal
Despite his ghoulish looks, Bellal was a benevolent Exxilon who helped the Third Doctor in his battle with his mortal enemies in 'Death To The Daleks'. It was refreshing to see a race of aliens having some individuality and not just being an evil entity en masse. Unlike many of his Exxilon counterparts, he rejected their religious teachings and was more intent on helping Sarah Jane Smith fend off death rather than use her as a sacrificial lamb. He also had quite a cute and vulnerable voice that tugged at the heartstrings!
King Yrcanos
Anyone who witnessed Brian Blessed's appearances as a host on Have I Got News For You a couple of years ago will know that the great man has still got it. Sadly, he never bellowed "The Doctor's aliiiiive" as King Yrcanos in 1986's 'Mindwarp', but made up for it with an array of judo chops, hissing, shouting and some fairly metrosexual make-up. It's time for Yrcanos to make a return and test out the speakers on all these modern flatscreen televisions!
Pex
The world's most cowardly cutlet made Bonnie Langford's squeamish companion Mel look harder than Arnold Schwarzenegger when he surfaced in 'Paradise Towers'. But he had a memorable moment of redemption, hurling the evil Kroagnon - and himself - into an explosive trap at the end of the story. The Kangs, who almost mocked him to death, graffitied "Pex Lives" on the wall to commemorate his new heroic status. Wouldn't it be great if he did? No? OK, time to get our coat…Termination by the Wall Street Journal of chief foreign affairs correspondent, Jay Solomon, over “ethical lapses” for his substantial involvement with a CIA arms smuggler might be the outcome the ‘journalist’ deserved — but that the firing and its extenuating circumstances pertain to a corporate media reporter’s CIA connections might be more than revealing.
According to the Associated Press, Solomon “was offered a 10 percent stake in a fledgling company, Denx LLC, by Farhad Azima, an Iranian-born aviation magnate who has ferried weapons for the CIA. It was not clear whether Solomon ever received money or formally accepted a stake in the company.”
Azima, Antiwar’s Jason Ditz wrote of the AP report, “ an Iran-born magnate who had ferried weapons for the CIA, and founded a company, Denx LLC, that was trying to make a deal with the United Arab Emirates on a surveillance scheme intended to spy on Iran.
“Solomon had been using Azima as a key source in his reporting for years, and the AP story found Azima offered Solomon a 10% stake in Denx LLC. Among the services Solomon was expected to provide was to secure a meeting with a top UAE official to sell him on the surveillance proposal.”
Documents — which Solomon, through his attorney, claim had been hacked — obtained by the Associated Press included emails and text messages exchanged between Solomon and Azima, and included an operating agreement for Denx listing the now-former WSJ reporter as an interested party.
Ex-CIA employees and Denx partners, Gary Bernsten and Scott Modell, told the AP Solomon maintained Azima as a source even after the pair’s business relationship matured, but withdrew from the venture not long after dealings began. Neither divulged when Solomon actually withdrew.
“In an April 2015 email, Azima wrote to Solomon about a proposal for a $725 million air-operations, surveillance and reconnaissance support contract with the United Arab Emirates that would allow planes to spy on activity inside nearby Iran. Solomon was supposed to ferry the proposal to UAE government representatives at a lunch the following day,” the AP reports.
“Under the proposed UAE deal, Azima’s firms were to manage specially equipped surveillance planes to monitor activity in Iran, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.”
“We all wish best of luck to Jay on his first defense sale,” Azima wrote to Solomon, Bernsten, and Modell.
Terminating Solomon might have been necessary according to Wall Street Journal ethics policy, but that the reporter’s peers knew he sourced information from Azima for years calls to question whether the depth of his CIA ties might have been ignored.
“We are dismayed by the actions and poor judgment of Jay Solomon,” Wall Street Journal spokesman Steve Severinghaus wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. “While our own investigation continues, we have concluded that Mr. Solomon violated his ethical obligations as a reporter, as well as our standards. He has not been forthcoming with us about his actions or his reporting practices and he has forfeited our trust. Mr. Solomon is no longer employed by The Wall Street Journal.”
For his part, Solomon albeit apologetically shirked blame by pleading ignorance of his role in the CIA’s lucrative arms-running cartel, telling the AP,
“I clearly made mistakes in my reporting and entered into a world I didn’t understand. never entered into any business with Farhad Azima, nor did I ever intend to. But I understand why the emails and the conversations I had with Mr. Azima may look like I was involved in some seriously troubling activities. I apologize to my bosses and colleagues at the Journal, who were nothing but great to me.”
Maudlin overtones aside, this appears superficially as a case of press gone bad for a source; at worst, a journalist motivated by money and notoriety foregoing journalistic ethics and moral fortitude in the pursuit of both.
But, while neither accomplishes any restoration of faith in the corporate-funded press as a force for integrity, a minor detail of association knocks the mainstream’s presstitutes down several pegs.
This isn’t the first time a mainstream outlet brushed elbows with the Central Intelligence Agency — though, most notably, this time, occurred after passage of the 2017 NDAA, which included the creation of the U.S. Government’s own de facto Ministry of Propaganda.
Purveyor of a lengthy list of unsourced, unproven, and otherwise questionable articles, the Washington Post, has a gauzy connection to the CIA, as well, given its newest owner, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, entered into a $600 million contract with the agency the same year he purchased the outlet — expectedly, each party invoked plausible deniability, as that deal pertained only to Amazon, and your government would never do anything like that. Trust them.
If a loose allegation of media ties to one of the most notoriously nefarious U.S. government agencies in history sounds a far reach, the aforementioned NDAA provision shovels taxpayer dollars at a network of programs to instill through media in Americans a pro-America, pro-War Machine, pro-establishment patriotism — or, more aptly, pliant, compliant, obedient plebeians.
That a Wall Street Journal employee might have come to be dealing with an arms associate of the CIA, then, is at least a development worth noting — as the once-firm line between the State and the Press melts more each day.
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Time ensures only one thing: that nothing is the same as it used to be.
It's hard, though, to accept that, especially with the elements of life we hold most dear. Like our sports, our faces and our festivities.
One British bishop has decided to dig his heels in against the inexorable pull of social media on our interpersonal relationships during the holiday season. He's decided to sit down and write 600 Christmas cards by hand.
This might seem quaint, a calligrapher fuming at the invention of the typewriter.
However, the Right Reverend Paul Bayes -- Britain has Left Reverends too -- believes his method is personal, while the likes of Facebook and Twitter are mere digital chill.
He told the Telegraph: "At Christmas I believe something has been lost by the trend away from sending cards. E-cards or a group email are OK, but they're no substitute for a hand-signed card through the letterbox."
Bayes is the new Bishop of Liverpool and he clearly has defined ways to express love, love me do. However, there is an increasing number of humans who have never written a Christmas card in their |
peoples to the earliest humans in the Americas. There is no written record from these ancient cultures; however, oral traditions have been passed down for generations. A recent archaeological discovery in the Pacific Northwest suggests that an oral tradition has survived over 14,000 years.
Indigenous cultures have a worldview fundamentally different to the West: the animate earth. North America is composed of countless nations that have different languages, economies, and social structures including matrilineal and patrilineal traditions. It is a constellation of cultures that is often grouped into the single category “Native American,” a term that poorly expresses the multitude of peoples present. However, within the many nations of the midwest and south are shared religious elements; an “analogous history of shared cultural themes, transmitted and adopted from Archaic times through the Woodland period and into the Mississippian centuries, continuing in modified form into the Colonial period and even lasting substantially in a few tribes down to the present time” writes Richard Townsend. He explains that archaeology and oral traditions “form an extraordinary record of cultural continuity.” Just as Western religions are shared across many nations and cultures, these religious elements are found among the diverse indigenous nations of North America, including the Lakota Sioux at Standing Rock.
The key elements of the religious themes are found in the creation story. According to a version told by the medicine man Swimmer, in the beginning there was no land, only endless primordial waters. A creature (a turtle to the Lakota, but a duck, muskrat, or other creature in different traditions) dove deep into the waters and brought mud to the surface. The mud was spread over the waters to create the Earth Island, or Turtle Island in the Lakota tradition. The cosmos is therefore composed of three levels: the Upper World (sky), This World (land), and the Lower World (waters). The Upper World is composed the sky, which is highly ordered as seen by the predicable passing of the sun, moon, and stars. The Lower World is the opposite; it is a cold, watery place that is chaotic. Evidence can be seen in springs, whose water is always cold in summer’s heat, yet never freezes in the cold of winter, and activity can always be seen below the surface. Spirits inhabit each of these levels, such as the Thunder Bird in the Upper World and the uktena, a snake with horns, in the Lower World. However, spirits are neither good or evil. Each pursues its own interests and can either help or harm a person. Humans, on Earth in between the ordered Upper World and the chaotic Lower World, must use these two extremes against each other. While the particulars of the oral traditions differ between nations, these themes of the religion reappear. Religion and medicine are about correcting imbalances, using spirits from either side to maintain balance. For this reason, both Upper and Lower world spirits are sacred, especially locations that are interfaces between levels of the cosmos.
The microcosm-macrocosm principle is an important component of the animate earth. Each place – caves, cliffs, springs, etc. – has a spirit and can influence the cosmos, which is where the term animate earth originates. Landscape, built structures, and artwork recreate the cosmos through the microcosm-macrocosm principle. The mounds that indigenous peoples built all over the continent are thought to be reconstructions of the Earth Island and many have sand or mud as their first layer to represent the sediment that was spread over the primordial sea. Since affecting the microcosm has influence over the macrocosm, sites like Turtle Island at Standing Rock, Camp Coldwater Spring, or Waconda Spring are not only microcosms of the Earth, but are regarded as the same as the actual place of creation. Spiritual leader Gary Cavender described, “The Camp Coldwater spring is a sacred spring... The Spring is the dwelling place of the undergods and is near the center of the Earth... The spring is the site of our creation myth (or ‘Garden of Eden’) and the beginning of Indian existence on Earth.”
There are commonalities found among Native Americans cultures in the past and present relating to these religious traditions. Motifs such as the Thunder Bird and underwater spirits like the uktena are found in every period. Certain materials associated with the three-leveled cosmos such as mica, copper, quartz, and meteorites have been used in religious contexts for centuries. These symbols provide evidence of the continuity of these religious themes across ever-changing cultures, economies, and languages. It is a religious tradition dating to the Archaic Period and may originate earlier in the Paleoindian period.
European versus indigenous perception of religious places
Western religions use built structures to distinguish sacred places from the natural world. It is a ‘flag mentality’ where ownership is identified through imposing a material object on a landscape, such as the planting of a flag or building a church. In contrast, native traditions conduct religious ceremonies at notable landscape features such as high cliffs, buttes, caves, springs, and the confluence of rivers, often without structures or objects. The dissonance between these two worldviews results in misunderstanding by non-native peoples as to what constitutes a sacred place.
An example is Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, which is built on an indigenous sacred landscape. Many of the holy locations are watery places: St. Anthony Falls, Camp Coldwater Spring, and the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. The holy of holies is Wakan Tibi, or Sacred House, whose European name is Carver’s Cave. The cave contained a lake where the Great Spirit lived. Every year, leaders from every Sioux nation would set aside differences and meet in front of the cave to discuss alliances and grievances. Despite evidence from oral histories, archaeologists in the 1970s argued that the cave was not culturally important because there were no “things” found in it. Dialogue has changed this erroneous perception and Wakan Tibi/Carver’s Cave is now understood to have great cultural significance. However, this error persists at Standing Rock.
This is not to say that Native peoples did not build structures, simply that not every religious place contains structures or objects. Cahokia, near present day St. Louis, had a population at its peak that rivaled medieval Paris and London. The city was composed of massive mounds that are still standing today, as well as wooden construction that has since disappeared. Nevertheless, even the Mississippians of Cahokia revered the sacred places of the earlier Hopewell, as did the later Siouan cultures. Rather than built structures as found at European religious sites, these animate earth religious sites can be identified as natural formations: springs, rocky outcrops, and caves. Especially dramatic or unique formations are revered as the most sacred places such as Wakan Tibi/Carver’s Cave, Waconda Spring, and Bears Ears.
Standing Rock in religious context
These religious traditions provide the context for Standing Rock’s opposition to the pipeline. Even if indigenous spokespersons were not telling the public that the area where the pipeline passes is a sacred location, the landscape itself is clearly identifiable as fitting these religious elements. The pipeline’s route crosses a high rock promontory at the confluence of two rivers, a landscape that is an interface between the levels of the cosmos. The island where the Water Protectors attempt to gather is named Turtle Island and it is a microcosm of the Earth Island upon the waters. An island that rises high above the surrounding landscape, visible from far away, and the confluence of two rivers are immediately identifiable elements of a Native American sacred location.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Drone footage of Standing Rock shows Turtle Island, as well as the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball rivers.
Just as the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers is a holy place in Minnesota, the confluence of the Cannon Ball and Missouri rivers at Turtle Island is sacred, but it has an added significance. “At the confluence of where those two rivers met was a great whirlpool that created perfectly round stones that were considered to be sacred,” Jon Eagle Sr. explained in an interview to Indian Country Magazine. The Sioux call the river Inyan Wakan Kagapi Wakpa, or River Where the Sacred Stone Are Made- wakan translating as sacred or holy. Religious ceremonies have been performed at this location for centuries. Both the river and the local town of Cannon Ball take their names from the round stones that formed in the river. The area and stones are sacred, a “historic place of commerce where enemy tribes camped peacefully within sight of each other because of the reverence they had for this place. In the area are sacred stones where our ancestors went to pray for good direction, strength and protection for the coming year. Those stones are still there, and our people still go there today,” explains Eagle. The Water Protectors’ camp is named Sacred Stone Camp for this location.
Meeting places where conflict was forbidden were rare. These sacred sites are only found next to the most important natural formations, often centered around watery places like springs or rivers. Examples include Wakan Tibi/Carver’s Cave, Waconda Spring, and Standing Rock’s whirlpool. Unfortunately, the entrance to Wakan Tibi was destroyed to create a rail system and the Army Corps destroyed both Waconda Spring and the Cannon Ball River whirlpool through dam construction.
This is the first time the 7 bands of the Sioux have come together since Little Bighorn. Hawste Wakiyan Wicasa
The Army Corps and Energy Transfer Partners have argued that the land that the pipeline crosses is not sacred since there is no evidence of buildings or burials. An archaeological assessment confirmed that no burials were present, but it did not include analysis of the landscape from the perspective cosmology and oral traditions. Not only did the decision to move forward with the pipeline ignore the fact that most indigenous sacred places do not have built structures, but it also demonstrates a lack of understanding of Sioux burial practices. The Sioux place the dead on scaffolds 6-12 feet high or in trees so they are open to the sky. The idea that the area around Turtle Island should contain built structures or bodies interred in the ground in order for it to be considered a holy site is a European perspective on religious places. Though Standing Rock citizens explained this to the government and showed evidence from oral histories and ethnographies since the 18th century, the pipeline continues to move forward.
The desire to protect Standing Rock has mobilised indigenous communities as never before. “This is the first time the seven bands of the Sioux have come together since Little Bighorn [in 1876],” Hawste Wakiyan Wicasa told BBC in an interview. “Now, we have no weapons, only prayers.” To categorise Standing Rock as anti-industry or solely an environmental protest is to misunderstand the context.
The first Sioux treaty in 1851 provided 12,500,000 acres to indigenous peoples, but it was reduced to 640,000 acres by 1910 as the US government successively broke four treaties. From the 1940-1970s, dam construction disproportionately submerged indigenous property, often targeting communities and sacred places. The two largest reservations in North Dakota were chosen as locations for reservoirs with Garrison Dam flooding 153,00 acres of indigenous property and Oahe Dam flooding 200,000 acres of Standing Rock Reservation. Losing homes, schools, and infrastructure, the dislocated families were left without roads, running water, or basic living conditions and they continue to await proper compensation. The famous scholar Vine Deloria, Jr., who was from Standing Rock, said the dam program was, “the single most destructive act ever perpetuated on any tribe by the United States.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest University of Georgia historian Claudio Saunt’s created a video showing the progression of native lands from 1776 to 2010.
Sacred places have been purposefully targeted; the Mount Rushmore monument in South Dakota was built over the Black Hills (Ȟe Sápa), the holiest site in Sioux religion, and Waconda Spring, Kansas, was submerged under the Glen Elder Dam. A unique geological formation, the decision to submerge Waconda Spring (indigenous name: Ne-Wakan Tonka) was widely protested by indigenous peoples, white residents, and the scientific community. For no practical purpose, buildings were bulldozed into the spring before it was submerged. The nationwide targeting of religious places, along with massacres (the Whitestone Hill Massacre, which killed more civilians than Wounded Knee, occurred to the east of Standing Rock), and the removal and forced re-education of indigenous children has left indigenous communities mistrustful of the government. When the pipeline was diverted from Bismarck, followed by the waiving of the mandated environmental and historical preservation assessments, indigenous communities felt the Army Corps was repeating the actions of the dam projects.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Native American reservations and reservoir projects in the United States with an inset image of reservoirs in Sioux territories, including Standing Rock. Illustration: Mateusz Polakowski
The public may not be aware of the destruction of indigenous religious sites, but to Native Americans the attacks are equivalent to the loss of sites like the Vatican, Notre Dame, the Ka’ba, or Temple Mount. “Those are our synagogues. Those are our Eiffel Towers, our pyramids. When you look out at the land, you don’t see anything like [Turtle Island]; how it comes out of the ground. Everything about us is with the Earth, including our [sacred] sites,” explained Floris White Bull when describing Turtle Island’s significance. Indigenous religious places have centuries of oral traditions demonstrating their importance and early Europeans recorded their place-names so that derivations of wakan/wicon/wakhon are found on maps across the country. The Standing Rock protest is the most recent product of a lengthy history of government and state policies that disregard native spokespersons and misunderstand what constitutes a sacred place.
The need for indigenous spokespersons in the media
There is a Sioux oral tradition of a “black snake” that would one day come to their homeland, which many in the community interpret as the pipeline. The artwork around Sacred Stone Camp depicts Upper World imagery, which reflects action to balance the cosmos against a Lower World spirit like the “black snake.” In every regard the Sioux have been consistent in their religious practice, but government and state officials do not listen to the indigenous spokespersons.
While the public was shocked to see force used against protestors at the behest of a corporation, the response was muted to some degree because the media has failed to address the religious aspects of the Water Protectors. Cast as an environmental protest, the media coverage gives the impression of hippies and anti-establishment types rather than one of the oldest religions under attack. The actions failed to garner the same phrasing or passions as the coverage of the attacks on Christian communities in the Middle East. There is a broad public failure to understand indigenous issues and religion, which is why indigenous voices are needed on the major media networks. The most significant concern should be that the United States government still does not listen or believe indigenous communities when they speak about their religion. The Standing Rock Sioux have been unequivocal about the sacred nature of Turtle Island and the path of the pipeline, yet the Army Corps, courts, and the State of North Dakota sought evidence and conducted studies to prove whether or not these statements are valid.
These policies are not confined to the Dakota Access Pipeline. At the request of 30 Native American tribes, the Obama Administration protected the sacred Bears Ears by creating a national monument. President Obama described the landscape in terms that readers should now find familiar, “Rising from the center of the southeastern Utah landscape and visible from every direction are twin buttes so distinctive that in each of the native languages of the region their name is the same: Hoon’Naqvut, Shash Jáa, Kwiyagatu Nukavachi, Ansh An Lashokdiwe, or ‘Bears Ears.’ For hundreds of generations, native peoples lived in the surrounding deep sandstone canyons, desert mesas…one of the densest and most significant cultural landscapes in the United States.” However, the Trump Administration announced a review of 24 monuments, including Bears Ears, and will potentially reverse the protection. Four of the reviewed monuments are submerged marine monuments, but 19 of the remaining 20 contain Native American sacred places or archaeological sites. Newly appointed Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch built his reputation protecting Christian religious freedom and expression, including monuments. It would be interesting to see how he would rule on an indigenous religious place.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police officers use tear gas against Water Protectors trying to access Turtle Island on November 2, 2016. Photograph: Stephanie Keith/Reuters
Oral traditions and archaeological evidence demonstrate continuity from the early cultures on the continent through present day, a religious tradition that may predate most of the world’s major religions. If members of the Cult of the River Keepers from 5,000 years ago awoke today, there is little they would recognize. However, they might identify elements of their religion in the Standing Rock Water Protectors. As the pipeline opens on May 15, it is worth having a public discussion about the religious context of Standing Rock in the hope that the surviving sacred sites will not suffer the same fate. That discussion begins by listening to indigenous spokespersons when they speak about their religion and experiences.Jim Sensenbrenner among those concerned by proposals on the table and says stance to end bulk surveillance is ‘unwavering’
Advocates for the curtailment of bulk surveillance are pre-emptively opposing a reform proposal presented to the White House under which responsibility for the National Security Agency’s vast database of US phone records would be handed over to the FBI.
That proposal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is one of several options under internal consideration for revamping the NSA’s mass collection of phone data, all of which are fiercely contested for varying reasons by spies, privacy groups, phone companies and legislators.
Privacy advocates took the four ideas that have been presented to the White House as an indication of how strongly the NSA and its allies are fighting to preserve their powers in the wake of whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations about surveillance.
Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican who authored the USA Freedom Act, a bill to end bulk domestic surveillance, said he was “unwavering” in his stance after hearing of the new options the administration is considering.
“While I am willing to sit down with President Obama and my colleagues in Congress to negotiate certain aspects of the bill, my stance to end bulk collection of innocent Americans’ data is unwavering,” Sensenbrenner told the Guardian on Wednesday.
“Bulk collection has never been authorized by Congress and I intend to stop this blatant abuse of the law.”
Senator Ron Wyden, another critic of bulk surveillance, told the Guardian: “Ending ineffective collection that violates constitutional protections, adds little or no unique value, and could be replaced by less intrusive methods makes more sense than trying to continue it.”
Other options, familiar from Obama’s January 17 speech on surveillance, are to give the phone data to a private entity such as the telephone companies, or to an as-yet-undefined non-governmental custodian.
The administration is additionally considering whether to require an expanded mandate for the companies to retain customer data beyond the point at which they now purge it.
“The president was very clear. He did not want the government in the business of this bulk collection, so shifting this to the FBI is not an answer,” said Michelle Richardson, a surveillance lobbyist for the ACLU.
A final option under consideration, advocated by civil libertarians since the publication of reporting based on material provided by Snowden began, would be to end the bulk collection entirely, leaving the NSA to acquire phone data through a warrant based on individualized suspicion of connections to terrorism or espionage.
White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to discuss the specifics of the proposals. Obama is due to make a decision by March 28, when the current legal mandate for bulk phone records collection issued by the secret Fisa court expires.
“Since the speech, the Department of Justice and the intelligence community have been at work developing options consistent with the president’s direction,” Hayden said.
“They have kept us abreast of their progress, and we look forward to reviewing those options. Moreover, as the president noted in his remarks, we will also consult with Congress to seek their views on this issue, and then seek congressional authorization, as needed.”
Privacy advocates consider the post-NSA surveillance choices under consideration weighted toward the status quo – or, in the case of giving the data to the FBI, a step backward.
“The FBI’s history of abusing the civil liberties of Americans is longer even than the NSA’s,” said Shahid Buttar, the executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, which is supporting state and federal legislative efforts to restrain the NSA.
“The US Congress found wide-ranging problems spanning several decades the last time anyone even looked very closely at the FBI, which is long overdue for a thorough investigation of the sort of the Church Committee performed in the 70s.”
On Capitol Hill, battle lines over surveillance became starker this week, with Congressman Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who chairs the intelligence committee, opposing a shift in the bulk collection away from the NSA. The main congressional alternative, Sensenbrenner’s USA Freedom Act, seeks to end the bulk collection in favor of requiring the government to obtain legal orders for data tied to specific suspicions of wrongdoing.
During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, the nominee to run the Justice Department’s National Security Division, John Carlin, recalled cases in which phone companies “have been able to respond very, very quickly to the FBI” in a manner that aided national security investigations.
Wyden, whose question prompted Carlin’s response, argued Wednesday that such fleetness indicated that bulk collection could be safely ended, rather than restructured.
“Government agencies can already get the information they need to protect the country using individual records requests. Phone companies are capable of responding to those requests very quickly in emergencies and already store their customers’ records for a fairly long time. I see no need to require companies to do anything they aren’t already doing,” Wyden said.
Richardson said the current internal wrangling reflected a pattern of US spy agencies attempting to turn public outrage to their advantage.
“This is standard operating procedure for the intel community. When you’re caught with your hand in the cookie jar, why not ask for a glass of milk, too?” she said.
Also on Wednesday, the Justice Department formally requested that the Fisa court permit the government to hold domestic phone data beyond the five-year point at which the NSA is supposed to purge it.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration claims it needs to hold the data longer in order to respond to the lawsuits that are challenging the legality of the bulk collection of that data.Cut to: Army helicopters swarming overhead as soldiers load semiautomatic weapons on the Marina Green in San Francisco and Chloe and Xander are briefed on what is happening across the country. A Navy admiral shows them footage of a shark jumping out of New York Harbor and biting the head off the Statue of Liberty. “At least they can’t invade dry land,” Chloe says.
“Think again,” the admiral says, then points to the video: the shark has legs.
“They’re mutating!” Xander gasps.
“Or evolving,” the admiral says.
Just then, the Golden Gate Bridge starts to sway behind them. “What is that?” a soldier screams. When Chloe turns to look, there are three monster sharks with enormous T. Rex legs, rising from the waves and marching across the bay. One is breathing fire. Another is shooting lasers from its eyes. Another is gulping down trolley cars like popcorn, and all three set about leveling San Francisco.
“You’re gonna need a bigger skyline,” Xander whispers....
The original “Jaws,” released in 1975, was the first movie to make more than $100 million at the box office, and it has been blamed for every insipid summer blockbuster to hit the theaters ever since. For example: “ ‘Jaws’ whet corporate appetites for big profits quickly, which is to say studios wanted every film to be ‘Jaws,’ ” writes Peter Biskind in his 1998 book, “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.” The movie’s success “single-handedly [drove] serious movies off the summertime calendar,” Walter Shapiro wrote in Slate in 2002. “Hollywood had been happy to hit for average,” John Podhoretz wrote in 2010 in The Weekly Standard. “After ‘Jaws,’ it began swinging for grand slams.”
As a business model, “Jaws” may well have upended the movie industry. Creatively, though, it’s increasingly strange to blame “Jaws” for spawning the modern blockbuster, given how little Steven Spielberg’s esoteric, character-driven story has in common with today’s action extravaganzas. Compared with movies like “Pacific Rim,” “World War Z” and “White House Down,” “Jaws” is an art-house film. And a very good one: the film built suspense by focusing on what you couldn’t see more than on what you could. The young swimmer, up to her shoulders in murky water. A boy’s dangling legs, viewed from under the water. A swaying fishing boat, creaking eerily in the darkness.
Even when the shark is attacking, what we mostly see is splashing in the dark, a screaming woman just before being submerged. “It speaks well of this director’s gifts that some of the most frightening sequences in ‘Jaws’ are those where we don’t even see the shark,” Frank Rich wrote in New Times. (Indeed, the shark’s close-up toward the end may represent the least dramatic moment of the whole film.)
This approach was perfectly in keeping with Peter Benchley’s novel, which for long stretches reads like a John Cheever tale of small-town adultery featuring intermittent appearances by a shark. “Jaws,” the movie, focused on an obsessed patriarch and police chief named Brody. His home life — as would become a Spielberg signature in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T.” — was a disconcerting flurry of constant talk and movement, underscored by a buzzing thrum of domestic stress. The flocked wallpaper, the blaring telephone, a child’s bleeding hand: these details were designed to foreshadow the fact that the world is slipping out of our protagonist’s control. Throw in a manicured hand being eaten by crabs, a kid’s raft floating to shore with bite marks in it and a young son dragged from the water in shock as his mother yells, “He’s dead!” and you’ve got an unnerving tale of beach-town bliss gone horribly awry.Washington (AFP) - The United States confirmed it had restocked Israel's supplies of ammunition, hours after finally sharpening its tone to condemn an attack on a United Nations school in Gaza.
But while both the White House and the State Department condemned the shelling of the UN-run school in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza in which at least 16 Palestinians were killed, neither would assign blame to staunch US ally Israel.
"Obviously nothing justifies the killing of innocent civilians seeking shelter in a UN facility," deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf acknowledged, in some of the toughest US comments since the start of the 23-day fighting in the Gaza Strip.
"Innocent Palestinians seeking refuge in these schools should not have shells dropped on them, should not come under attack."
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said Israeli forces had hit the school, which had been sheltering some 3,300 Gazans.
But despite heated exchanges with reporters, Harf stressed that "we don't know for certain who shelled this school, we need to get all the facts."
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan also condemned "those responsible for hiding weapons in United Nations facilities in Gaza" and warned of rising fears that thousands of Palestinians who have been told by Israel to leave their homes increasingly had nowhere to go in the blockaded narrow coastal strip.
US officials also warned that patience with "crazy" Israeli criticism of would-be-peacemaker John Kerry had snapped.
- New ammunition for Israel -
The Pentagon confirmed the Israeli military had requested additional ammunition to restock its dwindling supplies on July 20, with the US Defense Department approving the sale just three days later.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
"This defense sale is consistent with those objectives."
Two of the requested munitions came from a little-known stockpile of ammunition stored by the US military on the ground in Israel for emergency use by the Jewish state. The War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel is estimated to be worth $1 billion.
The decision to provide ammunition to Israel could fuel controversy, coming just as Washington expresses growing concern about the deaths of more than 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, since the Israeli operation began on July 8.
Kirby said Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told his Israeli counterpart that the United States was concerned about the deadly consequences of the spiraling conflict, including a "worsening humanitarian situation" in Gaza, and called for a ceasefire and end to hostilities.
He also renewed calls for the disarmament of Gaza's Hamas rulers and "all terrorist groups."
Relations between Israel and its staunch ally the United States have plunged in recent days after Kerry returned from a mission to the Middle East to try to broker a ceasefire between the Israelis and Hamas militants.
Anonymous Israeli officials have hit out at Kerry's truce proposal, calling it "a strategic terrorist attack" and criticizing it for being a "Hamas wish-list" including moves to lift a long-standing Israeli blockade of Gaza while failing to address Israel's security concerns, such as Hamas rocket fire and a network of underground tunnels.
And on Tuesday a fabricated transcript of a call between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went viral on social media.
- Out to hurt ties? -
Stressing the "unprecedented" US support for the Jewish state, Harf hit out at Israeli elites' "offensive and absurd" claims that Kerry backs Hamas.
She rubbished the fake transcript as "complete crap," adding "there's clearly people... who are putting out false and defamatory and absurd information."
"I don't know what else you can assume about the intentions except that they’re designed to hurt our relationship," she added.
Washington, which has provided billions in military aid to Israel, including funding the Iron Dome shield protecting the country from Hamas rockets, was "very committed" to the security of the Jewish state, which is "why these vicious attacks on the secretary are just crazy," she added.
And US lawmakers are working on a package of additional military support from Washington to commit $225 million for the Iron Dome missile defense shield.
More than 100 people died in Israeli strikes across Gaza Wednesday, medics said, including 17 at a crowded marketplace, sending the Palestinian toll from the 23 days of fighting to 1,363.
On the Israeli side, the conflict has cost the lives of 56 Israeli soldiers, and two civilians.(CNN) Five people shot, including two police officers. Two people stabbed and killed. Three vehicles stolen, including one police vehicle and another taken in a carjacking.
And those are just the crimes police know about, Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel said Monday.
Michael Vance's savage week of killings, police shootings and Facebook boasts ended Sunday when the fugitive was killed in a shootout. On Monday, Whetsel announced the arrest of a man in Oklahoma City who allegedly admitted to providing Vance with guns and bandages after his rampage began.
Vance, 38, had been on the run since October 23 -- the day he shot two Oklahoma officers and killed two relatives. After wounding the officers, Vance appeared on Facebook Live, bragging about his exploits and portending more violence to come.
His demise came Sunday, after Dewey County Sheriff Clay Sander pulled him over. That's when gunfire erupted.
A chaotic final day
Vance had been camping out in Hammon, Oklahoma, about 150 miles west of where his rampage began in Wellston. On Sunday, he managed to evade authorities hot on his trail by fleeing in a car.
CNN Map
Around 9:30 p.m., Dewey County Sheriff Clay Sander caught up with Vance and pulled him over. Vance shot the sheriff in the left forearm and shoulder before escaping once again, U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Dave Turk said.
About 45 minutes later, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper found Vance, and a second shoot-out ensued, Turk said. Vance was killed, ending an intense, week-long manhunt for the suspected killer and child abuser.
How the rampage unfolded
Sunday, October 23
Vance shot and wounded two Wellston police officers who were responding to a disturbance call, authorities said.
The wounded officers returned fire, striking Vance at least twice, the Lincoln County sheriff said. Vance managed to flee in a stolen patrol car.
While still in the stolen police car, Vance posted a video on Facebook.
"This is more intense than I thought it would be, to say the least," he said. "This truck is about dead... I'm about to steal another car. Like right now."
Investigators believe Vance then shot a woman while trying to steal a Lincoln Town Car.
Authorities spotted a Lincoln Town Car at a house in Luther, just northeast of Oklahoma City. There, police found the bodies of Robert and Valerie Kay Wilkson -- later identified as Vance's aunt and uncle.
Both were stabbed, and Robert Wilkson was also shot. Based on the stab wounds, the killer is believed to have apparently tried to behead Wilkson and dismember his wife.
Monday, October 24
Authorities searched the house and found a pink T-shirt believed to be the one Vance wore in his Facebook videos.
They also found two shell casings -- a kind typically fired from an AK-47. Police believe a weapon shown in one of Vance's Facebook videos was an AK-47.
Tuesday, October 25 through Sunday, October 30
Vance continued eluding authorities. While he was on the loose, Oklahoma Highway Patrol warned that he had a communicable disease that he may try to spread.
At some point, he stopped in Oklahoma City at the home of convicted felon Danny Roach, Whetsel said Monday. He declined to elaborate on how they knew each other.
Roach told police that Vance visited his home after the killings in Luther, Whetsel said. Vance directed Roach to his Facebook page and pointed out his broadcasts.
Vance described cutting the "wrong side" of the female victim's neck, saying he had to cut the other side, Whetsel said. Vance also told Roach that he killed another woman because she lied to him, the sheriff said, without providing further detail.
Roach told police he gave Vance bandages to treat his wounds, Whetsel said. He gave Vance ammunition and traded guns with him, providing him with an AK-47 with a short barrel to give him a "better tactical advantage."
At one point, a police car drove by Roach's home and he served as lookout for Vance, Whetsel said.
Roach was arrested Saturday and charged on Monday with two counts of accessory to felony murder after the fact, Whetsel said.
Sunday night
Sander, the Dewey County sheriff, pulled Vance over near Hammon, in the western part of the state. The sheriff was wounded in a shootout, and Vance escaped.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper later spotted Vance, who was killed in a second shootout.
Child sex abuse allegations
JUST WATCHED Killing suspect on the loose in Oklahoma Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Killing suspect on the loose in Oklahoma 02:07
Vance was incensed after he was arrested in July on accusations of child sexual assault, his uncle told CNN affiliate KFOR. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said Vance had been recently released from jail.
In one of his Facebook Live posts, Vance thanked his sister for "believing in me."
"Everything that was said, it was all a setup," Vance said while on the run.
The uncle said he now thinks Vance may have begun planning his rampage weeks earlier since he asked relatives to help him get a gun. But the uncle said he couldn't predict the violent events that followed. "This is a nightmare we can't wake up from," he said.
Whetsel said he had "no idea" whether his pending charges had anything to do with the rampage.
"There's a lot of things we would like to ask him we can't," he said, "a lot of questions we'll never get an answer to."Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday backed German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “strong leadership” in uniting the European Union at a time when the economic grouping was showing signs of strain post Brexit and over the protectionist policies of US President Donald Trump.
Modi, whose visit to Germany comes less than a week after Merkel provided the strongest indication yet that the EU and the US under President Trump were drifting apart, said India would play a positive role in boosting unity in the grouping.
Modi’s support comes at a crucial time for Merkel, who has been fighting secessionist tendencies within the bloc since Britain decided to leave the 28-member bloc through a referendum in June last year.
The Prime Minister praised her “strong leadership” and said a EU-focused vision is what the world needs.
“EU unity, proactiveness and strong relations with other countries is extremely important for global development. We want the EU to become stronger and India will play a positive role towards that through the medium of Germany,” he told reporters at a joint briefing with Merkel.
Modi said India and Germany were “made for each other”.
Merkel last week had said that reliable ties forged since the end of World War II “are to some extent over.” Germany’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel also blasted the US, saying the Trump administration’s “short-sighted policies... stand against the interest of the European Union”.
The remarks came soon after G7 and NATO summits, where news reports suggested that not all was well between her and Trump, who is leading the US towards a more protectionist stance on economic issues and has called for NATO to pay for their share of expenditure of the Atlantic alliance.
The two countries are also not on the same page on climate policies. Trump has vowed to walk away from the historic Paris deal while Merkel supports the agreement.
“Europe and the world are facing lots of challenges and to fight those, India believes, the world needs the strong leadership of Chancellor Merkel,” Modi added.
Merkel on Tuesday repeated that Europe must “take our fate into our own hands” and went on to say that it should step up as a diplomatic player on the international stage.
In Washington, Trump swiftly reacted to Merkel’s comments. Soon after her statement, Trump tweeted, “We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for US. This will change(sic).”
Merkel, however, had also said Germany’s relationship with the US was of “outstanding importance” but it must also engage with other important nations.
“We live in a globalised world and India...is a partner,” she said.
Germany is the largest trade partner for India in the European Union (EU) |
the sport.
“I would like to see technology that shows the complexity and how difficult it is for players to make split-second decisions,” he noted.
Reyna added that using video technology to review potential goals “needs to happen.” Donovan agreed, noting that “I’m very much in favor of getting things right.”
“We work too hard in the preseason and through the year to get to a point in the season where you know you scored goal and it went over the line, but the linesman didn’t see it and there’s no technology to tell you that and you lose,” Donovan said. “That would devastate me. That affects jobs and careers and livelihoods and families. I’m in favor of getting it right, and technology can help us get it right.
“Now, if it takes four minutes every time there’s a potential goal — maybe we need to look at it,” Donovan continued. “But I think there are very easy ways, especially with headset communication between officials, to say yes or no.”FTC's Attempt To Broadly Expand Misguided Child Protection Law Will Chill Innovation
from the well-meaning,-but-bad-policy dept
The FTC plans to put COPPA obligations on plugin developers if they “know or have reason to know” that their plugin has been installed on a children’s site. “Plugins” include analytics providers, advertising networks, social media plugins, embedded videos, or anyone else who provides third-party code for websites. Under the FTC's proposed change, if plugin developers receive a user’s IP address through a plugin that’s been installed on a children’s site, they could face legal liability for collecting children’s personal information.
It’s unclear how a plugin or platform like Twitter is supposed to “know or have reason to know” that someone has cut and pasted a line of their code into a children’s site. The FTC says that plugin developers “will not be free to ignore credible information brought to their attention.” But the FTC doesn’t say what counts as “credible.” Would developers have to assume every random e-mail is a credible tip that could saddle them with legal liability? Even if the FTC did provide clarity, though, it would still be extraordinarily burdensome to place legal obligations on plugin developers based on the actions of others.
Things get worse with the FTC’s second major proposal: expanding the scope of sites deemed “directed to children” from sites aimed primarily at a very young audience to include sites and services that are “likely to attract an audience that includes a disproportionately large percentage of children under 13 as compared to the percentage of such children in the general population.”
This convoluted standard raises a number of serious issues. Not only is it difficult for site operators to gauge what proportions of their audience fall into arbitrary age buckets, but the FTC also gives operators no sense of what it means for an audience to be “disproportionately” composed of children in comparison to the general population. If a site’s audience is 20 percent children, is it disproportionately composed of children? What about at 30 percent? It’s not clear from the language, and it won’t be clear to website operators trying to run their sites while staying within the bounds of the law.
We've written a few times about the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and how it was put in place without any data and without much concern for unintended consequences. As danah boyd has shown in her research, COPPA hasn't necessarily done much to protect children. Instead, it's made parents teach their kids it's okay to lie about their age. It's also why so many websites have seemingly arbitrary restrictions on kids under the age of 13. It's one of those "think of the children" laws that people want to like because itgood, and no one wants to support big businesses preying on children. But, the reality is that it has tremendous problems -- unintended consequences that limit various services -- and does little to actually protect children.And, of course, the FTC wants to expand it even further.They're asking for comments on the proposed changes in the rules, and if you develop websites or apps, you might want to speak up. CDT has put together a letter people can sign if they don't want to write up some comments themselves. They also have explained many of the problems with the new proposals. For example, it expands what COPPA applies to in very broad ways, potentially creating liability for developers without them even realizing it:The end result would almost certainly involve those companies putting a lot more limits on their apps, and create a huge cost (and potential liability) for all sorts of plugin and app writers. But there's an even bigger problem. While COPPA was clearly limited at sites directed at children, the FTC seems to think this wasn't enough, because other sites not directed at children might still attract children... and so they want this problematic rule to expand to sites who don't even cater to children:In fact, as CDT notes, this change almost certainly will do the exact opposite of what the rule intends. That is, it will make sites feel they need to collect more data about who is accessing their sites to make sure that they know if their audience includes kids, in which case they'll have to take steps. But that means they'll be... collecting more data about kids -- which is exactly what COPPA is supposed to stop.The FTC folks who support COPPA are certainly well meaning, but they seem to have little concern or interest about the real impact of the law and their specific rules around it, and how it not only fails to help protect children, but puts a serious damper on innovation as well.
Filed Under: apps, coppa, ftc, plugins, privacy, unintended consequencesThe International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees has won a contract on the drama Mustang after crew members in Carson City, NV, walked off the job and took to the picket line. “After negotiations went late into the night, the crew returned to work with the benefits of a union agreement in place,” the union said Thursday.
IATSE also said that an “aggressive” member of the production team “who was the source of our labor practice charge has been fired.” Strikers also will get a day’s pay for the lost day of work. The new contract includes a 10-hour daily turnaround, weekend turnaround, triple time after 15 work hours and meal penalties.
“Now that this is a union production, IATSE members are permitted to service this production,” the union said.
The film, from French producer Alain Goldman through his Legende Films, stars Matthias Schoenaerts as a convict who trains wild mustangs as part of a rehabilitation program and Susan Sarandon as the prison therapist. Goldman could not be reached for comment.Archdiocese of Dublin The Chancellery 29th October 2010 Personal & Confidential Dear _____ I am writing to you in response to your correspondence in which you confirmed your wish to leave the Catholic Church. As you may have read in news reports, the Canon Law of the Catholic Church was recently change on this matter and it now no longer possible, as it was for some years, to make a formal act of defection from the Church. The law concerning defectation, introduced in 1983, was designed especially to address the right to marry. THe intention was to facilitate the excercise of the right to marry by those Catholics who due to their estrangement from the Church were unlikely to wish a Church ceremony. The measure was thus to ensure that any marriage entered into after formal defectation would be valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church. You will understand that this was something important to a spouse who would still have been a practising Catholic. In the last few years a considerable number of Catholics have wished to make an act of formally defecting from the Church. They have done so for a variety of reasons such as: as a form of protest against or rejection of what the Church teaches; as a response to the reprehensible events surrounding and including the sexual abuse of children by priests and religious. Many in the past have left the Church without following a formal process. While the de facto defectations do not have a legal effect, the Church would obviously hope that the desire of those who wish to leave the Church would be respected. The Archdiocese of Dublin will, as of now, maintain a register for those who wish their de facto defectation from the Church to be recorded. As a response to your request your name has now been recorded in this register. It may be of interest for you to note that the Archdiocese does not make use of baptismal registers for calculating the Catholic population of the Archdiocese of Dublin. It relies solely on the data from the Central Statistics Office, obtained through teh census, by which citzens themselves choose to record, or not, their religious affiliation. Yours sincerely, SIGNATURE Revered Fintan Gavin Assistant Chancellor fintan@chancellery.orgDuring the next five weeks, the CalPERS board, custodian of $326 billion in assets needed to fulfill retirement promises for 1.8 million California public employees and beneficiaries, will make decisions affecting government budgets for decades to come.
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Opinion: Housing is key to Mountain View’s North Bayshore success The problem is, despite their fiduciary duty under the state Constitution to “protect the competency of the assets” under their absolute control, CalPERS is roughly $153 billion short of fully funding the retirement promises earned to date.
How did CalPERS dig this huge hole? During the last decade, they manipulated actuarial assumptions and methods to keep employer and employee contribution rates low in the short term.
Besides over-estimating investment returns, CalPERS uses very long amortization schedules to push debts onto future generations, greatly increasing the pension system’s long-term cost. As a result, CalPERS is just 68 percent funded, barely above what would be “critical” status for private-sector pension plans.
Just like a family that assumes it will receive healthy raises every year and only makes minimum payments on its credit card debts, there must be a day of reckoning. Yet it is not clear the CalPERS board recognizes this important momentis now.
This week, CalPERS will discuss its quadrennial Asset Liability Management process, one that assesses its financial position and proposes course corrections. The results are pretty bleak.
All pension plans make many assumptions about the future, but the most important is the assumed rate of return on investments. The money available to pay pension benefits comes from employer and employee contributions and the investment earnings on those assets. The higher the return, the less money government agencies and employees must contribute each year.
CalPERS assumes it will earn 7 percent on its assets for the next decade, an assumption that might look good now, reflecting the historic stock market run-up since the Great Recession, but CalPERS staff knows better.
Their presentations for this week’s meetings include compelling charts showing the S&P 500 price-to-earnings ratio is nearly twice its historic average, meaning the stock market is ripe for a significant correction and the average rate of return might be just 3 percent to 4 percent during the next 10 years.
Indeed, last year independent experts told CalPERS board members to expect a 6.2 percent average 10-year return, advice which they ignored when they opted instead for the 7 percent rate.
The second most important actuarial factor is how fast pension funds pay down their unfunded liabilities. Although federal law requires private-sector pension funds to make up for their investment shortfalls in seven years, CalPERS uses a much easier 30-year amortization schedule that increases total costs.
To their credit, the CalPERS staff is recommending a 20-year amortization of new investment losses, a good step towards adopting the best practice. As the staff report notes, the current policy pushes debts to future generations and falls outside of industry guidance.
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The biggest question is whether the CalPERS board, dominated by public employee unions, will take its staff’s advice and approve these prudent changes.
Simple math requires government employers and employees to contribute more money to fill the roughly $153 billion gap. Yet government agencies do not want pension costs to crowd out expenditures for other worthy programs. And government employees would rather have pay increases and force taxpayers 30 years later to finish paying today’s pension bill.
The state Constitution is very clear that protecting the assets needed to fulfill pension promises is CalPERS’ first priority. We will see whether the political temptation to take impotent half measures is stronger than CalPERS’ fiduciary duty to maximize fund security. The California taxpayers of 2047 have a huge stake in this decision.
Dan Pellissier is the president of California Pension Reform, an advocacy group seeking solutions to California’s public pension problems.Despite the barrage of mainstream media articles in the United States (and abroad) that soccer has, indeed, “arrived in America” there remains a hangnail that, if staying power is a legitimate concern, is desperate for clipping: Diving.
Racial abuse aside (more on this below), diving is arguably the worst on-the-pitch problem in the game today. It fools referees, ruins matches and wrongly influences the youth while infuriating players, managers and fans. Which is exactly why the game’s governing organizations need to take an immediate stance and eradicate the cancer from our very existence.
Recently FIFA vice-president, Jim Boyce, posited the theory that players who dive should be sent off rather than shown a yellow card. “I think cheating has to be eradicated from the game,” Boyce told BBC World’s ‘Have Your Say’. “If it is absolutely no question whatsoever that it is a dive, I think perhaps Fifa have to look at whether that should be a red-card offense.”
Key to Boyce’s point, however, is that the offense should be handled by the referee at the time of the incident and not through video technology. “I believe that we don’t want to ruin our game by bringing in a lot more technology,” he said.
While Boyce’s recognition of the problem is admirable, the rationale behind not using video technology is a glowing example of FIFA’s debilitating failure to modernize, not to mention that it’s just plain incorrect.
“More technology” is not needed because all the cameras are already in place. And so too are the rules that allow referees to retrospectively review “serious breaches of the principle of fair play” so long as they’ve been missed by referees. Incidents of players engaging in punching, spitting, head-butting, verbal insults and racist slurs have all been the subject of retrospective suspensions for guilty players.
So why not diving? Has this despicable act not yet risen to the level of a verbal insult?
The solution is one that would go miles to turning might-be fans who pop up every four years for the World Cup into regular supporters of the beautiful game: Establish a fair play panel within FIFA and all league governing organizations across the globe. The panel’s duty would be to review, either by complaint or sua sponte, on-pitch actions that violate “serious breaches of the principle of fair play” including, in some instances, those seen by the referee.
This last component is key. Governing bodies have long reserved reviewing video for moments that the referee doesn’t see on the pitch but when it comes to serious fair play breaches that unequivocally damage the game, the time has come to carve out an exception to the rule.
And the punishment?
A one match suspension every time a player conclusively goes to ground without being touched and for the purpose of gaining an advantage.
It’s a simple adjustment that could prove momentous for the players, the fans (and would-be fans) and the game.
Follow @mprindiBLACKWOOD, N.J. (CBS) — A 13-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with five sexual contact incidents in an apartment complex in Camden County.
Investigators say the incidents began in December of last year at the Autumn Ridge Apartments on Little Gloucester Road in Blackwood, New Jersey.
This woman says her friend was attacked.
“She kind of fought with him and actually kicked him so she was able to get away from him and then her husband heard her screaming and she was able to get into her apartment,” she said.
According to investigators, on Sunday, a resident of the complex spotted a suspect matching the description of the male wanted in the sexual contact cases.
Officers responded to the scene and eventually tracked the 13-year-old down after a brief chase. Authorities say the suspect attends a school in Camden.
Gloucester Township Police Department provided the details of the incidents:
January 31, 2014: Suspect approached woman, shows her a condom. As she walks away, suspect grabs her buttocks, woman screams and suspect runs away.
February 18, 2014: Suspect approaches a woman who is clearing snow off her car, grabs her buttocks and attempts to kiss her, woman screams and suspect runs away.
February 18, 2014: Suspect approaches another woman walking, grabs her buttocks and attempts to kiss her, woman screams and suspect runs away.
February 20, 2014: Suspect approached a woman going to her apartment, grabs her buttocks, she yells at him and suspect flees.
Unknown date in December 2013: After seeing Gloucester Township Police Community Crime Alert, woman reported that a male approached her and rubbed her shoulders inappropriate way, she yelled at him and he fled.
“During the investigation we do believe it was perhaps someone younger, not certainly that they they would be 13-years-old and that did take us by surprise,” Chief Harry Earle of Gloucester Township Police said.
The suspect has been charged with the following charges for each incident: 2nd Degree Attempted Sexual Assault, 4th degree Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact, Lewdness and Harassment.
People who live here are glad an arrest has been made.
“Hopefully they caught him and we don’t have this problem around here anymore. I feel a lot safer,” a resident said.
The teen, whose name was not released, is being held at the Camden County Juvenile Detention Center.Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace on Earth, good will toward men, and other stuff that gets scanty press the other 364 days of the year. However much we like the idea of the season working its magic to better human nature, the combination of shortened tempers, end-of-year disappointments, family feuds, and/or free flowing booze can send even a mild-mannered individual reaching for the axe to carve their way into holiday homicide history. Here are ten epic fails of the seasonal spirit during the 19th century or so:
10 Hopkinsville, Kentucky December 24, 1900
In a “quart house”—an unlicensed bar selling moonshine—about 16 miles outside of town, a group of four young men, including the bar’s owner, celebrated the holiday season by downing homemade whiskey by the pint until they got stinking drunk. At five o’clock in the afternoon, another young man, Marion Henderson, joined the party looking for a good time. Shortly afterward, Bob Morris accused Henderson of blocking his light, drew his revolver, and shot the man in the chest at close range. The bullet lodged near Henderson’s heart, and he died before help could arrive. His wife was summoned to identify the body.
9 Chamberburg, Ohio December 24, 1880
A dance at the Foresters’ Hall ended in tragedy when Theodore Hanley challenged the doorkeeper and demanded entrance. The doorkeeper called the floor manager, 23-year old Michael “Doll” Shively, who explained that according to the rules, no gentleman would be admitted without a lady partner. The argument escalated. Heated words were exchanged. Hanley tried to force his way inside. Was he drunk? Witnesses later testified he was sober as a judge. When Shively stood in his way, Hanley drew his revolver and shot him in the top of his head. The bullet passed vertically through his skull and lodged in the roof of his mouth. Shively died at 5 A.M. on Christmas morning. Hanley fled after stealing his brother’s horse.
8 Savannah, Georgia December 24, 1898
This was a busy night for the Savannah police, who made over 150 arrests, including two murders. Charles Low and Charles Green got into an argument over two women. Low stabbed Green in the belly. He bled to death shortly afterward. The second murder occurred when Queen Martin quarreled with her paramour and stabbed him in the heart. The most unusual crime of the evening occurred when Mayor R.W. Olive of Pembroke, Georgia was assaulted by Paul Canady. Despite being badly beaten, Mayor Olive pistol-whipped Canady and almost bit off his thumb in the altercation. Newspaper accounts speculated His Honor would demand further satisfaction from Canady in a public duel.
7 Livermore, Kentucky December 24, 1900
Holiday dances were hazardous places at the turn of the century. Two rivals—John Froge and M. Garman—were both in love with Lillie Lambert. During the dancing in the ballroom, Froge deliberately tripped Garman. When Garman strenuously objected, Froge whipped out two revolvers and began shooting. As bullets flew around him, Garman ran next door, acquired a shotgun, returned, and blew off Froge’s head. Although clearly a case of self-defense, Garman’s guilty conscience prompted him to skip town and lie low, which he did until March, when he finally confessed to the sheriff in Carlinville, Illinois.
6 St. Louis, Missouri December 25, 1895
In the St. Louis tenderloin district known as the Deep Morgan, Lee “Stack Lee” Shelton – a very fashionable dresser for a pimp and whorehouse boss – went into a saloon on 13th Street where he met his friend, William Lyons. Unfortunately, strong liquor and political discussion rarely make a cordial mix. Shelton was a Democrat. Lyons, a Republican. Insults turned into a slap fight, and Lyons’ bowler hat was crushed. He demanded payment for the ruined hat and took Shelton’s Stetson hostage. Shelton then drew a revolver, and deliberately shot him dead. Does the story sound familiar? It should if you’re a fan of folk music. Much later, the events would become the basis of a song, Stagger Lee.
5 Mangum, Texas December 24, 1885
Three men got together that night to brag about their conquests of the fairer sex — Jack Doyle, Don Sullivan, and his friend, Buck Hannon. At some point in the mutual swagger fest, Sullivan not only insulted Doyle’s wife, but boasted that he’d had sex with her too. During the resulting quarrel, Sullivan drew a revolver. So did Doyle – and he was quicker on the trigger. His bullet took Sullivan through the heart. Honor satisfied, Doyle calmly walked down the street to a hotel, only to be shot by Hannon, avenging his friend. Hannon rode out of town to escape the hangman. The two dead men were buried on Christmas Day. Lacking a preacher, the citizens of Mangum gathered around the graves and said silent prayers.
4 Ashland, Kentucky December 24, 1881
Robert Gibbons, a 17-year-old amputee, his sister Fannie, 14, and their friend Emma Carico, 15, were asleep when someone entered the Gibbons family home in the very early morning hours and bludgeoned them to death with an axe and a crowbar. For good measure, the killer set the house on fire. Neighbors alerted by the flames rushed to help and discovered the three bodies with their skulls smashed to pieces. The town doctor also found the girls had been raped. Ultimately, three men were accused of the crime: George Ellis, William Neal, and George Craft. Ellis later recanted his confession, but died at the hands of a lynch mob. Craft and Neal were hanged legally after a couple of trials, venue changes, and a lot of drama.
3 New York City, New York December 25, 1901
John Bell – a man who lived in Brooklyn – had a wife of fifteen years, Margaret, who returned from a trip to Scotland to inform him that she was pregnant. Although he had no evidence of infidelity, he suspected the baby wasn’t his. For weeks, he bullied, threatened, and verbally abused her. Instead of getting in the Christmas mood, he brooded. She grew sick of his attitude and told him he was being ridiculous. At last, insane with jealousy, he confronted her in the basement of their home with a revolver, intending to kill her and then himself. In desperation, she leaped at him and they struggled for the weapon. Bell wrenched away and shot Margaret through the left eye. After she died, he changed his mind about the proposed suicide, went outside, and confessed to a policeman.
2 Pittsburg, Pennsylvania December 25, 1894
Think your last holiday dinner party went horribly wrong? John Johnston, his wife Amy, his friend Daniel Herron, Daniel’s wife, and a mutual friend, George Cassell, gathered together in Johnston’s house to spend a nice evening celebrating Christmas with food, drink, and the inevitable airing of past grievances once the booze started making its rounds. At about seven o’clock, after an argument over a old grudge turned bitter, Herron drew a gun and tried to shoot Johnston – but Amy leaped to her husband’s defense and took the bullet in her right side. Suddenly sobered by what he’d done, Herron ran back to his own house, where he was arrested for manslaughter when Amy Johnston’s wound proved fatal.
1 New York City, New York December 25, 1878
Perhaps the most horrible of the lot: Sarah Hayden, 16-years-old and married for three months, had a male acquaintance in the neighborhood, Felix Lavelle, 21, whom she’d known a while. Pretty, flirty, playful Sarah liked her games with Lavelle, which included searching his trouser and jacket pockets for candy when they met in the street. As it turned out, there was a six-shooter in his pocket.
Lavelle removed the revolver, took out a cartridge, and gave it to Sarah as a keepsake. Next, he cocked the hammer, pointed the weapon at her, and accidentally pulled the trigger—an act likely meant to give her a little scare. Instead, he shot her in the left breast at point blank range. Lavelle helped the dying Sarah to a doorstep and waited in a daze for the police. He was arrested, convicted of second degree murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Follow us on Facebook or subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter so you don't miss out on our latest lists.Halloween is back with its mysterious saga to bring back the joys and celebrations of the family. Be it trendy looks, gorgeous makeovers, skintight jeans, celebrity apparels or ghostly hats, we all get confused with what to wear and how to dress up. In this article, you will find best Halloween costumes along with many party ideas to organize a grand festival.
Best Halloween Costumes 2017
We will talk about outfits for girls, guys, couples, toddlers and a number of other ideas including your favorite movie characters to fascinating Disney stars. Looks and Style always come first as the fashion industry and Hollywood stars dazzle around in brand new Halloween outfits.
Family Halloween Costume ideas:
It’s more than amazing that the whole family reunites to dress up together and feast together on Halloween night. Beat the drum, blow off the steam or singing merry melodious songs, all would be glorified when the family has chosen for the best Halloween costumes. These gatherings initiate secure connections and cultural literacy to our upcoming generations. They provide a symbol of harmony and unity amongst the family members. Don’t forget any of your relative or friend when celebrating festivals. Consider it the best chance to spread smiles and cheers everywhere.
Tired of familiar witchy hats and supernatural adaptions; try this silver look all over your family. Get yourself this incredible Halloween getup and feel out of the world.
Add some more googles or space helmets to make sure you dwell in the space well. Other awesome family costume ideas include Ratatouille, Clown Troupe, Care Bears, Lions and Tigers and Bears, Shark Attack, Milk and Cookies, Despicable Me 2, Dinosaur Trainers, Taco Family, Footballers, The Addams Family, and so on.
Couples Halloween Costumes:
Halloween is here again for lovers and daters. In love, every season appears to be the love season, that’s why they say “love is blind”. Enchant your loved ones with outstanding appearance and makeovers. Don’t hesitate to grab up the best Halloween costumes and be in the row with others.
Make the most of your relationship with your partner with adorable costume couple ideas. When two is better than one and we will always be the one till the end of our lives. Grab up this lovely outfit and make sure you win the fight for the best Halloween costumes this time.
While you are busy enjoying your best moments, make sure you are safe and sound. Make use of best gadgets and security systems for your home and environment.
The all-time famous Alice in the Wonderland is evergreen when it comes to the best Halloween costumes ideas. The cute and kind Alice will always find a loving partner for her.
Plus Size Halloween Costumes:
Costumes can run small and out of date. Don’t feel shy to wear your size. Comfort is the most important thing for any outfit. Many of us don’t feel comfortable with those skinny jeans and fitted tops. On this Halloween, dress up according to your wish and size. With thousands of plus size costume ideas, you can grab up the one you want for yourself.
Picture credit: Nathan Rupert
The Flintstones-style dress costume is never too big nor too old. It’s the perfect Halloween idea for men having broader physique and good height. You would look handsome and feel comfortable at the same time.
Toddler Halloween Costumes Ideas:
For toddlers, parents often like their child to stand out of the crowd and give an amusing laugh to all the relatives they visit along. The Mama’s love should be cuddly and cozy.
Covered hats and faces often give an adorable look to their innocent faces. With thousands of kiddy animal dresses and Disney characters available, make sure you pick up the best Halloween costumes for your kid this season.
Picture Credit: D. Garding
A lovely baby lion cub costume would surely correspond to your celebration this Halloween
Kids Halloween Costumes:
In this advanced age of handy gadgets, kids will surely be obsessed with something new and exciting this year. Try a ninja turtle tracksuit or a chocolate factory worker getup to let them feel they have the best Halloween costumes this season.
Do tell them that something different means something big just like a dinosaur. Don’t forget to tell them that they can’t fire dragon balls like it.
Girls Halloween Costumes
Girls love their Disney princess the most. Halloween is the time for them to feel like real fairies and use their magic wands to turn the world of their choice.
This is the best time as a parent to guide and help them in selecting suitable yet the best Halloween costumes for themselves.
Don’t persuade them to wear a usual hip-hop or the typical Hermione from the harry potter movie.
Light shades of red and orange would look undue on the young girls. The fancy makeovers may spoil the natural look and bright skin.
A red riding hood costume would remind them to be helpful and stay safe whether they are in the jungle or on a school trip. Wise parents often give messages to their children through precious gifts.
Halloween Costumes for Boys:
Boys are boys. Be it Easter, Christmas, or Halloween, all they want is jump up and fly high with wings and superpowers coming right from their Halloween costumes.
Boys are clumsy to deal at times. They love to hit and shoot, yet they aren’t fond of guns and swords. Sailor costumes, harry potter clothes and Robinson Crusoe outfits are amongst boy’s list of best Halloween costumes. Treat them special and make them responsible for their task associated with this Halloween costume.
Picture Credit: mQn Photography
Sexy Halloween Costumes for Women:
Picture Credit: Nathan Rupert
Last but not least, sexy Halloween costumes are in great demand for not only women but also for men. When partying and celebrating, we all love the best looks for ourselves.
Black cat apparels, sailor girl costumes, and usual vicious characters of Hollywood movies are most favorite when it comes to sexy Halloween outfits.
Sleek into these trendy sexy outfits to make your Halloween the best ever celebration of your lifetime.
Adult Maid Marian costume, Adult Princess Jasmine costume, Adult Elsa and Anna clothes are also among the popular ones this season.
A nurse for all is the call. Combine the pretty red frock with other accessories of similar color to get the real red sexy look this Halloween. Grab an injection to inject love and fun everywhere. Don’t miss out the red gloves.Image of a worker measuring a solar panel. In the background you can see Wind Turbines. Two different technologies to produce energy in a responsible and sustainable way (ISO 100). All my images have been processed in 16 Bits and transfer down to 8 before uploading.
It's been nearly three months since President Obama's strongly worded State of the Union address, in which he vowed to tackle climate change if Congress failed to do so. U.S. Latinos cheered this commitment, knowing that they stood to suffer should climate change continue to worsen.
Now, three months later -- and without Congress doing anything on the climate front -- we're watching for the president's next move. The Obama Administration has missed its deadline to cut industrial carbon pollution from power plants. With this missed deadline comes a new poll of Latinos nationwide, confirming that the time for President Obama to act is now.
With Congress stalled, the president has a historic opportunity to set America on the path to a sustainable energy future and fight climate change. The Obama Administration has already taken major strides in this direction, raising vehicle fuel efficiency standards from 29.7 to 54.5 miles per gallon, so we'll soon be able to travel twice as far on a tank of gas. We've invested more than $90 billion dollars toward innovations in new energy sources, smarter electric grids, advanced battery storage, and more -- solutions that are yielding benefits and creating jobs today.
But there's a lot more to do if we want to make a serious, long-term dent in the carbon that polluters are pumping into our air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already proposed standards to limit carbon pollution from new power plants -- the first time in U.S. history power plants will be subject to such controls. Coal-fired power plants are the biggest global warming culprit in the country (responsible for around 40 percent of our emissions), and these historic standards will ensure new plants won't be able to spew carbon pollution unchecked.
These standards are important for Latinos. Nearly half of all U.S. Latinos live in the country's most smog-polluted cities, breathing in dirty air that can cause asthma attacks, reduce lung function, and aggravate respiratory illnesses. Climate change -- and the hotter temperatures that come with it -- only make smog worse. For children, the elderly, outdoor workers, and those without health insurance in the Hispanic community, these conditions can be deadly.
Because these impacts too often hit home for Latinos, it's no surprise that polls are once again showing extremely high support among Latinos for government action to curb carbon pollution.
A new poll carried out by Voces Verdes and Latino Decisions in late April shows that 84 percent of U.S. Latinos favor the EPA setting safeguards to limit air pollution that impacts public health. Importantly, 86 percent of those surveyed said they would support President Obama taking action to limit pollution that causes climate change. This mirrors past polls showing that Latinos consider the environment and public health top priorities, and think that government action on air pollution is key.
Now is the time for us to rise to the challenge. Hispanic voters put their faith in President Obama, reelecting him to tackle key issues for our community, including a changing climate that threatens our communities, our health and our future. Delaying life-saving standards isn't just a political maneuver; it has big impacts on the everyday lives of Latino families and other vulnerable populations.As reported by Computerworld, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has now postponed switching to the new, Linux-based, Millennium Exchange platform following concerns that the system has insufficient capacity to cope with peak trading loads. While Millennium Exchange can currently process 50,000 messages per second, market experts have said that 300,000 would be a better target, particularly when compared to rival systems. Originally the system was planned to go live on the 1st of November, but the LSE has now formally acknowledged that more work is needed on scaling the infrastructure. The launch has been put back at least until the 15th of November and most probably won't occur until the new year.
On the 20th of October, the LSE had announced that, following pilot tests on its associated Turquoise exchange, it had the fastest trading system in the world, with latencies of 126 microseconds and would be migrating this system to its cash markets. However, questions were raised about capacity and these concerns escalated when, during the night between the 1st and 2nd of November, the Turquoise exchange experienced a massive network hit.
Given the growth in automated trading, speed is now vital for any stock exchange to remain competitive. Following the LSE announcement of world record breaking speed, a number of other exchanges have claimed better figures for their own new systems: the New York NASDAQ claims its system is capable of typically 100 microseconds, although it conservatively quotes 250 microseconds to clients to allow for peak loads. The Singapore Stock Exchange, which is buying in the NASDAQ system, has said it achieved benchmarks of 90 microseconds and Algo Technologies claims it has a system design capable of 16 microseconds. The LSE's current latency with the old Microsoft based, TradElect platform is around 2,000 microseconds.
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Back in 2008, during the worst of the financial crisis, I remember that many of us were shaking our heads a bit over Europe. American banks were clearly overleveraged, which led to the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman and Wachovia, and the near collapse of several others, but European banks mostly came through unscathed. Outside of Great Britain (and Iceland, of course), Europe suffered only a few bank failures, and they were pretty easily contained. And yet, European banks, on average, were more highly leveraged than ours. Shouldn’t they have collapsed even worse than ours? What gives?
Well, now we know: European banks were in worse shape than ours, but they were overleveraged in a different way that allowed them to |
I’ll just try to do the best I can and see where the chips fall.”
With Santo Jr and Santino, the 22-year-old sons of Santo Rapisarda, handling the tuning duties as they have for the past five years, three-time NHRA Top Fuel champ Larry Dixon is ready for action on the always-quick and always-fast Maple Grove dragstrip.
“I still get wound up going to the track but once I’m strapped into the car, it feels like home. It’s where I’m supposed to be.”
Hear, hear.There’s a vulnerability in the way that PayPal handles certain requests from mobile clients that can allow an attacker to bypass the two-factor authentication mechanism for the service and transfer money from a victim’s account to any recipient he chooses.
There’s a vulnerability in the way that PayPal handles certain requests from mobile clients that can allow an attacker to bypass the two-factor authentication mechanism for the service and transfer money from a victim’s account to any recipient he chooses.
The flaw lies in the way that the PayPal authentication flow works with the service’s mobile apps for iOS and Android. It’s on the server side, and researchers at Duo Security developed a proof-of-concept app that can exploit the vulnerability. PayPal has been aware of the issue since March and has implemented a workaround, but isn’t planning a full patch until the end of July.
“An attacker only needs a victim’s PayPal username and password in order to access a two-factor protected account and send money. The protection offered by the two-factor Security Key mechanism can be bypassed and essentially nullified,” Zach Lanier, a senior security researcher at Duo Security, wrote in his explanation of the vulnerability and its effects.
“While PayPal’s mobile apps do not currently support 2FA-enabled accounts, it is possible to effectively trick the PayPal mobile applications into ignoring the 2FA flag on the account, subsequently allowing the an attacker to log in without requiring secondary authentication.”
PayPal gives users the option of using a form of two-factor authentication that comes in a couple of forms, each of which generates a one-time password for use during login. The system can be used on the PayPal web site, but it’s not supported by the PayPal mobile apps right now. The way that the vulnerability works, the researchers were able to build an app that tricks the PayPal API into thinking that the mobile app was accessing an account that doesn’t have two-factor authentication enabled, completely ignoring the 2FA protection.
The app they built talks to two distinct APIs at PayPal, one of which handles the authentication and another that handles the money transfer after login. While looking at the vulnerability, Duo’s researchers noticed that when the PayPal servers responded to a POST request from a mobile app for a 2FA-enabled account, the app would then show an error message saying that 2FA wasn’t supported and sends the user back to the login screen. But when they replaced value in the server’s response regarding 2FA to “false”, the app would simply allow the user into the account, bypassing the 2FA protection.
Lanier then looked at the initial server response again and discovered a session identifier.
“As it turned out, ‘session_token’ is used for authorization against mobileclient.paypal.com, an otherwise (publicly) undocumented SOAP-based API that provides additional account-related functionality, including but not limited to sending money,” he wrote.
“We then stepped through the “send money” process in the mobile apps, again capturing traffic with Burp. Through this, we were able to observe the necessary requests/responses and SOAP envelopes (read: painful XML) that make up a PayPal fund transfer from their mobile applications. The funds transfer process turned out to be a four-step exchange, with each request requiring a value unique to the overall transaction.”
Using the app they built to exploit the vulnerability, the researchers were able to transfer money from a 2FA-protected account with just the username and password. In an interview, Lanier said there were any number of ways to accomplish that task, none of which is very complicated.
“There are plenty of cases of PayPal passwords being compromised in giant database dumps, and there’s also been a giant rise in PayPal related phishing,” he said. “That approach is already being used. People have long been and are continuing to do so. The whole two factor thing was supposed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy if your password is compromised. I’d probably use one of these techniques that are pretty darn efficient or maybe iterate through the public dumps of passwords.”
The PayPal bug was discovered by an outside researcher, Dan Saltman, who asked Duo Security for help validating it and communicating with the PayPal security team.[Update: Gov. Chris Christie has threatened the New Jersey state legislature with using his line-item veto. The governor has until the end of the week to either approve or reject the funding proposals.]
It’s time for New Jerseyans to break out the fist pumps for something other than free vodka shots at the Shore.
The New Jersey State Senate took a major step forward today in its health care reform, approving a bill (S-788) that would restore almost $7.5 million dollars in family planning funds. These funds will go toward women’s health programs and preventive services for women and men, including health screenings, HIV and STI testing and birth control. The bill, which heads to the general assembly today for a vote, will also expand family planning under the state’s Medicaid program, allowing Medicaid-eligible women to receive family planning services.
S-788 seeks to reverse the budget slashing of Gov. Chris Christie, who eliminated the state’s entire family planning fund soon after he took office two years ago, executing what he called “fiscal discipline” and citing a lack of funds as the reasoning. The complete abolishment of the state’s family planning funding was unprecedented and, as a result, Planned Parenthood New Jersey was forced to shut down six clinics and reduce the operating hours and services of its remaining 52 clinics. The cut also affected more than 135,000 women who depend on these clinics for their critical care and preventive services.
This is hardly the first time the state senate has attempted to restore family planning funds and restore Christie’s haphazard budget cuts; rather, it’s the latest step in an exhausting pattern of senate approvals followed by vetoes from the governor. Christie’s ruthlessness—which he claims is the “Jersey way”—was revealed in July 2010, when the brash, fast-talking governor vetoed a supplemental senate bill that would have returned the $7.5 million in grants to the women’s health programs Christie eliminated earlier that year. The fate of this new family planning bill is bleak, too, considering that Christie’s approval rating is currently at its peak. But as bipartisan support in the Democratic-controlled state legislature for women’s health services strengthens, and backlash against Christie’s family planning cuts begin to mount, it’s possible the bill might outlive the governor’s chopping block.
These newfound attacks on family planning—and overall ignorance and disrespect of women’s health care—is uncharacteristic for New Jersey, a state that is not only traditionally “blue” but also staunchly pro-choice and pro-women. For instance, just before Christie took office in late 2009, former governor Jon Corzine sought expansion of Medicaid funds to cover family planning for 70,000 eligible residents. The state also has minimal abortion restrictions. Women’s health in New Jersey, however, is not just being threatened by the governor: Anti-choice groups are attempting to push two restrictive initiatives onto the 2012 election ballot, one of which would ban low-income women from receiving government-funded abortions.
Christie’s brazenness may be typical of New Jerseyans, but his anti-women stance certainly isn’t the “Jersey way.” It’s time to give Jersey girls the family planning and preventive services they deserve.
Photo of a Planned Parenthood rally in New York City from Flickr user WeNews under Creative Commons 3.0.Share This Story Tweet Share Share Pin Email
“49A72”
When the auctioneer calls out the lot number, Rachael Bain-Chase’s paddle shoots in the air and stays there.
She and her wife, Jennifer Ralph Chase, are at their first Marion County tax sale, and likely their last. Statistically speaking, they’re very much out of place.
An Indianapolis Star analysis found that individuals looking to buy a single home account for fewer than 4 percent of all liens sold at tax sale. The vast majority of sales — 95 percent — go to either for-profit companies or investors who buy two or more properties.
But people like the Chases, who want the home next door in order to fix up their neighborhood? They don’t participate. And it’s not hard to see why.
“Opening bid: $5,655.61.”
First, you have to have cash, and lots of it. Rachael and Jennifer had to borrow from family and friends to scrape together enough for a respectable bid.
Then, you have to know how to find out a property is even up for auction. Unlike zoning changes, when the government gives nearby property owners notice that something’s afoot, there’s no warning that a home in your neighborhood is up for tax sale.
Check the Marion County treasurer’s website, and you might be able to find it — if you click on the right file. One file lists all of the addresses, but to decipher another, you have to know what a parcel ID number is and how to find it using the city’s mapping software.
Master all of that, and you have to understand redemption periods and how to actually acquire the title, which is not as easy as a straight purchase.
Oh, and hopefully you wrote down the tax sale ID number before you came. That is the number the auctioneer calls at tax sale, instead of the address or the parcel ID.
The Chases did their homework.
Rachael Bain-Chase bought a tax lien on a home next to the one she and her wife own, in hopes of keeping it after a one-year waiting period.
(Photo: The Star file photo)
“$5,800 … $6,000.” Rachael’s paddle stays up — she’s in a bidding war for 30 Bankers Lane, a house that’s been a sore spot in the neighborhood for as long as they can remember.
They moved to the block 4 1/2 years ago. Next door, there were domestic violence issues, and drugs. It’s been boarded at times, but the plywood never seems to stay up for long. At some point, squatters ripped out the plumbing and some of the wiring.
The owner is Samuel Brooks, whose given address is a UPS box in Palo Alto, Calif. But the Chases say a local woman has been managing it. And her latest tenant to sign a lease, Jennifer said, did so only to discover that there was no water or electricity.
“It’s been a few years of a nightmare,” said Jennifer, 36. “There’s definitely some fear — a lot of anxiety. What’s going to happen next? Who’s going to show up at that property?
“It’s sort of this just persistent sense of anxiety that I have,” she said. “I want to feel safe and comfortable in my home.”
She and Rachael, 43, have never been victims of any violence, but they worry for their two daughters.
“$6,200 … $6,400.
“Sold for $6,400.”
But their journey is just beginning — even after going through all that, they have to wait a year. That’s because Rachael and Jennifer didn’t really purchase a house. They bought a tax lien. The owner has a year to redeem it with interest. If that happens, Rachael and Jennifer’s neighborhood rehab dreams will be thwarted.
Jennifer Ralph Chase and her wife bought a tax lien on a home next to theirs. “It’s a sore spot,” Jennifer said. “It’s an eyesore on our road, on our street. Every other home is nice and taken care of. And this house — the county was just out again to board up windows and doors that weren’t secure."
(Photo: The Star file photo)
“It’s extremely frustrating to think that they’d have 12 months to decide, ‘we’d like to get that house back,’ ” Jennifer said.
Even more frustrating: It doesn’t have to be that way.
Under a new state law, they should have been able to buy such a home outright. The home hasn’t had utilities in more than year, one of the determining factors of abandonment. Right now, it’s not even habitable under the health code.
Senate Enrolled Act 422 in 2014 shortened and moved the redemption period to 120 days before the sale for a home the city certifies as abandoned. But because a subsequent fix to the law only took effect July 1, there weren’t enough days before the Oct. 8 tax sale to notify delinquent homeowners of the new redemption period this year.
“It’s a sore spot,” Jennifer said. “It’s an eyesore on our road, on our street. Every other home is nice and taken care of. And this house — the county was just out again to board up windows and doors that weren’t secure.
“Our patience has run out. Our goodwill has run out. We have children, and we’re just not OK with this nonsense happening in our neighborhood any more.”
Call Star reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.
About the series
Abandoned Indy is an occasional series exploring the causes of urban blight in Indianapolis neighborhoods, and the reasons it persists.
TODAY: Couple find it hard to take control of the abandoned house next door.
PREVIOUSLY: How negligent companies drag down neighborhoods. And how government helps them.Apple’s WWDC starts on 8 June 2015. (Source: Screenshot)
Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC 2015) will start on 8 June 2015 and reports about what iOS 9 will offer have already started.
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According to a report in 9to5Mac,iPhones and iPads will be able to run iOS 9 efficiently. The report adds that Apple has been testing “a core version of iOS 9 that runs efficiently on older A5 devices.”
With the release of a new version of iOS, the biggest problem is that users who are on older devices, find their iPhones and iPads start getting buggy and slow once they move onto the new version. When iOS 7 was rolled-out in 2013, which saw a significant change in the iOS OS in terms of looks and design, the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users had complained how their devices had become slow. Similarly when iOS 8 was rolled-out, users on devices like iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, etc complained how the ‘Settings’ app was constantly crashing.
Apple’s WWDC is where the company showcases both the next level of iOS for iPhones and iPads and the OS X software for its Macs. While the first glimpse of the OS is shown at WWDC, the roll-out usually takes place in September.
The other big rumour around Apple’s WWDC 2015 is that iPad will now support “dual-app viewing mode,” a feature long-offered by Samsung’s tablets. In addition to this, there will be multi-user logins supported for iPads.
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The iPad has seen sales falls in 2015, even as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have set the market on fire. Apple shipped 12.6 million iPads in the first quarter of 2015 as compared to 16.4 million in the same period a year earlier, according to data from IDC. Whether a dual-screen mode will convince more users to buy an iPad remains to be seen, given that phablets and even Apple’s own bigger-screened iPhones have eaten into the tablet market.Reggie Yates visits Siberia to meet the young girls who are going to extreme lengths to attract the international scouts and make it as fashion models in the west.
Russia is the largest country on earth and home to nearly 150 million people. Vladimir Putin is well into his third term as president and with the west imposing tough sanctions, relations are now the frostiest since the Cold War.
Reggie Yates gets up close and personal with three very different communities in contemporary Russia. By living with them for a week, he explores what it's like for young people living here, 24 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.
An army of Siberian models is invading the west. Siberia is known around the world for its frigid temperatures, but within the fashion world it is famous for being home to the world's most beautiful women. Reggie joins international scouts as they board the Trans-Siberian railway and cross Siberia looking for the freshest new faces.
At the open castings - the first one in Krasnoyarsk, 2,800km east of Moscow - Reggie meets girls as young as 13 as they parade in bikinis, hoping that their stunning looks will get them noticed. In Novosibirsk, Siberia's capital, he visits some of the city's 26 modelling agencies and schools, where children as young as five are learning how to walk, pose, apply make-up, and diet.
He meets Anya, who would love to be an artist but realistically knows that, here in Siberia, there's more chance of her making money as a model, Vika, who has been eating buckwheat for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a bid to lose those extra two centimetres for the casting, and Katia, whose parents are distraught when they have to make a decision about whether she goes to work in China - at the age of just 15.
But how likely is it that they will really succeed? What are the pitfalls of the modelling industry? And what is the life they are leaving behind like?MSI GE Series GE70 2OE-017US Notebook
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Blaze ahead with the sleek and slim GE Series gaming notebook featuring the fast 4th generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor and the powerful NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M Series Kepler GPU. Boost your game performance with NVIDIA GPU Boost 2.0, extracting every inch of power for breathtaking visuals. Intelligently switch from the NVIDIA GPU to low-power integrated graphics with Optimus when you're not gaming. Combined, Optimus, GPU Boost, and Kepler maximize system efficiency and gives the optimum level of performance at all times, automatically.
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There is no room for error when it comes to serious gaming. Play flawlessly with extreme anti-ghosting allowing for simultaneous key presses and rapid response times. Game proficiently in darkness with the illuminated LED backlit keyboard.
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Gold plated audio jacks working in sync with an audio amplifier provides maximum sound fidelity for the most sonically accurate headset experience. Gain the advantage with Audio Boost.
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Cooler Boost Technology provides a powerful cooling design by boosting the airflow, maintaining the notebook and chipsets at 5% - 10% lower temperatures. No matter how intense your game or work gets over time, the Cooler Boost technology always keeps it cool.An African-American pastor has put his fellow Southern Baptists in the awkward position of having to decide whether to congratulate President Obama, a mainline Christian and liberal Democrat with whom they disagree on just about every major social and political issue.
Rev. Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, has filed a resolution asking the Southern Baptist Convention to celebrate “the historic nature of the election of President Barack Hussein Obama as a significant contribution to the ongoing cause of racial reconciliation in the United States.”
McKissic’s resolution will be considered at the SBC’s annual meeting June 23-24 in Louisville, Ky. The 16-million member SBC, the nation’s largest body of Protestants, has never been shy about expressing its official position on anything from Disney to Mormons. It recent years, it was one of George W. Bush’s biggest supporters and one of Bill Clinton’s harshest critics.
Would it be hypocritical of the conservative evangelical Southern Baptist Convention to congratulate Obama, or hypocritical not to? It’s hard to say.
The SBC clearly supports the views and policies of the Republican Party. The SBC invited Bush to speak to its annual meeting every year of his presidency (he did most years), and declined to invite Clinton, a fellow Southern Baptist, every year of his presidency. The SBC also adopted resolutions expressly criticizing Clinton’s support for homosexual and abortion rights in 1993, 1998 and 1999. Delegates also rebuked (but failed to unseat) Clinton’s home church in Arkansas.
But McKissic’s resolution acknowledges that Southern Baptists don’t subscribe to Obama’s politics or policies. It asks Southern Baptists to pray the president “will use the constitutional authority assigned to his office to promote liberty and justice for all people, including the unborn.” It also pledges to join hands with Obama to “advance causes of racial justice insofar as those efforts are consistent with biblical principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
McKissic said his resolution is consistent with a 1995 resolution in which the SBC apologized for its racist history and structures. The Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 to defend the rights of Southern slaveholders. The SBC Mission Board estimates that the number of black members has doubled to about 1 million since the 1995 apology.
In its 1995 resolution, the SBC promised to “eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life” and to pursue “racial reconciliation in all our relationships, especially with our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
McKissic might have some reconciling of his own to attend to. In 2006, he told the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit that the Anti-Christ would be gay. While the civil rights movement was grounded in “moral authority, truth and righteousness... and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,” McKissic said, the gay rights movement was inspired “from the pit of hell itself,” and has a “satanic anointment.”
Whatever reconciliation occurs at this year’s SBC annual meeting, it will fit the official theme, taken from Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
The theme: Love Loud: Actions Speak Louder Than Words.Metro Detroit residents sell plasma to support families
By Kathleen Martin
17 December 2015
In a city where nearly 40 percent of its residents live at or below the poverty level, many Detroit workers are forced to find alternative ways to make money to supplement their income. One such way is selling plasma.
According to CSL Plasma’s web site, individuals who live within a certain “marketing radius” of the “donation” center can receive up to $50 the first five times within 45 days, and payments vary every time after that depending on weight. For example, some centers offer $15 for every donation for individuals weighing 110-149 pounds, but anywhere from $20-$40 for those weighing 150 pounds and over, since they can donate more.
CSL Plasma Center in Southfield, Michigan
“Some people will wear weights to get more money,” one woman told WSWS reporters outside of a clinic in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She said that she sometimes only gets $4-$10 per donation. “I do it for my kids,” she said. “I sometimes go twice a week if they want video games,. especially with Christmas coming up.”
Plasma is used for research and in manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs that treat immune disorders, among other diseases, so demand is growing. The majority of plasma donors worldwide are in the United States, while the $20 billion plasma industry is international.
The process itself can be painful and can take hours, depending on the individual. “[Giving plasma] is worse than giving blood,” said Leron, who was also there to sell his plasma. “With blood, they just take blood. With plasma, your immune system goes down because they’re separating red and white blood cells. You get dizzy, it makes you sick. You can’t go more than twice a week, and not consecutive days, either.”
Leron
Leron noted that while it is good to give plasma and blood—“Anything to help”—he thinks that most people do it because they need the money. “In between getting a check and trying to do the right thing, I needed the money. I was a clinic supervisor at a building, and I’m waiting for something better. I’ve worked little restaurant jobs and found some janitorial work.”
Leron’s girlfriend, Roselia, who has a nursing degree, told us that selling plasma is “some people’s jobs. I know some individuals locked up at OCJ [Oakland County Jail], and when their families fall on hard times they come here to get money. For them, it’s like, since I can’t work, what do I do?”
Two young mothers outside the clinic, both employed in the medical industry, said that they sell their plasma because they understand there is a major need for plasma for those with health problems. One said that the process itself should not hurt or take longer than 20 minutes or so, but added that it could be quite an unpleasant experience for someone unable to maintain a healthy diet, proper exercise and rest. For most of the people interviewed, working various part-time, low-wage jobs at all hours of the day and night, taking care of oneself generally ends up somewhere near the bottom of the priority list.
The WSWS also met two 19-year-olds from Detroit, both former students. One is currently employed at a grocery store on the west side of the city, and both recently enlisted to join the Navy. Malik said, “It’s only worth it probably the first five times, unless you really need the money, then I guess it would be worth the $20. It’s the only reason I’m here, really.
James and Malik
“I felt like it was good, though, because I like to help out, and I got money for it. I was too scared to donate blood. But even when it’s really packed here, it goes fast. They get you in and out even if you wait for an hour and a half.”
Plasma clinics exist primarily in poverty-ridden sections of the Metro Detroit area. Malik noted, “People are more willing to donate because there are more people in Detroit that need the money than in West Bloomfield,” a wealthy suburb of the city. “People do come here all the time,” he said. “And most people do work, but they need extra money.”
One man said, “You won’t see no rich people here! They don’t need the money.” He also spoke of another nearby clinic where many use the money to fuel their drug and alcohol addictions. “People are raised by their environments. Put me in a house where there’s nothing but dope deals going on, a neighborhood where carjacking is at an all-time high, ain’t nothing to eat—death or jail is guaranteed.”
Advertisement at the CSL Plasma Center
He said that he was recently released from prison, serving 12 years for selling drugs. “The first $50 [after selling plasma] I spent on a bus pass so I can get out here and look for jobs.” Until he gets employment, selling plasma is his primary source of income.
Dwight, currently unemployed due to health issues, said that he has been doing this “almost a year, not consistently, but I come when I need the money.” He receives $35 per donation because he weighs 170 pounds. “I worked in a warehouse. My girlfriend works now, so she helps. I just wanted to have some money in my pocket. I had sciatica, and haven’t been able to work. I’ve always had back problems. But I just got cleared for work, so I’m really looking forward to getting back. I wouldn’t have been doing this [selling plasma] four or five years ago.”
Antionio told us if he did not need the money, too, he would not want to sell his plasma, and that hopefully he would not have to continue doing so for much longer. “I just need some gas money, so I don’t have to be putting so much pressure on my girl.
“A lot of jobs aren’t paying enough money out here. Eight dollars an hour or less, that don’t make no sense. Minimum wage needs to be at least $9, $10, $12 an hour. I’m waiting to start at Chrysler, they just have to call me for a drug test.”
Leron got turned away from selling his plasma this time because he just moved from Texas and does not yet have a valid Michigan identification. “I just wasted three hours and walked two-and-a-half miles. For nothing.” Even if he had gotten the $35, that equates to about $11.50 an hour, not including his hike to the donation center.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Finalists Announced For 2016 SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards
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The Sports Video Group (SVG) and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) are pleased to announce finalists for the 2016 SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and announced at the Eighth-Annual College Sports Media Awards ceremony on June 2 at the SVG College Sports Summit at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta. The event will be hosted by FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt.
Representing a variety of college athletic and academic departments, as well as professional networks, production companies, and student productions, the finalists are spread across four divisions in a total of 20 categories.
“What stands out among the body of work submitted to this year’s College Sports Media Awards competition is the high level of expertise in producing a wide variety of live sports, for multiple platforms, deploying emerging technologies,” says Tom Buffolano, Chairman of the SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards. “The quality of programming that was only produced by Major Networks only a few years ago, is now produced at all levels, most notably by students at universities. This is a trend that will produce the new generation of sports production professionals who will further evolve the industry.”
The Sports Video Group and NACDA extend their congratulations to all of the finalists. To learn more about the SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards, and to register for the SVG College Sports Summit visit www.svgcollege.com. Follow the event on Facebook and Twitter.
2016 SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards
FINALISTS
OUTSTANDING LIVE GAME PRODUCTION
NATIONAL NETWORKS/PROFESSIONAL
Big Ten Network | Big Ten Football: Pittsburgh at Iowa
CBS/TBS | 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship
FOX Sports | FOX College Basketball: Big East Final
FOX Sports | FOX College Football: Big 10 Championship
FOX Sports | FOX College Football: California at Texas
REGIONAL/LOCAL/CONFERENCE DIGITAL NETWORKS
BYUtv | Baseball – Utah vs. BYU
BYUtv | Men’s Volleyball – Pepperdine vs. BYU
FOX Sports South | 2015 ACC Women’s Lacross Championship
Southland Conference on American Sports Network | River Bell Classic – Nicholls vs. Southeastern Louisiana
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area/TheW.tv | WCC Men’s Basketball – St. Mary’s at San Francisco
Time Warner Cable SportsNet/TheW.tv | WCC Men’s Basketball Championship – Santa Clara vs. BYU
COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Liberty University | Baseball – Liberty vs. CSU
Mercer Video Productions| Men’s Basketball – Wofford at Mercer (FOX Sports Southeast)
Rochester Institute of Technology | Men’s Ice Hockey
War Eagle Productions | Softball – Auburn vs. Florida
University of Alabama – Crimson Tide Productions | SEC Gymnastics Regionals
COLLEGIATE STUDENT
Ball State Sports Link | 2016 MAC Gymnastics Championships
Bethany Lutheran College| Men’s Ice Hockey – Minnesota State vs. Bowling Green
Big Ten Network Student U – University of Minnesota | Women’s Basketball – Ohio State at Minnesota
Northern Arizona University | Football – NAU vs. Weber State
St. Cloud State University/Husky Productions | Men’s Ice Hockey – St. Cloud State vs. Western Michigan
University of North Dakota Athletics | Men’s Basketball – North Dakota vs. Idaho State
OUTSTANDING LIVE STUDIO/REMOTE HOSTED PROGRAMMING
NATIONAL NETWORKS/PROFESSIONAL
ESPN | College GameDay (Football)
ESPN | Top 25
FOX Sports | FOX College Basketball: Piccolo Girl/Villanova Discussion
FOX Sports | FOX College Football: Playoff Committee
FOX Sports | FOX College Football: Who is Jim Harbaugh?
REGIONAL/LOCAL/CONFERENCE DIGITAL NETWORKS
BYUtv | Sports Nation Signing Day Special
FOX Sports South | ACC Gridiron LIVE
FOX Sports South | Next Class 2015
Longhorn Network | National Signing Day
Longhorn Network | Texas GameDay
Time Warner Cable SportsNet/TheW.tv | WCC This Week
COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
12th Man Productions (Texas A&M Athletics) | 2016 Texas A&M Signing Day Show
Fighting Irish Media | 2016 Signing Day Show
HokieVision (Virginia Tech) | Virginia Tech – Signing Day Live
Seminole Productions | FSU Pregame Live
University of Alabama – Crimson Tide Productions | National Signing Day: University of Alabama
COLLEGIATE STUDENT
Arizona State University | Cronkite Sports Live
Ball State Sports Link | 3rd Down Chirp: Gameday (CMU)
Ball State Sports Link | The Chirpies 2016
St. Cloud State University/Husky Productions | Husky Faceoff
Western Illinois University | Western Illinois Football – Pigskin Preview
OUTSTANDING PROGRAM SERIES
NATIONAL NETWORKS/PROFESSIONAL
Big Ten Network | The Journey: Big Ten Basketball 2016
Big Ten Network | The Journey: Big Ten Football 2015
CBS Sports Network | March Madness Confidential
CBS Sports Network | Men of March
Turner Sports/NCAA Digital | NCAA.com at The Final Four
REGIONAL/LOCAL/ CONFERENCE DIGITAL NETWORKS
America Sports Network | Atlantic 10 Spotlight
BYUtv | Inside BYU Football
Conference USA | C-USA Showcase
FOX Sports South | ACC All-Access
Longhorn Network | Texas Football: All Access
COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
12th Man Productions (Texas A&M Athletics) | The Pulse: Texas A&M Football
Colorado State Athletics | The Grind: Colorado State Football
Gopher Digital Productions | Minnesota In-Focus
Northwestern University | The Foundation
University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish Media) | ICON
University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish Media) | Schooled
COLLEGIATE STUDENT
Ball State Sports Link | Out of the Shadows: Season 3
Gamecock Productions | Gamecock Confidential: Carolina Baseball 2016 – Win Anyway
Purdue University | Purdue Package
UTVS/St. Cloud State University | Husky Mag
WTOP 10 | Oswego Sports Update
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL FEATURE
NATIONAL NETWORKS/PROFESSIONAL
CBS Sports | Flint Water Crisis
CBS Sports Network | Josh Levine: Michigan Man
ESPN | #CHADTOUGH
ESPN | Adam Griffith
ESPN | SC Featured: Chubbtown
ESPN | SC Featured: Rise Up
REGIONAL/LOCAL/CONFERENCE DIGITAL NETWORKS
Atlantic 10 | UMass’ Owen Wright
Atlantic Coast Conference | This is ACC Basketball
Colonial Athletic Association | CAA Sports In Focus: “Charleston Strong”
FOX Sports South | Upset in Charlottesville: Georgia Tech vs. #1 Virginia 1990
Longhorn Network | Geauxing Home
TexAgs | On An Island
COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Clemson University | Clemson Football – The Dream
Liberty University | LU Men’s Basketball: John Dawson
Liberty University | LU Snowboarder Austin Herrero
North Dakota State University | “The Road.” – featuring Carson Wentz
North Texas Athletics (Mean Green Productions) | Beyond The Green: A Place to Call Home
Northwestern University | Northwestern Football Equipment
University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish Media) | The Adventures of Johnny Lujack
COLLEGIATE STUDENT
Butler Athletics | Butler Basketball: Senior Day 2016
Clemson University | Clemson Football: Uniforms 2016
Florida State University (Seminole Productions) | Andrew Karp – The Road Back
Florida State University (Seminole Productions) | Wright of Way
Gamecock Productions/University of South Carolina | Tina Roy
St. Cloud State University/UTVS | More Than a Game: The TJ Frericks Story
OUTSTANDING PROMOTION, PSA, TEASE, OR MARKETING CAMPAIGN
NATIONAL NETWORKS/PROFESSIONAL
Big Ten Network | Scarlet and Gray Days
ESPN | 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships Open/Tease
ESPN | Bracketology
FOX Sports | Big East Tournament Day 2 Tease
Turner Sports | 2016 Men’s Basketball National Championship Open
REGIONAL/LOCAL/CONFERENCE DIGITAL NETWORKS
Atlantic Coast Conference | 2015 ACC Football Championship Game Commercial
BYU Broadcasting | BYUSN 2016 Image Campaign
BYU Broadcasting | BYUtv Sports “Blue Runs Deep” Campaign
BYUtv | BYU Baseball 2016 – Season Opener Game Tease
Longhorn Network | All The Live Long Day Campaign
Longhorn Network | Texas GameDay Campaign
The Ivy League | What is #OneIvy?
COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
Penn Athletics | The New Year
University of Maryland | This is Maryland Basketball
University of Michigan | 2016 Michigan Women’s Basketball Intro
University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish Media) | Notre Dame 2016-2016 Ticket Campaign
University |
those that are in need of guidance, I feel prompted to share the words of President Ezra Taft Benson, who said (quote):
“The Book of Mormon … was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us.”
And this reminder from the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants 20:9 (quote):
“[The Book of Mormon] contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also”
As we navigate through this difficult time and seek to do God’s prophet’s will, we can find a second witness to their words in the scriptures. Because of translation errors in the Bible, our best source of spiritual strength and pure revelation is the Book of Mormon. Here are some scriptures regarding homosexuality and marriage in the Book of Mormon that have brought me clarity:
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I am thankful that Book of Mormon prophets saw our day and knew the troubling threat homosexuality would bring upon the eternal families of the world. I am grateful that they included these revelations in the Book of Mormon, the one book where every line and word is true (unlike the Bible). Let us move forward in faith, nothing wavering, and obey God’s prophets. They are above social trends, outside influence, or personal bias. Prophets, by definition, are not products of their time. They will not lead us astray.
*eagerly raises hand in a sustaining vote*But the counterterrorism effort the United States is undertaking with Iraq has its limits.
Iraq’s foreign minister has floated the idea of having American-operated, armed Predator or Reaper drones respond to the expanding militant network. But Mr. Maliki, who is positioning himself to run for a third term as prime minister and who is sensitive to nationalist sentiment at home, has not formally requested such intervention.
The idea of carrying out such drone attacks, which might prompt the question of whether the Obama administration succeeded in bringing the Iraq war to what the president has called a “responsible end,” also appears to have no support in the White House.
“We have not received a formal request for U.S.-operated armed drones operating over Iraq, nor are we planning to divert armed I.S.R. over Iraq,” said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, referring to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. For now, the new lethal aid from the United States, which Iraq is buying, includes a shipment of 75 Hellfire missiles, delivered to Iraq last week. The weapons are strapped beneath the wings of small Cessna turboprop planes, and fired at militant camps with the C.I.A. secretly providing targeting assistance.
In addition, 10 ScanEagle reconnaissance drones are expected to be delivered to Iraq by March. They are smaller cousins of the larger, more capable Predators that used to fly over Iraq.
American intelligence and counterterrorism officials say they have effectively mapped the locations and origins of the Qaeda network in Iraq and are sharing this information with the Iraqis.
Administration officials said the aid was significant because the Iraqis had virtually run out of Hellfire missiles. The Iraqi military, with no air force to speak of and limited reconnaissance of its own, has a very limited ability to locate and quickly strike Qaeda militants as they maneuver in western and northern Iraq. The combination of American-supplied Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, tactical drones and intelligence, supplied by the United States, is intended to augment that limited Iraqi ability.
The Obama administration has given three sensor-laden Aerostat balloons to the Iraqi government, provided three additional reconnaissance helicopters to the Iraqi military and is planning to send 48 Raven reconnaissance drones before the end of 2014. And the United States is planning to deliver next fall the first of the F-16 fighters Iraq has bought.Terri Lynn Land sure has a weird definition of "Michigan First"
Terri Lynn Land sure has a weird definition of "Michigan First"
Michigan Republican Terri Lynn Land is proving her fealty to the tea party by treading where fewer and fewer of her colleagues will go: full on Obamacare repeal. That repeal would take health insurance away from 630,000 people in Michigan.
Eclectablog has the goods, in the form of a "Pledge to Repeal Obamacare" the group Independent Women's Voice. Here's part of that pledge:
I pledge, if elected, to vote for all bills which seek to REPEAL the health care bill, HR 3590, signed into law on March 23, 2010.* To that end, I would now and will in the next Congress endorse and vote for all measures, including discharge petitions, leading to its defunding, deauthorization, and repeal. I shall do so whether those measures are taken for the whole of the bill or those component parts that impose mandates, restrict patient and doctor choice and access, violate individual freedom and privacy, reduce healthy competition, increase costs, or raise taxes.
In other words, Land is pledging to do what the Republican House has been doing for the past three years: pretty much nothing but Obamacare repeal votes. The pledge is a real threat in the event that Republicans take over the Senate. As it stands, those votes won't happen under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Even if Republicans take over, the bills would be futile—President Obama won't sign them.
Land's promise to the people of Michigan that she'll go to DC and do nothing but spin her wheels is bad enough. But add the fact that 630,000 people will lose their health coverage, and it's just downright evil. Charles Gaba reports that as of last week, 245,000 Michiganders have private insurance through Obamacare, and 385,000 have Medicaid. Apparently Land wants them to return to the bad old days of being uninsured, of being refused insurance because of pre-existing conditions, of women having to pay much higher premiums than men, of everything that health insurance companies did to screw people over. As Chris Savage says, this is what she calls her "Michigan First" campaign.
Somehow I think 630,000 Michiganers aren't going to think she's putting them first.
Help Gary Peters really represent Michigan. Please donate $3.King Nebuchadnezzar
From the book: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith
by Michael R. Ash
When Nephi and his brothers asked Laban for the brass plates in trade for their silver and gold, Laban tried to kill them and he took away their possessions. After a narrow escape, Laman and Lemuel complained about the impossibility of their task because of Laban and his “fifty”:
“And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?” (1 Nephi 3:31)
To modern readers this sounds like a small army indeed, but to those of the ancient Near East, the size of Laban’s garrison fits neatly into Old World customs. According to Dr. Hugh Nibley, a permanent garrison in a big city of Lehi’s day consisted of thirty to eighty men. In a recently discovered letter of Nebuchadnezzar (a contemporary of Lehi,) the king speaks of a garrison of “fifty”. In Babylonia, a platoon in the army consisted of fifty men. This permanent unit was always called a “fifty” just as Nephi spoke of “Laban with his fifty”.
Michael R. Ash is the author of: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting The Prophet Joseph Smith. He is the owner and operator of MormonFortress.com and is on the management team for FairMormon. He has been published in Sunstone, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Maxwell Institute’s FARMS Review, and is the author of Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt. He and his wife live in Ogden, Utah, and have three daughters.
Julianne Dehlin Hatton is a broadcast journalist living in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked as a News Director at an NPR affiliate, Radio and Television Host, and Airborne Traffic Reporter. She graduated with an MSSc from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2008. Julianne and her husband Thomas are the parents of four children.
Music for Faith and Reason is provided by Arthur Hatton.It’s one of the biggest tours of the Spring … for parents and Master Builders alike.
Last night, as I’m helping my son put together his first Lego set (not Duplo), my wife tells me that I’m a “Lord Business” type. I wasn’t sure what that meant. It’s the villain from “The Lego Movie” she said. I haven’t seen it although I plan to. Part of the plot as she explained is that Lord Business discourages Lego improvisation — demanding that everyone follow the build instructions. I also told him he can’t put them in the toy box and they should go on a shelf. Oh my God, she’s right. My kinda guy.
I guess I’m a little stodgy when it comes to my Lego play.
We visited the sold-out 2014 tour of the LEGO KidsFest at the Rock Financial Showplace on Sunday. We stayed for three hours if that’s any evidence of how much fun we had. We didn’t get a chance to enjoy everything, but had a blast with the things we did see.
The Duplo display with Jake and the Neverland Pirates was the first thing we stopped at. We thought, “How perfect!” It’s one of Evan’s favorite cartoons. The block versions of Jake and Bucky knocked Evan’s socks off.
Among many organized activities was a pizza building relay race not listed on the website. I wasn’t sure if my son would get it, but the “chef” explained everything thoroughly and the game was well-designed and a lot of fun.
The museum of large-scale block models included “Star Wars” characters and comic superheroes Batman, Superman and an amazingly huge Hulk. Check out tons more pictures in the photo gallery.
Here’s a warning. Keep an eye on your kids. You don’t want to get separated in a big crowd like this, but there’s plenty of staff and they’re trained to respond quickly to those situations.
The place was very full, but not impossibly so. Maybe it’s the Zen of Lego rubbing off on everyone, but parents and kids were surprisingly patient and well-behaved.
Seeing what’s new in the Lego universe was great. I knew there were a lot of product lines, but I discovered many new ones I knew little or nothing about including Chima, Hero Factory and Mixels. It was nice to see a mix of boy, girl and gender-neutral activities. The Disney Princess castle display was impressive. It was also the only build stations I found that had mini figures to play with. Maybe they’re too tempting to pocket?
Pros: Vast selection of well planned displays for all ages and interests, fun activities, great photo ops with the large models, TONS of blocks, very clean bathrooms, energetic cast at displays, excellent crowd control
Cons: Where are the mini-figures to play with? A couple displays were a little dirty (bird nest bench guy), a bit pricey at $25 for adults and $23 for kids, concessions lines were slow
Bottom Line
Overall I’d give this family-friendly activity four out of five “Nods of Approval.” I would definitely recommend this for families or anyone looking to see what’s new with Legos.
Learn more about LEGO KidsFest.
George Fox is a Spartan, a Michigander, and Web Producer for CBS 62/CW50 in Detroit. When I’m not working on content for the CBS Local websites, I’m probably hanging out on the boat, at deer camp or spending quality time with the fam. Follow George on Twitter @GeorgeJFox.Jedi Vs. The Force of a Mother's Love Ludi's Mom's Sobs on Essence PHELAR, ERIADU - Four times during last night's transmission of Essence, Jonava Billane broke down into tears, pleading with the Jedi Council for the release of her 14-month old toddler, Ludi. PHELAR, ERIADU - Four times during last night's transmission of, Jonava Billane broke down into tears, pleading with the Jedi Council for the release of her 14-month old toddler, Ludi. "Not a day goes by that I don't think of her," she said on the popular Eriadu-based talk show. "When I was lying in that hospital bed, unable to move, the only thing that kept me going, the thing that made me better, was knowing she was out there, somewhere, asking for her mother." "Not a day goes by that I don't think of her," she said on the popular Eriadu-based talk show. "When I was lying in that hospital bed, unable to move, the only thing that kept me going, the thing that made me better, was knowing she was out there, somewhere, asking for her mother."
Jonava Billane, Baby Ludi's mother. Seven months ago, when groundquakes devastated Domitree, the capital of Ord Thoden, Jonava and Ludi were separated. While Jonava convalesced in an outskirt town, the baby girl was found by Jedi rescue workers and discovered to have Force potential. Assuming her birth mother to be dead, the Jedi took the child to their temple on Coruscant. Seven months ago, when groundquakes devastated Domitree, the capital of Ord Thoden, Jonava and Ludi were separated. While Jonava convalesced in an outskirt town, the baby girl was found by Jedi rescue workers and discovered to have Force potential. Assuming her birth mother to be dead, the Jedi took the child to their temple on Coruscant. When Jonava recovered and learned of her daughter's kidnapping, she used her meager funds to travel to Coruscant and formally petition the Jedi Council to return her child. The Council refused, citing Ludi's beginning of Jedi training as far too late to return the girl, who was now named Aris-Del Wari. When Jonava recovered and learned of her daughter's kidnapping, she used her meager funds to travel to Coruscant and formally petition the Jedi Council to return her child. The Council refused, citing Ludi's beginning of Jedi training as far too late to return the girl, who was now named Aris-Del Wari. "They said it was dangerous," she said, choking back tears. "I'll never understand, in a million years, how my daughter can be a danger. They're guardians of peace and justice. Well, how is letting me see her again a threat to peace and justice? Who is the monster? Is it me? Is it her? I don't think so." "They said it was dangerous," she said, choking back tears. "I'll never understand, in a million years, how my daughter can be a danger. They're guardians of peace and justice. Well, how is letting me see her again a threat to peace and justice? Who is the monster? Is it me? Is it her? I don't think so." Since her petition's refusal eight weeks ago, the Baby Ludi case has drawn a lot of public and media attention. The Essence holoprogram recapped notable events, such as the proliferation of trillions of Baby Ludi images on the Coruscant student data network, the Mothers United March on Alsakan and the star-packed fund-raising mediathon held in the Minos Cluster. Since her petition's refusal eight weeks ago, the Baby Ludi case has drawn a lot of public and media attention. Theholoprogram recapped notable events, such as the proliferation of trillions of Baby Ludi images on the Coruscant student data network, the Mothers United March on Alsakan and the star-packed fund-raising mediathon held in the Minos Cluster. "I want to thank everyone who's supported me," said Billane. "Your messages and holos and credit advances have meant so much. It's nice to know that we still do live in a galaxy of compassion." "I want to thank everyone who's supported me," said Billane. "Your messages and holos and credit advances have meant so much. It's nice to know that we still do live in a galaxy of compassion." Perhaps the highest profile development is the authorization of a feature-length holo of the drama, to be delivered by Kailio Entertainments for the fall season. The currently untitled Baby Ludi feature is estimated to be a deal worth over 100 million credits, though Billane refused to elaborate. Perhaps the highest profile development is the authorization of a feature-length holo of the drama, to be delivered by Kailio Entertainments for the fall season. The currently untitled Baby Ludi feature is estimated to be a deal worth over 100 million credits, though Billane refused to elaborate. "I've been told not to discuss that here," she said "but a significant portion of that money has gone to charitable ventures and agencies willing to help me in my fight." "I've been told not to discuss that here," she said "but a significant portion of that money has gone to charitable ventures and agencies willing to help me in my fight." At that point, Essence turned the cameras on Thrynka Padaunete, Billane's appearance manager and leader of the populist People's Inquest movement, a Jedi-accountability watch-group. At that point,turned the cameras on Thrynka Padaunete, Billane's appearance manager and leader of the populist People's Inquest movement, a Jedi-accountability watch-group. "Let's look at it this way. Say I were to tell you about a group of mystics on some planet who routinely snatch children away from their mothers, their fathers, tearing apart families. They take these children into their care, strip them of identity, maybe even give them new names. They then cut their hair to all look the same and make them wear the same clothes, and live by an impossibly strict code that only serves to further their order. Sounds like a cult, doesn't it? Well, it's a cult that we as taxpayers subsidize. A cult that we empower to determine who's right and who's wrong in this galaxy. And according to them, a mother's love is wrong," said Padaunete. "Let's look at it this way. Say I were to tell you about a group of mystics on some planet who routinely snatch children away from their mothers, their fathers, tearing apart families. They take these children into their care, strip them of identity, maybe even give them new names. They then cut their hair to all look the same and make them wear the same clothes, and live by an impossibly strict code that only serves to further their order. Sounds like a cult, doesn't it? Well, it's a cult that we as taxpayers subsidize. A cult that we empower to determine who's right and who's wrong in this galaxy. And according to them, a mother's love is wrong," said Padaunete. The Jonava Billane program is believed to have been watched by over 25 billion viewers. It will be retransmitted on the 18th and is available for permanent storage from Eriadu's HoloNet Node for 24.99, with some of the proceeds benefiting the People's Inquest. The Jonava Billane program is believed to have been watched by over 25 billion viewers. It will be retransmitted on the 18th and is available for permanent storage from Eriadu's HoloNet Node for 24.99, with some of the proceeds benefiting the People's Inquest.Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE on Tuesday retweeted an apparent white supremacist, something he’s done multiple times this election.
The user, who goes by the name Jason Bergkamp, writes for an online publication called Vanguard 14. According to its website, the publication covers issues like “white nationalism and genocide.” Bergkamp’s bio on the site says he is a “Dutch based journalist writing about European, American and South African events.”
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Bergkamp has frequently tweeted pictures of scantily clad white women using the hashtag #WhiteGirlsAreMagic.
Trump has shared social media posts from apparent white supremacists multiple times during his campaign. In January, the GOP front-runner retweeted a user with the handle “WhiteGenocideTM.” And in November of last year, he shared an image from a user that depicted false homicide statistics claiming that black people were killing white people at an alarming rate.
A search of Trump's Twitter history showed that he has retweeted praise from the Dutch white supremacist at least six times since launching his campaign last year.
"@keksec_org: @realDonaldTrump I truly believe you are the best #MakeAmericaGreatAgain" Thank you so much! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2015
"@keksec_org: @realDonaldTrump Ivanka said it and you said it too, you'll be great for women. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain" — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2015
"@keksec_org: The only winner of the #DemDebate is @realDonaldTrump." This is not a great debate - a little sad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2015
— This post was updated at 9:20 p.m.Imagine a courtroom where the accused face a judge 50 at a time. They are handcuffed, and their feet are chained together. The judge calls them before the bench in groups of eight to face the charges. His message to the group: either plead guilty to a misdemeanor, or face felony charges and a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years. Not surprisingly, every one in the group accepts the guilty plea, without argument.
That's the chilling scene I witnessed earlier this month in a courtroom in Tucson, Arizona. It's the kind of assembly-line justice that might be expected in the gulag prison system of Egypt's military-backed government. But this is now the way American "justice" is being meted out in courthouses across the Southwest. It's called "Operation Streamline," an effort begun under the Bush Administration for mass criminal prosecution of immigrants who have dared to cross the US border without papers.
The day a group of ACLU staffers and I attended the Tucson court hearing, it was a blazing 106 degrees outside. Almost all the defendants had been apprehended by Border Patrol agents during the sweltering heat of the previous few days. They still wore the soiled clothes of their journey, and a pungent reminder of the desert crossing permeated the courtroom. Observing their somber faces, I could only imagine the perils they had faced in their desperate trek north: thirst, hunger and the ever present danger of outlaws and cartel members who prey on migrants.
The 50 men were packed shoulder to shoulder on courtroom benches, a look of resignation on their faces. When the judge called out their names one by one, they each answered "Presente!" in a cascading chorus of Spanish. Then the mass processing began. As each group of eight moved to the bench — along with the court-appointed attorneys they had met only a few hours earlier — the sound of their clanking chains echoed through the room.
In a feeble nod towards due process, the judge read the group a list of rights they would give up if they accepted the plea bargain offered by federal prosecutors. He spoke in a monotone, uttering the words he must repeat hundreds of times every month: Do you understand you give up your right to a jury trial? Your right to appeal? Do you understand the charges against you? After each question, the group answered in unison, "Si" — an improbable affirmation, I thought, given that these men from Mexico and Central America probably had little understanding of their rights.
It took less than ten minutes for the judge to process and sentence the first group. After each man pleaded guilty, he was given a jail term of anywhere from one to six months, many of them to be housed in private prisons at taxpayer expense. After serving their sentences, they face almost certain deportation, and will be marked as even more "serious" criminals if they are caught crossing the border again.
This disturbing scene of mass injustice is repeated every day in border states. In Tucson alone, up to 70 people are shunted through Operation Streamline daily. More than 80% of the criminal cases filed in Arizona federal courts last year were prosecutions for unauthorized border crossings.
After attending the proceedings, our group met with Grant Bashore, a federal criminal defense attorney who has represented Streamline defendants in the past. He calls it a "dumping ground" that criminalizes migrants. He says that every morning public defenders or court-appointed private attorneys are assigned five to eight cases each to handle that day. Each defendant then gets a mere 30 to 40 minutes to speak with a lawyer before facing a judge. There's no opportunity to make arguments about an individual's circumstances or reasons for coming to the U.S. —reasons that might include reuniting with U.S. born children or seeking asylum — because the Streamline machine doesn't consider these factors. Bashore and other attorneys say they have even seen U.S. citizens mistakenly getting caught up in this justice mill.
Operation Streamline persists on the theory that the threat of criminal prosecution will deter migrants from undertaking the dangerous journey across the Sonoran desert. But there's no evidence that criminalizing unauthorized immigration is a more effective deterrent than civil proceedings – the government's usual approach to the issue before Streamline was invented. American taxpayers foot the bill – estimated to be as much as $1 billion annually - for this travesty of justice, with hundreds of millions of those dollars flowing to private prison companies. This fast-track justice system also raises serious questions about whether the power and resources of our federal courts should be used to criminalize people for fleeing violence and poverty in their homelands or seeking to reunite with family members in the U.S.
For more on Streamline, see ACLU's recommendations here.It’s been few months since I decided it’s time for me to leave “the ship life” and stay on land again. So far, I must say, I’m extremely happy with my decision and I’m enjoying summer as much as I can. Since I came back home I fell in love with SUP-ing (stand up paddling), so I’m still trying to stay as close to the water as possible.
My friend and I decided to visit a neighboring country for few days, Austria. Since I love adventures so much, we decided to go camping by the lake. It’s been a long time since the last time I slept in a tent and I really missed it, so I was super excited about it. We found a camp right next to Wörthersee Lake. Honestly, to me it was somehow new to actually be on vacation, to have all this free time, no schedule, no rush, I forgot how that is.
We used our first day there to explore Klagenfurt a little bit and to set up our camp spot. Towards the evening we went to the beach to relax and swim in the lake. And this night we were told there will be a party in the sky – one of the biggest meteor showers. So we grabbed few beers (and some rum), sat on a beach and watched the sky. Well, the sky show didn’t really reach our expectations, but there were still quite a lot of shooting stars, more than I’ve ever seen in one night. Wish upon a star they say… I had a chance to wish a lot of things that night.
In the morning we didn’t bother with an alarm clock. We woke up when we felt like. After late breakfast, we went for a short hike to a nearby hill. Luckily we had some random map of the area with us, but somehow we still managed to miss some path and made it all the way to the other side of the hill. Our plan was to hike for about two hours, it turned out to be four hours. But it didn’t matter, it was a nice walk through beautiful nature. After we had pasta for lunch, again, we finally put my SUP board in the water and paddled around for a while. We had to prepare for our big day…
So… the third day. Well, this is the highlight of the whole trip – we paddled on my SUP all the way to the other side of the lake and back again. Locals said we’re crazy and we won’t be able to do it. Watch us… Just watch us… Haha! Our plan was to rent another board, but the rent center opened too late, so we just shared one board. That turned out to actually be a better option in the end – yes, we were heavier, our board was much lower in the water, we were slower, but we had an option to switch positions, so each person had a chance to rest. We started our trip 8:15 in the morning. During the day we made quite a few stops along the coast, took time for a drink, for a snack, even for a pre-cooked pasta at lunchtime. Luckily we were very well prepared for a whole day trip. The other side of the lake was much harder to paddle. There were more boats, so the waves got bigger and from all sides and I still have no idea how the hell we managed to stand on board after all that. It was crazy and absolutely hilarious. I wish I could see us from some other perspective, I think I’d die laughing (well, my eyes were full of tears of laughter anyway). 🙂 Anyway, we had a bit longer stop at Velden, the town on the other side of the lake. After we got some energy back and got a cold beer at a nearby store, we were able to start our journey back. This was the hardest part of the whole trip – the waves were still high and now even the wind was our enemy, blowing towards us. Most of our way back I was just laughing. Maybe I was going a bit extra crazy because I was already tired, or maybe it was actually funny. My fight with a bee probably made it even funnier, since I was just saying that if I’ll ever fall in the water, it’s going to be because of these stupid bees flying around my head. It wasn’t even 5 minutes later when I flipped the board over and we fell in the water. When I looked around me my friend was still under water, but hey, he saved the beer can! Priorities… 😀
Despite nobody believing we’ll be able to cross the lake and come back to the starting point in one day, we did it. The whole lake is 18km long, so that made 36km of paddling. I think I paddled around 16km and my friend around 20km. We were tired, but we felt proud that we did it. I mean come on, it’s my first season SUP-ing and my friend actually stood on a SUP for the third time in his life… 😀
We were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. We made it back to our camping spot around 7 pm, tired, hungry… The next day we had to pack up and we were still too tired to do anything special. We made a short stop in a nice canyon in Slovenia, but only to sit down in a shade for a bit and have a beer. We just needed to get home and get some sleep. Well, this was definitely one of the best adventures this summer. I think I’m getting used to this life on land quite well and I hope it will continue like this. 😀
The night sky full of stars Beautiful villa by the lake – feels a bit like a fairytale. Hiking through the hills and looking down on a lake. Tested, the bag is definitely water-proof. 😀 Sometimes it’s nice to get some rest when somebody else paddles… 🙂 So, we got a bit lost… Tourists… 🙂 Night view of the lake Cute wooden tower hidden between the trees. Hiking with nice views. 🙂 More nice lake houses… View on vineyards and Wörthersee Lake Yep, definitely tourists… 🙂 We came across two more SUP-ers, but they didn’t make as crazy distance as us. These UV protection shirts were definitely a good idea today… Cute church by the lake and Piramidenkogel tower on top of the hill. Our adventure begins! SUP time! Cute paths through fields… “It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away…” My turn to paddle! SUP adventure! And cute paths through the forest…
AdvertisementsTeam Associated and LRP to Work Separately
Team Associated has imported and worked with German company LRP for years. That has now ended and LRP America will be servicing America starting the first of September.
Read the full press release from LRP below-
“Lake Forest, CA & Schorndorf, Germany, July 24, 2013 – Top radio control brands, Associated Electrics, Inc. and LRP electronic GmbH, announced jointly today that Associated will no longer be selling and servicing the LRP brand in North America.
Associated has supported the LRP brand in North America for over 18 years and the two brands have achieved great success with many IFMAR World Championships together during this partnership. With both brands expanding and their respective product lines overlapping, both sides felt the timing was right to work independently, but still continue a racing partnership.
Associated will now fully focus on developing and promoting the Reedy brand in all markets. Reedy develops products in the electric motor, nitro engine, battery, charger and speed control categories.
LRP will expand its presence in North America by establishing LRP America, Inc. in Southern California. LRP America will provide marketing, service, and race support for a broadened product range in North America. LRP America will begin serving North America on September 1, 2013.”
So there you have it folks, expect more Reedy branded products from Team Associated, and some cool new gear from LRP America.
Looking for more industry news? Hit THIS LINK.The Associated Press called out Republican presidential candidates who engage in populist campaign talk but present tax proposals that would "overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest" -- a trap media often fall into in their reporting on economic policy.
On September 8, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush debuted his tax plan in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, attacking what he called an "anemic economy" under the Obama administration and claiming that the only way to guarantee "accelerating [economic] growth" is a complete overhaul of the U.S. tax code." Bush's so-called "overhaul" includes reducing the top marginal income tax rate to 28 percent, reducing corporate tax rates to just 20 percent, and eliminating what he called "lobbyist-created loopholes" in the tax code that advantage high-income filers. Following the release of Bush's plan, media jumped to paint the proposal as a "populist" approach to taxes, despite experts noting that it will mostly privilege the rich.
In a September 14 article, the Associated Press highlighted the problem with labeling GOP candidates' proposals as "populist," explaining that in reality, the plans presented by Jeb Bush, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) all "overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest." Focusing on Bush's proposed tax plan, the article noted that even conservative organizations such as the Tax Foundation concluded that "his plan would initially help the top 1 percent of earners 10 times as much as it would those in the bottom 10 percent":We crossed another milestone in industrial history last week. Over the weekend of May 4-5, 2013, the world’s first handgun was printed on a 3-D printer. It was fired and it worked. The implications are dazzling for people all over the world. The printers will become cheaper over time. The files for printing can be distributed all over the world through the Internet.
And no government in the world is in a position to stop it.
That’s not to say that governments won’t try. “It’s stomach-churning,” said New York Sen. Charles Schumer of this remarkable innovation. “We’re facing a situation where anyone — a felon, a terrorist — can open a gun factory in their garage, and the weapons they make will be undetectable.”
A big advocate of gun control, his real goal is not to make the world a more peaceful place. He simply wants government to have all the guns and doesn’t want to make it easier for you and me to get them. He wants to retain the present disparity of power between government and the people and senses that something is upsetting the balance.
Therefore, of course, he wants to amend the law to make printed guns impossible. If you haven’t noticed, this seems to be the main thing government does these days. It puts barriers in the way of progress and tries to stop technological advance.
Legislators just can’t reconcile themselves to the new reality that they have less and less power each day as the digital age progresses. It’s the force of innovators and consumers the world over — creating and exchanging to their mutual benefit — compared with the clunky and blunt instrument of the regulatory state.
The driving energy behind the printed gun is Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the visionary behind Defense Distributed, a website that releases the plans, provides updates, and accepts donations in Bitcoin. He calls his new weapon “the Liberator” after the inexpensive, single-shot gun manufactured by the U.S. government during World War II. They were dropped all over Europe to scare and demoralize occupying armies.
Mr. Wilson thinks like the entrepreneurs of old. He had an idea and believed it was achievable. He saw every barrier not as something that would stop him, but as something to overcome. His crowdfunding project was removed by the website that first hosted it. His first rented printer was recalled by its owners. The regulatory barriers were huge, but he responded with overcompliance. And of course, the gun-grabbers consider him to be enemy No. 1.
I’ve been intrigued to watch his vision unfold over the last year. He clearly saw that the 3-D printing revolution has profound implications for the future. Among other things, it challenges the whole basis of government regulation of the economy, which is very much tied to controlling manufacturers and the buying-and-selling process itself.
With distributable and localized manufacturing, the core power of the regulatory state is faced with a fundamental challenge. Patents and other forms of “intellectual property” become irrelevant. If a design is constrained by regulatory controls, it is a simple |
clientele, made to feel invincible. So, as I compiled my list of 2016’s best video games, I did it with an eye toward the cathartic, the purifying, and even, at times, the edifying.
1. The Last Guardian (PlayStation 4)
It seemed too much to hope, this year, that The Last Guardian, long lost in developmental purgatory, would finally be released, and that it would meet fans’ expectations. Yet Fumito Ueda’s third game is his best yet. It tells the affecting tale of a boy and his colossal beast, a pair lost in a lost city, who must work together to heal their wounds and escape the craggy wasteland in which they’re imprisoned. As the beast, named Trico, protects your character from ghoulish kidnappers and deadly falls (how often are we cast as the disempowered in video-game fantasies?), an earnest bond forms, not only between animal and boy but also between animal and player. While most games limp into their final credits, The Last Guardian crescendos gloriously, with an affecting ending that reveals, better than any other, the idiosyncratic power of the medium.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
The Polish-made game, based on the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novels, came out last year, but it was in 2016 that, through thoughtful tinkering and refinement, it became the best version of itself. In May, the game’s developers released a new chapter, Blood and Wine. You still play as Geralt, a kind of freelance medieval detective-slash-pest-controller, employed to deal with everything from local territorial disputes to troll infestations. The money you earn may be spent on new weapons, armor, potions, or even collectible cards, which can be used in a bar game called Gwent that’s ubiquitously popular in the game’s Northern Kingdoms. But in Blood and Wine, which takes Geralt to the pastoral splendor of the Toussaint region, you’re likely to make a more Gallic sort of investment: renovating your new vineyard estate, repairing beams and tastefully refurnishing the dusty rooms.
3. Clash Royale (Android, iOS)
The follow-up to Clash of Clans, a game so uproariously popular that the Finns who created it have boosted their country’s capital-gains-tax income by a fifth, is a brisker, more tactical affair than the original. The object of the game is to storm your opponent’s castle. The contests, played against semi-anonymous players with whom you are instantaneously matched whenever you start the game, are short and frantic. You have no direct control over your units, which range from bobbing foot-solders to Tolkien-esque trolls, so the strategy derives from choice, timing, and placement. This is a so-called freemium game, meaning that you can pay to accelerate the rate at which your troops develop, but even for freeloaders there is plenty to enjoy.
4. Titanfall 2 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Titanfall 2 is as brawny and brash as video games come: you play as a futuristic Marine accompanied by a bipedal robot tank, the sort found clanking through so much Japanese anime. The sentient machine will fight alongside you, or you can leap into the driver’s seat and take the controls. Like the Call of Duty franchise, which was established by some of the same people, Titanfall 2 is a militaristic fantasy designed to flatter its player; you prevail, single-handedly, against laughable odds. But beneath the muscular grandstanding is a game conceived with masterly attention to design. The single-player campaign is mindless but exquisite, cinematic in feel, and the multiplayer modes have the excitement of sport.
5. Rez Infinite (PlayStation 4)
Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s revival of his fifteen-year-old synesthetic music game, Rez, in virtual reality may seem, to rival V.R. game makers, like cheating. The original was already a masterpiece of art and engineering, melding a trance soundtrack with psychedelic explosions of light and color. The move to V.R.’s all-encompassing dimension is not tokenistic, however. It feels like the true expression of a game that we had previously seen only in glimpses. Rez Infinite’s final stage, Area X, breaks your avatar free of its tracks, allowing you to float through space, surging forward in whatever direction you look. You become the conductor of a lavish, esoteric fireworks display, warm and unforgettable.
6. Hitman (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
While prestige television series are increasingly distributed in the manner of video games, all at once, Hitman is a video game released in episodic dollops, in the manner of a traditional TV season. Each episode takes the eponymous assassin to a different, vibrant location—Paris, Marrakech, Bangkok, and Sapienza, a fictional town modelled on Vernazza, Italy—intricately rendered and filled with hundreds of background characters going about their routines. There’s a target to dispose of in each location, but the game invites you to replay each mission in scores of different ways, picking out new routes, tools, and ever more inventive ways of meeting your goals. Hitman rewards the imaginative, and the imaginatively murderous.
7. Overwatch (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Blizzard, the well-moneyed creator of World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Hearthstone, is known for the finesse of its games, and Overwatch maintains the standard. It translates the fundamentals of League of Legends, in which players square off in a scramble for territory, to the first-person-shooter genre. There’s a role (and an avatar, each with its own backstory and wardrobe) for every personality, whether you prefer to charge into the throng, hang back to snipe from the sidelines, or tend to the wounded. For the well-organized team, an Overwatch victory could be one of 2016’s most thrilling.
8. Firewatch (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
“We made a strange thing,” the graphic designer Olly Moss, one of Firewatch’s artists, told me earlier this year. Certainly, when compared with most modern video games, this laconic, slow-burning story of a man named Henry and the summer he spends as a National Park fire lookout is unusual. But it fits comfortably within the broader context of fiction about heartbreak, retreat, and solitude among rudderless fortysomethings. The game’s standout trick is the manner in which the story is told—largely through a battery-powered walkie-talkie, so that Henry’s few moments of human connection are interspersed with long stretches of lonely silence. Firewatch’s ending doesn’t quite deliver a payoff equal to its elegant setup, but, nevertheless, this summer trip to Wyoming becomes as memorable for you as it is for Henry, who emerges transformed.
9. No Man’s Sky (PC, PlayStation 4)
With its promise of a vast and endlessly surprising galactic playpen filled with diverse and constantly evolving flora and fauna, No Man’s Sky raised expectations impossibly high. Disappointment from certain members of its audience was so acute that they managed to badger the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Agency into launching an investigation into whether the game was falsely advertised in the run-up to its launch. (The A.S.A. ruled that it wasn’t, but this didn’t stop hackers from gaining access to the developer’s Twitter account and issuing a false statement reading, “No Man’s Sky was a mistake.”) But for those who kept their expectations within the realm of sense, No Man’s Sky delivered. Now that the audience has shrunk to, arguably, its intended core of spaceship-tinkering nerds, a raft of recent updates and improvements has been well-received.
Honorable Mentions
Abzû (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Chameleon Run (Android, iOS, Windows Phone)
Dishonored 2 (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Stephen’s Sausage Roll (PC)
Stardew Valley (Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Tower of Guns (PC, PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox One)
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PlayStation 4)
The Witness (iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Inside (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)He also thought of climbing a tree, but realised bears can do the same.
But that wasn't an option because “I fear swimming,” Mr Marube recounted. “I fear water.”
Mr Marube said he considered jumping into a nearby lake, where the bears had likely been headed for a drink.
By KEVIN J. KELLEY
More by this Author
A Kenyan runner reportedly outran a pair of pursuing bears in a wooded area in Maine, a state in the US' New England region.
Moninda Marube, a 38-year-old student at the University of Maine, told local media that he encountered two black bears on Wednesday while on an early-morning 18-mile training run.
CAN KILL
Black bears have killed 61 people in North America since 1900, according to the North American Bear Centre, a nonprofit organisation that works to ensure the survival of bears worldwide.
The group's website notes, however, that US residents are far more likely to be killed by domestic dogs, bees, lightning strikes and fellow humans than by black bears.
Mr Marube said he was chased by the bears after they emerged from the woods in a nature preserve in the town of Auburn.
“I had to think very fast,” he told the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal newspaper.
Mr Marube said he considered jumping into a nearby lake, where the bears had likely been headed for a drink.
OPTIONS
But that wasn't an option because “I fear swimming,” Mr Marube recounted. “I fear water.”
He also thought of climbing a tree, but realised bears can do the same.
The panicking runner instead sought shelter in a vacant camp building.
The bears could have easily broken through the screen door that separated him from them, but they soon ran off into the woods, Mr Marube said.
"I cannot say it's my feet that saved me,” he told local television station WCSH. “It's God that saved me."
Mr Marube's tactics were not the wisest response to the bears, a wildlife biologist said.
MISTAKE
“He should have stood his ground, yelled and screamed and acted big and loud and scary," Cory Stearns told WCSH.
"In all likelihood, the bears would have run away."
Mr Marube said in an interview with the Sun Journal that in Kenya he had once come upon a leopard perched in a tree after becoming separated from a group of fellow runners.
He said he fled Kenya in the aftermath of the violence that accompanied the 2007 elections.
Mr Marube travelled first to Spain and Australia, and managed to enter the US in 2010, he related in a 2014 story in the Portland (Maine) Press Herald.
A VICTIM
He and other Kenyan runners were exploited by a manager who pocketed most of the money they had won in races in the US, Mr Marube said.
He eventually broke with the manager and was befriended by a track coach in Auburn who helped Mr Marube establish himself in Maine, the Press Herald reported.The Government is soon set to make two critical, once-in-a-generation, decisions about the future of Cork. The outcome of these dual major public policy choices on the horizon for the state’s second city will dictate the shape of development and the scale of ambition for Cork, as well as the economic prospects for the entire southern half of the country.
The first of these is the role the Government’s new National Planning Framework assigns to Cork as part of its emerging spatial strategy, while the second relates to the shape of the new local government arrangements in the city and county. These decisions are pivotal public policy moments, which will have national as well as local implications. These are not merely local issues; they are in the national interest because Cork is Ireland’s only realistic prospect for delivering an alternative growth centre to the greater Dublin area.
Both of these issues have been subject to years of research, consultation and deliberation. The Government has put huge effort and resources into these processes, and there is now a clear prescription for what needs to be done; in summary, this means developing the Cork city region as an urban centre of national and European significance – with a metropolitan-scale governance structure to match.
International observers such as the IMF are becoming especially interested in the effects of an overheating Dublin and the underperformance of our second-tier cities.
What is becoming clear is that there is now a major expectation that Cork will play a central role in anchoring an alternative development framework for the entire country. However, this expectation is accompanied by a sense that Cork now needs to step up to the plate and demonstrate that it is ready to fulfil this role.
The city continues to perform very strongly in economic terms, and has retained its role as the country’s second economic powerhouse through the recession and recovery; the city centre and the docklands area in particular are belatedly responding to the huge opportunities for regeneration and development.
Region’s role
This is crucial – after all, a successful city centre is absolutely central to the success of the surrounding area and for fulfilling the region’s role as a counterbalance to Dublin. There are now numerous active and imminent projects in the commercial office, residential, hospitality, educational, tourism and retail sectors; by my calculations, there is about €1 billion of private sector development investment under way or in the planning process for 28 substantial projects in the city’s core and the docklands area. However, the State needs to secure this momentum by investing sufficiently in municipal infrastructure to ensure that the city provides the necessary backdrop to support such growth.
If Cork has any ambition to develop as a metropolitan scale city-region of European significance, it urgently needs new governance structures to reflect those aspirations. Cork’s administrative boundaries are out of date and increasingly problematic in terms of efficient and united territorial and economic management; spatial and environmental planning; and local democratic coherence. The city authority is severely constrained in managing its functional constituency, while the county authority is forced to oversee this urban overspill while at the same time managing an extremely large and diverse territory. This was the overwhelming conclusion of the recently published report by an advisory group chaired by former chief planner for Scotland Jim Mackinnon, which is now being advanced to implementation stage.
An appropriately located boundary will allow Cork to institute governing arrangements that allow it to plan and prosper as a strong and dynamic city-region, competing effectively with its European counterparts. The precise location of the boundary distinguishing an enlarged city and county area has been subject to much discussion, and Cork County Council is understandably concerned about the financial and logistical implications of a substantial boundary extension. There are, however, clear legislative mechanisms in place that are designed specifically to accommodate such changes, which will ensure that both local authorities in Cork are on a sound, sustainable financial footing.
Important clusters
Cork city should have a rate base commensurate with its size and standing as an urban centre. This will allow the city to help drive regional economic development and investment and to evolve as a real counterbalance to Dublin. Cork county will continue to function as the largest local authority outside the greater Dublin area, with a strong mix of metropolitan, urban and rural economic functions. All of theses aspects have their own particular economic profiles, with important industrial, commercial, agricultural and tourism services that produce rateable income – including one of the most important clusters of economic activity in the entire State in Ringaskiddy/Cork harbour.
Cork performs so strongly at an international level – the region’s GDP in 2014 for example was double that of the EU average (euro per inhabitant) and ranks in the top 5 per cent of EU regions in economic performance. This is a testament to the strong partnership between city and county councils, which created the conditions for this remarkable but often overlooked regional success story. It is time now to recalibrate and renew this partnership and make sure that both councils are governed in such a way that protects their best interests, and which secures the joint approach to the city region’s planning and development.
Cork’s success and prosperity is thus clearly aligned with the State’s basic economic interests, and it is clear that Ireland needs Cork more than ever to drive the regional development agenda for the southern part of the country. Equally, Cork needs explicit public policy supports to complement its credentials as Ireland’s key opportunity for effective regional development.
Put simply, Ireland needs Cork to work.
William Brady is an urban planner based at the Centre for Planning Education and Research, UCCVancouver’s own Dan Mangan is my absolute favourite new singer/songwriter. And I don’t just mean Vancouver singer/songwriter, I mean favourite in the world. And it’s not simply because I’m the guy who edits the site that serves as Vancouver’s cheerleader for everything rad that it produces; this dude recently released a banger of a CD called Nice, Nice, Very Nice that’s been getting heavy airplay at home, in my car and at the office (coming from both the FM dial and his CD) and outside of my microcosmic narcissistic hole has been getting a lot of play on the radio as well as positive reviews in pretty much every publication in Canada (check his site for confirmation on that but I think it’s “every” publication by now). There’s also been more than one song from the album already on CBC Radio 3’s R3-30 Countdown of Canada’s current most awesome 30 indie rock sings.
Next week Dan will be heading East on a cross Canada tour so we figured we’d send him off with a conversation about the things he’ll miss the most about Vancouver while he’s gone. Enjoy!
photo: jonathan taggart
What makes Vancouver so awesome?
It’s unparalleled mixture of urban metropolis with natural landscape. There are cities that have more arty scenes, or more commerce – but the thing that kills me about Vancouver is coming home to it and always being wowed by its visual aesthetic. I remember as a kid people saying tag lines like, “In Vancouver you can sea-kayak, see a Canucks game and snowboard in the same day”. I don’t know if any really hyper people actually do that kind of stuff, but for someone more physically motivated than myself, it could be achieved. I just like the fonts on the street signs. I like the gray dewy mornings. I like the feeling that I’m in a city that still smells okay.
Who’s your favourite Vancouverite of all time?
That question is too hard to answer seriously. Maybe the guy who runs Locus Cafe – not because I know him at all, but because he looks like the dude from the band Aqua who would yell “Come on Barbie, let’s go party!”. I will say that I think Ben from the band Said The Whale is a really swell guy.
Current favourite restaurant?
I’ve recently gotten into the Olive Cafe at 28th and Main. It’s brand new and there’s this really sweet Greek (or Italian?) woman who makes incredible sandwiches and soup. The ingredients are always fresh and half the time she forgets what you’ve ordered and when it comes time to pay you have to ‘honour-system’ your way through the bill.
What’s your favourite new band from Vancouver? “New” being from, like, the past 5 years.
Man – there are so many. I feel like there’s such an uprising. A real community has been fostered here in the last few years. There’s a slogan that’s been going around – “The New Montreal”. Analog Bell Service, Said The Whale, DRMHLLR, Parlour Steps, Mother Mother, Hey Ocean!, Yukon Blonde, The Zolas, James Lamb, Ladyhawk, Black Mountain, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Bend Sinister. I apologize, I’ve pluralized your singular question.
What’s your favourite Vancouver band of all time?
Ah jeez, what a question. Well I think an iconic Vancouver artist is Veda Hille. She has been active not only in the music scene, but in the theatre and visual art scenes as well – and for decades, and still going. Stronger than ever.
veda hille. photo: quinne rodgers
Favourite Vancouver venue to play at?
The Vancouver East Cultural Centre. It’s possibly my favourite venue in the whole universe. That being said, I’ve never had the chance to play at some of the larger venues like The Commodore, The Orpheum, Vogue or Queen Elizabeth. I imagine that would be quite enjoyable – but there’s a brilliant mixture of concert magic and intimacy that occurs naturally at ‘The Cultch’.
live at zulu records. photo: christine mcavoy
What was your favourite show you’ve seen there?
I saw Hayden, The Seams and Veda Hille there about four years ago. Hayden forgot the lyrics to at least four or five songs and stopped dead in the middle of each of them. I think he might have just been really stoned, but he said he’d just spent months in the studio recording “Elk Lade Serenade” and had lost his live show edge. I think it was a “Rock For Choice” show. It was a great night.
Do you have a “best Vancouver show” memory of all time?
I remember being right up front for a Broken Social Scene show at The Commodore years and years ago – and just feeling like the horn section was so powerful. I loved the mixture of traditional instruments and contemporary indie-rock. These days, that’s pretty normal, but back then it seemed they were really on to something. Also once when I was 19 I saw a Doves concert at the same venue and they invited people from the crowd to dance on stage for the last song. I was the first kid on the stage and rocked out pretty hard.
In what neighbourhoods of Vancouver have you lived during your lifetime and what did you like the most about each of them?
South Main – 28th/Main – I like being close to Bean Around The World, Olive Cafe, East Is East, East West Market, the BCL, Slickity Jim’s Chat n’ Chew, Locus, Hawker’s Delight
Dunbar – 17th/Dunbar – I liked being close to that pizza shop that got shut down for having a dirty kitchen
Commercial Drive – 6th/Commercial – I liked being close to Continental Coffee and Wonderbucks
City Centre – Oak/17th.. I liked being close to Max’s Deli and De Dutch Wooden Shoe Cafe
Want to talk about your song, Tina’s Glorious Comeback?
The lyrics are a little coded. The royal “we” that occurs in the choruses could be taken in to the context of a romantic relationship, but really it’s about my relationship with the city of Vancouver. I have so many memories of going through my parents’ change dishes for coins (75 cents) to go wait underneath one of those big brown earthy wooden bus stops – probably listening to Nirvana Unplugged or something on my walkman. Whether you were driving or walking, those bus stops were everywhere and really added to the ambiance/vibe of the city. I think the fact that they were rain-worn and wooden really defined what it was like to grow up in Vancouver, where all of the houses are rain-worn and wooden – which is different than Toronto where everything is brick. When they tore down the bus stops and erected (yea that’s right, erected) the futuristic looking metal ones, it really changed the city forever. It’s like painting a house with a different trim. The difference is subtle, but consistent. I realized that in many ways Vancouver is changing for the better, and in many ways it is changing for the worse – which stirred up all kinds of emotions about getting older and nostalgic. It doesn’t matter whether the pros or cons outweigh each other, it just is a comment on change, really.
dan’s recently release “nice, nice, very nice” CD available HERE
Favourite place to be on a Sunday morning?
Probably Locus Cafe – get there early with my girlfriend to read through some of The Straight – with good company on the way
What are you working on right now?
Trying not to go out of my mind. I’m glued to the computer these days trying to keep the plates spinning with this new release. I don’t have a manager so I spend a lot of time planning. Now that the record is finished and released and circulating, all I can think about is the next album though – how I want it to be different, how I want it to sound, and trying to write in any spare time. I’ve got a Canadian tour for October, and a European tour for November. At the moment it looks like probably Australia in January then back to the road here at home.
photo: jonathan taggart
If I gave you 100 bucks right now, what would you go spend it on?
Perhaps 16 orders of “curry chicken noodle” (best greasy $5 you can spend) at Hawker’s Delight and a new CD from Red Cat Records. I’m just realizing now that my Vancouver Is Awesome questionnaire has turned in to a running advertisement for local establishments. I think I might have just ‘sold out’. Shit.Bumblebees, honeybees and ladybugs took a hard hit on Sunday when tens of thousands of them were discovered dead in a Target parking lot in Oregon.
Bumblebees fared the worst, with an estimated 25,000 dead and 150 colonies lost. And this at the beginning of National Pollinator Week, no less. Bumble bees are crucial to farming in western Oregon, where they are vital pollinators of many berry and seed crops.
“They were literally falling out of the trees," said Rich Hatfield, a conservation biologist with the nonprofit bee-advocating Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. "To our knowledge this is one of the largest documented bumble bee deaths in the western U.S. It was heartbreaking to watch.”
Together, the Xerces Society and the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) collected samples of the dead insects.
Xerces discovered that landscapers had sprayed 65 European linden trees on Saturday with the insecticide Safari. The insecticide is described by manufacturer Valent as a "super-systemic insecticide with quick uptake and knockdown,” reports UPI.
"[The landscapers] made a huge mistake, but unfortunately this is not that uncommon," said Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society. "Evidently they didn't follow the label instructions. This should not have been applied to the trees while they're in bloom."
Yet ODA was not ready to pin the blame so quickly.
"I don’t think we’re there yet," said ODA Communications Director Bruce Pokarney. "We’re looking at any other pesticide applications that might have taken place in the area that might have come into play. Until we get all that figured out, we stop short of saying this is the culprit or the likely culprit. It’s one of the possibilities we’re looking at. A very strong possibility."
It couldn’t have come at a more poignant, or ironic, time. The United States Department of Interior designated this year’s National Pollinator Week as June 17-23, 2013. Every year, the week serves to highlight the invaluable services provided by our pollinators, including bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. One out of every three bites of food we take comes from foods that are dependent on pollinators, so we really can’t afford to lose more.
Related on MNN: What a grocery store without bees looks like
25,000 bees found dead in Oregon; pesticide suspected
Experts say it is one of the largest documented bee deaths in the Western U.S.When it comes to tax perks, the mortgage interest deduction is the third rail -- typically, no one wants to touch it.
But Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is doing the politically unthinkable and openly talking about getting rid of homeowners' favorite tax favor. And a handful of other candidates are at least talking about making tweaks to the system.
“No exceptions, no shelters, no loopholes,” Carson told South Carolina Tea Party activists on Monday, touting his 14.9 percent flat tax plan.
The tough tax debate on the 2016 campaign trail shows that sacred cow deductions are at least on the table. At the same time, analysts suggest any major changes to the system remain a long way off.
The Republican candidates’ tax plans generally aim to simplify the code, lower rates and strip down deductions. But Carson is largely out on his own calling for a complete elimination of the homeowner benefit.
Even as his poll numbers fall, he doubled down on the idea at last week's Fox Business Network debate.
“There are a lot of people who say, if you get rid of the deductions, you ruin the American dream, because, you know, the mortgage interest deduction. But the fact of the matter is, people had homes before,” Carson said.
The deduction allows homeowners who itemize their taxes to subtract the interest paid on their mortgage or loans totaling $1 million or less.
The Carson proposal has been met with jeers from real estate magnate -- and Republican front-runner -- Donald Trump, who argues that messing with the deduction is a major miscalculation.
“You know, a lot of people were worried about real estate – try taking the mortgage interest deduction out,” Trump said at a rally last fall in New Hampshire, when Carson posed a bigger threat in the polls than he does now. “You’ll see what’s going to happen to real estate. You want to see a crash? Try that one.”
Republican strategist Bradley Blakeman says Carson should reconsider his approach.
“It’s a bad move. He’s the Kevorkian of taxes,” Blakeman told FoxNews.com’s Strategy Room, comparing Carson to assisted suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian. “It is absolutely essential to keep the mortgage deduction because that is the empowerment by which people can make a home, buy a house and amortize that cost over a period of 15 to 30 years.”
Trump has argued the deduction, one of America’s most expensive tax breaks, is key to keeping the country’s economy alive – a view echoed by many GOP presidential candidates.
Other major candidates propose either leaving the deduction alone, or giving it a slight tweak.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s gone on record to say he’d leave the deduction in place. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he’d cap it at 2 percent of adjusted gross income. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s Simple Flat Tax plan includes a deduction for home mortgage on the first $500,000 in principal.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has vowed to gut the country’s entire tax code if elected, which by default means he’d be in favor of dumping the existing deduction.
While the deduction itself is popular and designed to make home ownership more accessible, some financial analysts say that a vast majority of benefits go to the top tier of wealthy Americans.
University of Texas Law Professor A. Michele Dickinson says that nearly half of those who have a mortgage receive little to no benefit from the interest deduction. Instead, a majority of mortgage holders choose to use a standard deduction when filing because it’s more profitable.
“Though the mortgage interest deduction theoretically increases Americans’ access to homeownership, in reality, it mostly subsidizes housing costs for upper income Americans,” she wrote.
Carson has also vowed to cut the charitable contribution deduction, though others have not followed suit.
Carson, who has seen his poll numbers slip in recent weeks, says he’s betting on the goodwill and generosity of Americans to donate without expecting a tax break in return.
“We had churches before that and charitable organizations before that,” Carson said at the first Fox Business Network debate in November. “The fact of the matter is, I believe if you put more money in people’s pocks that they will actually be more generous rather than less generous.”On the heels of news that Cubans would now be allowed to buy and sell used cars of any kind (they used to only be allowed to do so with the pre-1950’s era almendrones sputtering around the island), today Cuba announced that natural-born Cubans and permanent residents will now have the right to buy and sell their homes, and transfer ownership to others on the island. Not surprisingly, the rules come with some caveats, like only one primary residence and one vacation home allowed.
These are still incredibly meaningful changes, and the fact that these sorts of changes have finally begun rolling out might explain why Freedom House – no fan of the Cuban government due to its human rights record – found optimism in a recent survey it conducted on the island. Whereas a year ago, when I last traveled to the island, I detected mounting impatience (a sort of, “this is never going to change” attitude), Cubans can now see real changes are finally on the way and here to stay. Particularly important is the apparent willingness of the Cuban government to keep revising rules – to allow farmers to work even larger parcels of land than first granted several years ago, to let paladars serve fifty, not just twenty, customers – when they don’t work as well as they should, that should really offer hope.
There’s still so much to do: bureaucrats in the way, as Raul Castro himself has complained, too many imports and not enough exports (though major government belt-tightening has gone a long way to alleviate that problem), highly educated workers with not enough jobs to complement their skills (and thus a brain drain exacerbated by incredibly generous US immigration policies towards Cubans), and more.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a talk cohosted by the Center for Democracy in the Americas, the American University School of Public Affairs, and the American University Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, given by several visiting Cuban professors specializing in political science and economics. I came away with several clear lessons that the vast majority of Americans (and apparently whomever is giving President Obama advice on Cuba these days) do not yet understand about a radically changing Cuba.
Rafael Hernandez, editor of the noted Cuban journal Temas and a leading political scientist in Cuba, showed just how political the economic reforms in Cuba really are. He focused on four key areas in which the process to update the economic model is crucially linked to adapting some key elements of Cuba’s longstanding political model: de-centralization, de-statization, de-bureaucratization, and building a new rule of law that supports and legitimizes the private sector in a way not seen in Cuba in decades.
Jorge Mario Sanchez, an economist and prolific researcher at the University of Havana's Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, addressed why these changes are needed now – I loved his Pac-Man metaphor, a Cuba far from consumption but not producing enough to sustain itself – and reminded us why they have been so slow. These changes, unlike those emergency measures taken in the 1990s, are here to stay, so there’s an abundance of caution. This of course means revising new rules quite a lot and essentially “learning by doing.” But, Sanchez notes, the goal is 35 percent of the labor force shifted to the non-state sector in the next few years – not an insignificant shift.
Carlos Alzugaray, a former senior diplomat now at the University of Havana’s Center for Cuban-U.S. Studies, assured us the reform process is something we might not have recognized (or believed) until right about now: relentless. Himself impatient with the pace of change at times, Alzugaray joked that he didn’t say the process was fast, but that hardly a week goes by when there isn’t another change announced.
So back to the news... Just as Hernandez pointed out the political dynamics in Cuba that must adapt for the economic reforms to succeed, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez offered another political message during the United Nations debate last week on the US embargo of Cuba.
"Today, Cuba is changing and will resolutely change everything that has to be changed within the Revolution and within socialism. More revolutionary and better socialism."
It’s a message that continues to fall on deaf ears here in the United States.
--- Anya Landau French blogs for The Havana Note, a project of the "US-Cuba Policy Initiative,” directed by Ms. Landau French, at the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program.Some of us have learned to love the screensaver images Amazon ships with their Kindle reading devices. Others quietly suffer the rotating selection of dead poets and educational images of fishes and plants. And yet others simply ask: “What if I’d like to see something else?”
Personally, I belong to the third category. I was neither particularly thrilled nor appalled by the Kindle stock wallpapers of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain and others. But, as so often, a little innocent question led me down a rabbit hole of business interests, hacks and limitless creativity.
So, in case you’re wondering. The answer is NO! You can’t change the screensaver on your Kindle. At least Amazon doesn’t want you to do it. Why? The answer to this question is a bit more complicated, but I’ve read on forums that earlier Kindles ( I think it was V2) actually had an option to choose custom screensaver images but Amazon scrapped it because newer Kindles used this feature to rotate advertisements.
Warning Notices and Re-Claiming eReading Turf
Fortunately, that’s not the end of this story. Thanks to inquisitive individuals all over the world, there’s now a relatively danger-free way of re-configuring your Kindle so that it will allow you to choose custom screensaver or wallpaper pictures.
Compared to “unjailing” iPhones, there’s allegedly little danger of “bricking” (destroying) your Kindle this way, and the providers of the hack even offer packages to uninstall and reverse any changes you may have made, but it does require a bit of willingness to experiment.
If you want to do it, here’s a link to a detailed tutorial. At the top it says “WARNING: Use at your own risk!”
At first I was sceptical, too. But never underestimate the power of an innocent question. So, finally, I threw “caution” to the wind, it worked without problems, and I never missed Amazon’s Twains and Dickinsons. Instead, I now choose whatever I want to see, just like selecting a wallpaper on any other device I own.
Where To Get Alternative Screensaver Pictures From
Keep in mind that the best format for a Kindle wallpaper is 600×800 pixels and the e-ink doesn’t display color so you might as well select something grayscale from the start.
The easiest way to find suitable, ready-made Kindle wallpaper material is to browse collections.
Online Collections
kindlesavers.com
Stylish, minimalist collection.
kindlewallpapers.tumblr.com
contains some great ones!
note: there are other collections, but I’ve found them wanting.
Browse & Crawl
If you’ve exhausted all collections so far or couldn’t find anything you like, here’s four other ways:
1. Do a FlickR search!
2. Browse Tumblr for everything that was ever |
opened Dry Dock in 2005, said he asked 7 Seas owner Mike Runion if they could work something out along the lines of Avery Brewing of Boulder and California's Russian River Brewing; those two breweries famously teamed up in 2004 on a brew called Collaboration Not Litigation Ale after discovering that they were both making Belgian-style beers with the name Salvation.
"But it was a 'no, you need to change it,'" DeLange says. "The guy was being a real ass about it, which is not something you see that much in the craft brewing industry. I would have expected them to have taken the high road."
Runion declined to talk about it, saying he was in the middle of making deliveries. The brewery, founded in 2008, makes Cutt's Amber Ale, Port Royal Export Style Stout and Ballz Deep Double IPA, among other beers.
7 Seas trademarked the name about three months before Dry Dock began making its beer, DeLange says. The brewery primarily distributes its beer around the Seattle and Tacoma areas, according to its website. Dry Dock currently distributes its kegs and 22-ounce bomber bottles, including Seven Seas, only in Colorado.
"We will drop the Seven Seas and just call it Dry Dock Double IPA," DeLange adds. "We thought about Seven Cease and Desist, but we won't. We have new labels on the way. It will be about three weeks before those come in and will swap it out."
Follow Westword's Beer Man on Twitter at @ColoBeerMan.A Pine Siskin at a private feeder on Aug. 9 in Middle Valley, Washington Twp. (Alison Goesling) is an indicator that a shift in the species makeup of the local avifauna is slowly building in momentum.
A Canada Warbler visited a yard in East Hanover on Saturday, Aug. 8 (Chuck Hantis).
Northern Waterthrushes are reported almost daily.
Common Nighthawks are setting the stage for a big migration push later this month with singles seen at the Great Swamp NWR on Aug. 9 (Simon Lane) and one in Denville, Aug. 8 (Tim Vogel).
A storm front forecast for Tuesday could further shake the birds up a bit. For those of you lounging during this beautiful summer, it is time to get back to work and go birding.
View local eBird checklists in the mocosocoBirds region via eBird’s Region Explorer. Use the following links:
The eBird Hotspot Primer is here and can also be accessed via the Hotspot menu item on the mocosocoBirds.com website.
@mocosocoBirds at Twitter is another communications stream. Instant field reports and links of interest are tweeted throughout the day. The latest tweets appear on the sidebar of this page. One can follow mocosocoBirds at Twitter or link to @mocosocoBirds.
FinisTHE AL-NUSRA FRONT, Al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise, has threatened reprisals against nations participating in air strikes against the Islamic State group, denouncing them as “a war against Islam.”
Group spokesman Abu Firas al-Suri said in a video posted online Saturday the states involved had “committed a horrible act that is going to put them on the list of jihadist targets throughout the world.”
The warning came as the US-led coalition widened its air strikes against the IS group in Syria, as British warplanes flew their first anti-jihadist combat missions over neighbouring Iraq.
Four refineries controlled by the Islamic State group in Syria were hit by airstikes, the Pentagon said today.
Washington has been supported in its Syria campaign by Arab allies Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
An RAF Tornado aircraft Source: Chris Radburn/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Seven targets were hit in Syria, the Pentagon said, including at the border crossing into Turkey of the besieged Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane.
Muhsin al-Fadhli, a long-standing Qaeda operative and alleged leader of Khorasan, was killed in the strikes, according to a jihadist who fought with the group.
The SITE monitoring group said a series of tweets from the jihadist, identified as a member of Al-Qaeda, expressed condolences for the deaths of Fadhli and another Khorasan leader, Abu Yusuf al-Turki.
The US-based monitoring service said the jihadist in Twitter postings dated September 27, 2014, also lamented the situation on the ground in Syria as coalition forces bombard IS forces.
Coalition partners
The United States and its coalition partners aim to destroy the Islamic State group, which controls a swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria, has murdered two US journalists and a British aid worker and is locked in a brutal war with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities.
The IS campaign there has already driven 160,000 refugees into Turkey.
Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 jets took off from Britain’s RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus for Iraq but returned to base without dropping their laser-guided bombs.
“On this occasion no targets were identified as requiring immediate air attack by our aircraft,” said a defence ministry spokesman in London.
Belgium and Denmark have also approved plans to join France and the Netherlands in targeting IS in Iraq, allowing Washington to focus on the more complex operation against its Syria base.
Washington warned that the jihadists could not be defeated in Syria by air power alone, saying that up to 15,000 “moderate” rebels would need to be trained.
© – AFP 2014In the beginning, Bitcoin was something of a revolution to me. The digital currency represented everything from my rebellious youth.
It was a decentralized, denationalized, and digital currency operating outside the traditional banking and governmental system. It used tools of cryptography and connected buyers and sellers across national borders at minimal transaction costs.
I remember discovering Bitcoin in 2012 and sold its virtues on a regular basis. It became a main topic in my articles in German, Swiss, Canadian, and American media, was the subject of several lectures in various European cities, and I steered many private conversations in that direction, all glowing and positive.
Now, I'm bearish on Bitcoin and its digital cousins.
Instead of the future with digital currencies and the breakthrough of the Blockchain technology we were promised, we've just been stuck with a huge bubble and growing complications. Investor craziness. A new tulip mania, just like the speculative bubble of 17th-century Amsterdam.
The 21st-century version has welcomed a plethora of slick consultants, hazy schemes dressed up as investor possibilities, and too much wishy-washy language for anything to really make sense to anyone who wants to use a digital currency to make purchases.
It wasn't supposed to be about price, but it's only become about price
Early advocates of Bitcoin made certain not to tie the usefulness of Bitcoin to its price. It could evade restrictions, shed costs, and help the most vulnerable gain access to currency without middlemen. That was the sell.
AOL The price of Bitcoin since 2011.
But the reason your taxi driver, former college roommate, and Wall Street whiz kids know about Bitcoin now has nothing to do with its tech. Rather, it's the speculation and push to be rich. Everyone wants a payday for free.
Early bets on cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, and Monero have made some very rich. The price of Bitcoin has risen more than 500 per cent in a year, Litecoin more than 1300 per cent, and Ethereum more than 2000 per cent. But that's not the point. It was never about price and it never should be. That's a recipe for disaster.
Cryptocurrencies aren't a store-of-value nor safe haven for anyone's assets. They're experiments. They're bets that make some people very rich, some people poor, and create barriers of entry to ordinary people who want to use the technology.
No doubt, there is innovation on the horizon and there is a huge potential for cryptocurrencies.
But merely examining the usefulness of them through the lens of price is misleading and draws attention away from the real benefits which could take root.
The ideas are there, but the technology in practice isn't
I conducted a small experiment last year and tried to "set up" a small company on the Blockchain. It failed miserably. Online forums weren't helpful, consultants had no answers, and I couldn't get further than getting a digitized time stamp on a PDF.
Blockchain companies claim the new world of business will take place there, but there are no practical steps to make it happen. There are no steps yet for revolutionizing real estate, the music industry, construction, journalism, banking, and more.
Chris Helgren/Reuters Commands on a Bitcoin ATM are seen at a restaurant in Toronto, Ont., June 3, 2017.
Wherever there is a glut of transaction costs, the Blockchain will solve it. But even now, there is no significant practical use case. And that's a problem.
Too many startup companies take advantage of people looking to "get rich quick" on Bitcoin and Blockchain technology. That's why there's speculation and the bubble in the market.
IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers have departments dedicated to understanding Blockchain technologies in the business world. Montreal-based Blockchain firm Catallaxy was recently acquired by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, Quebec's largest actuarial firm, and they've put together some use cases and they could lead on this topic.
But how will this evolve?
In his book Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum & Smart Contracts, programmer and author David Gerard deflates a lot of the hype, peeling the layers on the shady Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) which have scammed thousands of investors on the Ethereum platform and more.
These have been the main vehicles for supposedly tech-savvy entrepreneurs to raise funds for their cool crypto-ventures. Again, we still haven't seen anything significant, but there are plenty of ideas out there. And they all need money, of course.
The reason your taxi driver, former college roommate, and Wall Street whiz kids know about Bitcoin now has nothing to do with its tech.
Now we have a dubious situation.
We still haven't achieved mass adoption and more user-friendly platforms without significant red tape and bureaucracy. Anyone who has had a cancelled account at Coinbase or MtGox can attest. And the government is always ready to shut down any new financial venture that could skim tax money from its coffers.
Where is the revolution we're waiting for?
Maturity and prosperity
The Bitcoin scaling debate of the summer of 2017 revealed a lot of the limitations of the currency.
Transactions in Bitcoin now require higher and higher fees to pay the miners for their work. The blocks are becoming too full, transaction times too long, and confirmations take forever. The comparative advantage of Bitcoin, that being its digital use and instantaneous transactions, is no longer true.
And the worst part of all?
Brendan McDermid/Reuters A customer feeds cash currency into a Bitcoin ATM located in Flat 128, a boutique in New York's West Village, on Aug. 22, 2014.
People in smaller developing countries, usually ravaged with inflation, poor monetary policies, and no real financial infrastructure, are the ones that would most benefit from a truly useable cryptocurrency. The spike in mobile phone ownership across the African continent provides hope that electronic currency and transactions will work.
The question becomes then, will cryptocurrencies mature enough to provide the prosperity they are promising everyone?
There are enough good ideas out there surrounding Bitcoin and Blockchain technology and it should make us hopeful. But there are a lot of bad ones, and they deserve to be called out. Only then will the innovation we desire come to fruition.
I may be bearish, but I'm still hopeful. I'll wait until tomorrow.
Yaël Ossowski is a Canadian journalist and activist living in Vienna. He's currently Deputy Director at Consumer Choice Center. Follow his work on Yael.ca.
Also on HuffPost:President Obama announced his plans for gun control just before noon today. He put 23 executive actions in place immediately following his speech, and called on Congress to take additional measures. There are useful small steps in the president’s agenda, but his boldest proposals are misguided — and unlikely to pass the Republican House. The announcement — during which Obama was accompanied on stage by four children, and which he frequently punctuated with emotional appeals — was primarily an act of political theater.
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#ad#Many of the actions the president has taken or proposed are unremarkable. For instance, few would object to his appointing a director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; requiring federal agencies to supply relevant information to the background-check system; or making efforts to educate mental-health professionals about their options for reporting threats of violence. Congress should indeed stiffen penalties on straw purchasers, those who buy guns from dealers and then pass them off to people who are not allowed to have them. It is not the federal government’s role to fund local schools’ safety efforts or provide money for hiring police, but such efforts are hardly out of the ordinary or a serious threat to liberty.
The president overstepped his bounds, however, in directing the Centers for Disease Control to study gun control. Congress has taken steps to deny the CDC funds for this purpose — the unfortunately imprecise statutory language is that the CDC may not “advocate or promote gun control” — primarily because the agency has proven itself unable to address this topic in an unbiased fashion. If the president wants to spend federal dollars on these studies, he should go through Congress. Anyway, the administration does not seem interested in learning from the research we already have. Serious research reviews by the National Academy of Sciences and the CDC itself have failed to find evidence that gun control reduces crime — despite the massive amount of work that has been done. (And in case anyone in the administration is unclear on this point, gun ownership is not a disease.)
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President Obama also called for restoring the assault-weapons ban and capping magazine size at ten rounds. As we have explained previously, these measures are not useful if the goal is to reduce crime: President Obama can call assault rifles “weapons designed for the theater of war” all he wants, but in fact they are semiautomatic guns, functionally indistinguishable from hunting rifles. High-capacity magazines, meanwhile, are of dubious benefit to someone intent on harming innocents: They require less frequent reloading, but are more likely to jam, and at any rate changing magazines is not difficult even for the untrained.
In addition, the president backed mandatory background checks on gun sales between private individuals; under current law, checks are required only for sales conducted through licensed dealers. In theory, a comprehensive background-check system could be helpful — but in practice, any attempt to implement such a system would probably be cumbersome and unworkable, and the president did not offer specifics. It would be wrong to make gun sales difficult and expensive, or to spend massive amounts of money on a project with dubious benefits.
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All in all, the president’s agenda seems better designed for the polls than for public safety. Gun control means hitting what you aim for, goes the slogan, and Obama has picked his target carefully.A Misguided Appeal to Propriety
I think most people raised in nations founded in Enlightenment ideals (ex. the United States) are taught that rights are not something to mess with. They are not bestowed upon us by our governments, but rather they are innately owed to us as part of our humanity. In fact, we are told all the time that we should be constantly watching out for when the government tries to take away our rights. The rhetoric can be seen on any political blog or newspaper, no matter the ideology.
Examples:
We all agree that rights are precious and worth protecting.
But often, we are not in agreement about who has which rights. Some people might believe we all have equal access to our rights. They might argue that the _________ (insert: 19th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) decision, etc.) finally made everyone equal after a long struggle with inequality since the inception of the first British colony on North America. Unfortunately, that idea that we are all equal is not true. Not everyone has equal access to their rights.
That’s where rights activism comes into play. People in this nation are tired of being denied access to what they are entitled for being human. They want to fight the system which has denied them their rights, maybe even overthrow that system and institute a new one in which they actually get access to rights.
Yet, there are still people who are born in this world with full access for whatever reason (perhaps because they are part of the dominant culture), who want to tell disadvantaged people how to get their rights. As if those advantaged people have ever had to fight for them.
Here is one example of this happening:
8 August 2015 | Seattle, Washington. Bernie Sanders was delivering a speech at a rally when Black Lives Matter protesters took the stage from Sanders and used the platform to share their message. Many people were uncomfortable with protesters’ actions, upset that they interrupted Sanders’ speech. The critics of this move have said things like: “I can’t support a movement that manhandles its way on stage and interrupts people who just want to help them”, “Maybe if they weren’t so rude, people might want to listen to them”, “There is a right way to protest, and that is not it”, and “Their tactics are making the situation worse rather than better”.
Moments after Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont took the stage at Westlake Park for a rally on Saturday August 8 2015, “Black Lives Matter” activist Marissa Johnson interrupts and prevents the Senator from continuing. (Alan Berner / The Seattle Times) Robby Stern, organizer and emcee of the event for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, at Westlake Park argues with activists Marissa Johnson, left, and Mara Jacqueline Willaford CQ who interrupted the Senator, behind Stern, preventing him from speaking. Saturday, August 8, 2015 (Alan Berner / The Seattle Times) Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, is confronted on the Westlake Park stage by Mara Jacqueline Willaford CQ over “Black Lives Matter” issues. She and another activist took over the rally at this point leading to the Senator leaving the stage, making his way through the crowd which thanked him for coming, and getting in a car and being driven away. Saturday August 8 2015,
: Black Lives Matter Activists take to the stage during a speech by Bernie Sanders Photos from the Rally : Black Lives Matter Activists take to the stage during a speech by Bernie Sanders
Essentially, they were engaged in behavior that made many people feel uneasy and upset. And people believed that their uneasiness was evidence that the Black Lives Matter activists’ actions were wrong. So they criticized the actions, saying that they were not be respectable, that what they were doing did not make them worthy of their accomplishing their goals. In many circles, what I am describing is called Respectability Politics.
Have you seen this image on your social media? This image plays right into respectability politics. The ones on the bottom right may still have better access to their rights than the man in the top left, no matter how well/poorly each dresses. [ Image Source ]
You have probably seen examples of Respectability Politics on social media or in conversations with colleagues. Things like:
If they didn’t want to get stopped by police, why did they choose to look like criminals?
If they didn’t want to get stopped by police, why did they choose to look like criminals? No wonder she doesn’t have a job, did you hear the way she talks? I can’t understand her slang!
No wonder she doesn’t have a job, did you hear the way she talks? I can’t understand her slang! I don’t mind gay people, just as long as they don’t act flamboyantly or are all in my face about it.
I don’t mind gay people, just as long as they don’t act flamboyantly or are all in my face about it. He is not poor because he is Black, he is poor because he won’t pull up his pants and go out and find a real job!
He is not poor because he is Black, he is poor because he won’t pull up his pants and go out and find a real job! I wouldn’t date her, she has had sex with everyone!
If you use or have heard anyone else use any of these or related phrases, I will explain below why these phrases not only don't help anyone, but blame people for their socially-inflicted troubles.
First off, here is one problem with Respectability Politics: Activists aren’t asking anyone to give them rights. They’re demanding the rights they are entitled to. They don’t want to hear any criteria or stipulations from the advantaged people for gaining access to rights. They will not pander to the system that denies them rights and necessitates their activism in the first place.
It doesn’t matter if their activism work makes you smile and feel all warm inside or if it makes so mad you’re red in the face. They are demanding their rights (which again, all humans are entitled to). And if you are part of the system that is denying them rights, you are the problem, not them.
Secondly, activists should not have to make their work “respectable” to find success. They are not asking you for second helping of dinner, so to speak. They are asking for a seat at the table in the first place. They do not have time to be dealing with people who want to debate about how to make them more comfy with all this activism business. To continue with the dinner metaphor, they don’t have to time to sit down and educate people about how they are in fact not getting a second helping, but rather, they are getting a chair placed at the table for them. And because of the fact that they don’t even have a seat at the dinner table, they don’t get food at all. And it’s hard to find the time or energy to debate every single person about your eating habits when you are in fact starving. (That’s the end of the dinner metaphor.)
Mattachine Protest in Washington DC. 17 April 1965 | During the first protest for gay and lesbian rights, the demonstrators were required to dress, act, and speak respectably. But it didn’t help much. The LGBTQ rights movement didn’t really kick off until a riot in NYC four years later.
But here is the ultimately fundamental problem with Respectability Politics: it never really works. No one is given access to rights because they were nice or polite. As the image I started this post with quotes from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s 2007 book of the same phrase, “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History”. The same principle applies to all disadvantaged people. Because when the powerful see the powerless being “respectable”, they think “ Awesome, nothing is wrong. Look how complacent everyone is, they must love the current state of affairs. I don’t have to do anything “. But when the powerful see the powerless not being “respectable”, they think “ Wow, those people are so mean, rude, and uncouth; I’m not doing anything for them until they get better.” And thus what is always the result of Respectability Politics? Nothing. Nothing gets done; the advantaged are kept at an advantage and the disadvantaged are kept an a disadvantage.
Additionally, disruption and loudness and other “non-respectable” behavior accomplishes many of the goals of activism: it gets people aware of the issues and makes them talk about it.
What would have happened if the Black Lives Matters activists respectfully asked for stage time at the Bernie Sanders rally? They would have been told “no”, and then would their message have been spread? Or even if they were given time after Senator Sander’s speech was done, would they have been able to as effectively spread their message to a dwindling crowd? Would people have started having those hard conversations about race? Or conversations about why Black Lives Matter exists in the first place?
Returning to those critiques of those actions by the Black Lives Matter activists, we must deconstruct them and expose the hidden Respectability Politics behind them.
Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was still assassinated even if he was wearing a suit and tie. [ Image Source ] “I can’t support a movement that manhandles its way on stage and interrupts people who just want to help them” : You need to think critically about how successful the movement would be if it operated differently. Have other methods been tried? How successful were those methods at spreading their message? If you can’t think of many times polite movements were successful, maybe it’s because being “respectable” doesn’t get you very far. Young adults riding a Greyhound Bus to Alabama during the Freedom Summer (1964) campaign faced nearly lethal violence for attempting to register Southern Black citizens to vote. Was it their nice clothing or maybe the way they looked out the window that prompted the violence against them? Or was it that people were upset they were trying to uproot the racism that plagued the South’s electoral system, government, and culture? [ Image Source ]
“I can’t support a movement that manhandles its way on stage and interrupts people who just want to help them” : You need to think critically about how successful the movement would be if it operated differently. Have other methods been tried? How successful were those methods at spreading their message? “Maybe if they weren’t so rude, people might want to listen to them” : People weren’t listening to them when they were being “polite”. Why would the movement switch back when being “rude” accomplishes their goals? Additionally, we must seriously consider if some groups get more scrutiny for behaving “rudely” than others. Do some groups of people get away with same behavior that some other group would get chastised for?
“Maybe if they weren’t so rude, people might want to listen to them” :. Why would the movement switch back when being “rude” accomplishes their goals? Additionally, we must seriously consider if some groups get more scrutiny for behaving “rudely” than others. Do some groups of people get away with same behavior that some other group would get chastised for? “There is a right way to protest, and that is not it” : Is there a right way to protest? If so, would it not be the way that best completes the goal of the protest? Who decides the right way to protest? This alludes back to the subtitle of this post, a misguided appeal to propriety. People like to police other people’s behavior using some idea of what’s “proper” or “correct” as justification. But we should not tell other people how to live their lives because we are not those people; we don’t know their histories, their experiences, or their intentions.
“There is a right way to protest, and that is not it” : Is there a right way to protest? If so, would it not be the way that best completes the goal of the protest? Who decides the right way to protest? This alludes back to the subtitle of this post, a misguided appeal to propriety.. But we should not tell other people how to live their lives because we are not those people; we don’t know their histories, their experiences, or their intentions. “Their tactics are making the situation worse rather than better” : Their tactics are making people think and talk about issues around race and racism in the United States. And that is way better than no one talking about it while the powerless suffer in silence.
Various "What They Say"/"What We Hear" examples revealing the respectability politics behind various generic comments about protesting. [ Image Source ]
Respectability Politics does not just apply to race. People who talk about LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) people “just wanting to get married like everyone else” are appealing to Respectability Politics. Because LGBQ folks do not just want to get married, they want to get rid of the whole system that denied them marriage in the first place. And then get married without straight people telling them the “correct” way to be married (ex. one stay-at-home spouse and one breadwinner). LGBQ people are every bit as diverse and complex as heterosexual people, but they don’t want inclusion into a homophobic institution; they want a new institution that welcomes them, appreciates them, and acknowledges their existence.
Transgender folks face constant pressure to look as much as possible like male/female stereotypes of cisgender people. The way they act, speak, dress, style their hair, make gestures, etc. are all policed by everyone to ensure they still fit into the very gender binary that denies their existence. Even other transgender people, like Caitlyn Jenner, police transgender folk’s bodies. In a TIME Magazine interview, she said:
“I think it’s much easier for a trans woman or a trans man who authentically kind of looks and plays the role. So what I call my presentation. I try to take that seriously. I think it puts people at ease. If you’re out there and, to be honest with you, if you look like a man in a dress, it makes people uncomfortable. “I think it’s much easier for a trans woman or a trans man who authentically kind of looks and plays the role. So what I call my presentation. I try to take that seriously. I think it puts people at ease. So the first thing I can do is try to present myself well. I want to dress well. I want to look good. When I go out, as Kim says, you’ve got to rock it because the paparazzi will be there.” [ Source ] ”
Should everyone else’s level of comfort dictate how you should present yourself, as Jenner alludes? Caitlyn Jenner points out that “it’s much easier for a trans [person] who authentically kind of looks and plays the role”, noting that trans people who pass for cisgender may escape some discrimination. But that doesn’t save them from discrimination on their legal documents and driver’s licenses which show the wrong sex/gender, embarrassment and harassment in the workplace where they have to dress for a gender they don’t identify with, and violence and harassment in bathrooms when trans people who just want to relieve themselves are verbally and/or physically abused. Their “authentically” playing the “role” will not save them from that.
Here is the respectability politics: Jenner is telling trans folks that they need to look “presentable” (aka cisgender) so that they don’t make other people uncomfortable, and thus, will be more willing to tolerate trans people. And to me, that is like telling trans people to pretend they aren’t trans people so that cisgender people will not feel compelled to discriminate against them. Which of course puts the onus on trans folks to stop their own oppression. And that doesn’t make sense.
Additionally, do trans people not deserve protection from employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and lethal violence on the streets unless they look enough like a cisgender person? If they do look like a “man in a dress” do they deserve to be deserve to be shot by the police because they were wearing hoodies and sagging their pants? Do women deserve to be raped because they were wearing revealing clothing? Additionally, do trans people not deserve protection from employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and lethal violence on the streets unless they look enough like a cisgender person? If they do look like a “man in a dress” do they deserve to be killed in the street? Do young black boysdeserveto be shot by the police because they were wearing hoodies and sagging their pants? Do womendeserveto be raped because they were wearing revealing clothing?
No. Of course they deserve protection from discrimination and violence because they are human and entitled to those protections, they have rights to those protections, no matter how they choose to express themselves or live their lives. Your comfortability be damned.
Again, as humans we are guaranteed certain rights. But many people are still denied access to those rights. And when they fight and demand access, they are told that they are not being respectable, and thus are undeserving of that access. That is unacceptable.
We may be uncomfortable with some of the tactics of some movements and the work of some activists. But we must examine that uncomfortability. Is it because we are taught never to disrupt the system? Is it because we are taught that some people simply don’t deserve rights? Is it because we were socialized to behave a certain way and deviance from that makes us feel uneasy?
Because even if we are taught those things, we must now take the opportunity to re-teach ourselves in our adulthood. Instead of asking “how can rights activists accomplish their goals most effectively while minimizing disruption?” the question should just be “how can they accomplish their goals most effectively?”.
Instead of asking “how can they minimize their differences from me so that I feel more comfortable with them?” the question should be “ how can I handle these uncomfortable feelings like an adult and learn to appreciate differences and diversity rather than try to suppress them? “.
I want to end with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. I think it is important to recognize how long the struggle with respectability politics has been going on. King succinctly characterizes the same dialogues that we hear even today, especially concerning the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Negro’s greatest stumbling block in the drive toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another mans freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro the wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating that absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. [ Source ] ”
Don’t let the system tell you how you should tear down the system. Because it’ll ensure you never succeed.
Respectability Politics is all about using the code-words “respectability” or “respectable” (and similar words) as a guise to shut down activists’ work before it even begins. It’s that idea that if you want your activism to be successful, you should make appealing to those in power (after all, aren’t they the ones who are going to graciously bestow the rights to disadvantaged groups?).A grieving, wailing mother. A stoic father. A wife numb with shock. And distraught family-members. Heartbreaking scenes unfolded at the house of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla as his mortal remains arrived at his hometown late on Wednesday.
Kuchibhotla, 32, was shot dead by a US Navy veteran on Wednesday at a bar in Kansas in a possible hate crime. Kuchibhotla’s colleague Alok Madasani, also an Indian, and an American citizen, who tried to stop the shooter, were injured in the incident.
The last rites were performed at the Mahaprasthanam crematorium at Jubilee Hills later in the afternoon.
Kuchibhotla’s mother Parvatha Vardhini was inconsolable on seeing her son’s body which arrived in Hyderabad late on Monday night and brought to his parents’ residence at Bachupalli on the city outskirts. She continued to weep loudly as people helped her back into the house.
“I will not allow my younger son to go back to the US again. I want him and his family to return to Hyderabad for good.”
“He went to the US to serve that country. We were happy that one of the Kuchibhotla family went to the US for a better future. What was the crime he had committed for being killed?”
She said he would ask her younger son, Sai Kiran, who is also employed in the US, to return to India along with his family.
“I will not allow them to go back. I used to tell Srinivas also to return, if he felt insecure there. But he used to say he was very safe and secure,” she recalled.
Kuchibhotla’s father Madhusudhana Chary’s reaction was pragmatic as he looked at his son’s mortal remains – dressed in a black blazer, a red checked shirt and tie and kept in the air-conditioned box.
“I believe in the destiny. Whatever was destined to happen has happened. We only want that security of all our Indians working in the US should be taken care of,” he said.
Since the arrival of Kuchibhotla’s body at his residence last night, there has been a steady stream of visitors and VIPs including politicians to console the parents and his wife Sunayana Dumala.
Neighbours and family-members recalled how Kuchibhotla spent his days before leaving for the US 10 years ago.
“I just did not have the courage to see the body closely. It is heart-breaking to see him in this condition. He was always lively and smiling. But now, he is lying in a state of rest,” said his relative Venu Madhav.
First Published: Feb 28, 2017 12:24 ISTToday, AirMap announces Drone ID, a partnership with DigiCert that will enable, for the first time, instant authentication of an unmanned aircraft’s identity certificate.
Drone ID is a major step forward for drone security, laying the groundwork for a future in which millions of drones can share the airspace safely and efficiently.
Drone ID is a publicly trusted SSL/TLS certificate issued by AirMap and DigiCert.
Drone operators that register their drone online will receive a digital Drone ID certificate, including a unique, validated aircraft identity number that can be loaded onto the drone and shared with others in the drone ecosystem.
(AirMap is making drones a part of everyday life by building the airspace management system of the future. Courtesy of AirMap and YouTube)
Drone ID will first be available for drones built with the Intel® Aero Platform for Developers, including the Intel Aero Ready to Fly Drone.
“Think of Drone ID like any form of identification you have in your wallet,” AirMap Chief Information Security Officer Jared Ablon said.
“If you show your driver’s license at airport security, they don’t need to call the DMV to verify. Drone ID works the same way, providing drones with an aircraft identity that has been authenticated by trusted authorities.”
Drone ID is the first program of its kind, and a necessary step towards achieving efficient and secure communication from drone to drone, between drones and other aircraft, and with platforms providing airspace information and services.
When an aircraft with Drone ID shares its identity, there is no need to query a third party to verify, enabling more efficient data exchange between airspace stakeholders.
Drone ID will be certified by AirMap and DigiCert, a security solutions provider that provides scalable identity, authentication and encryption for web servers and other connected devices.
DigiCert provides high-volume certificate issuance and management for leading organizations in healthcare |
in the industry – 4500V N-Channel Power MOSFETs in international standard size packages. The current ratings range from 200mA to 2A. They are specifically designed to address demanding, fast-switching power conversion applications requiring very high blocking voltages up to 4.5kV.
Thanks to the positive temperature coefficient of their on-state resistance, these very high voltage MOSFETs are ideally suited for parallel device operation, which provides cost-effective solutions compared to series-connected, lower-voltage MOSFET ones. This also results in reduction in the associated gate drive circuitry, further simplifying the design, saving PCB board space, and improving the reliability of the overall system.
“We all know from Physics 101, that it is more efficient to provide electrical energy efficiently with higher voltage than with higher current. Thus, we developed this technology, to enable power conversion or energy tapping from the electrical grid closer to the grid voltage,” commented Dr. Nathan Zommer, Founder and CEO of IXYS Corporation. “Numerous other industrial, transportation and medical applications require also high voltage control capabilities that these MOSFETs enable.”
Moreover, a ceramic isolation of up to 4.5kV is achieved with the Direct Copper Bond (DCB) substrate technology – an electrically isolated tab is provided for heat sinking. The DCB provides low thermal impedance and best-in-class power and temperature cycling capabilities. And the molding epoxies meet the UL 94 V-0 flammability classification.
These new Power MOSFETs can provide an optimal solution for applications such as tapping power from the high voltage grid, capacitor discharge circuits, high-voltage automated test equipment, laser and x-ray generation systems, high-voltage power supplies, and pulse circuits.
The 4500V Power MOSFETs are available in IXYS’ proprietary high-voltage versions of the international standard packages: TO-263, TO-268, ISOPLUS i4-Pak™, ISOPLUS i5-Pak™. The part numbers include IXTT02N450HV, IXTA02N450HV, IXTF02N450, IXTF1N450, IXTT1N450HV, IXTL2N450, with collector current ratings of 200mA, 200mA, 200mA, 900mA, 1A, and 2A, respectively.
Additional product information can be obtained by visiting the IXYS website at http://www.ixys.com or by contacting the company directly.
About IXYS Corporation
IXYS Corporation makes and markets technology-driven products to improve power conversion efficiency, generate solar and wind power, and provide efficient motor control for industrial applications. IXYS offers a diversified product base that addresses worldwide needs for power control, electrical efficiency, renewable energy, telecommunications, medical devices, electronic displays, and RF power.
Safe Harbor Statement
Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including the performance, rating, benefits, reliability, availability and suitability of products for various applications, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of IXYS to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.Transnistria is an unrecognised country, officially located in Moldova with a population of nearly 500,000. It borders Moldova and Ukraine. The territory became a demilitarised zone in 1992 after a short war so there is currently no conflict.
I didn’t know much about Transnistria at first, only that I wanted to visit. What I found was a country with its own parliament, flag, currency, border and industry. Even though the country is not recognised by any UN nations, it is very different to the countries that surround it and has a unique identity of its own. If you find yourself in the region I highly recommend visiting the breakaway republic.
How to get in
After befriending a Russian speaker, I felt confident enough to hitchhike with him from Chisinau (the capital of Moldova). Hitchhiking is easy in this part of the world and we were on our way within twenty minutes. I benefitted from having someone to translate but the downside was that our driver was able to share his Putin-loving views with us and after finding out that we were freedom-loving hippies he promptly asked us to grab our bags and GTFO (get the fuck out). No matter, he was nice enough to abandon us at the border which meant we didn’t have long to go to reach the capital, Tiraspol.
On our arrival at the border, my friend was asked how long we planned to stay, we could get entry cards for up to 3 days. We asked for 2 nights and he gave us our entry cards. These “cards” are actually thin receipts that must be produced on exit so keep them safely tucked in your passport! The border process was surprisingly easy. Wikitravel states you’ll be given a 10 hour transit visa if you don’t have a hotel and a 24 hour if you do and you’ll need to report to a hotel or ministry to extend your stay. I’m not sure why we were easily handed a 72 hour visa (without a hotel booking) so be aware you may have to do some extra legwork to stay longer.
The border is walking distance from Bender, Transnistria’s second city. From here, you can cheaply take a tram all the way to the capital. We decided to hitchhike instead. We walked a little further to avoid any trouble with border guards and were promptly picked up by a suspiciously clean car that we believed was being driver by Moldovan gangsters. They weren’t the chattiest but dropped us off in the centre.
If you’d prefer public transport there are many minibuses to and from Chisinau (I took one back to Chisinau). The bus station is further from the city but the mashrutka will pass a street away from the main market. You can ask at the main market for directions and you’ll see people waiting. You can also take buses from Odessa and Kyiv.
Nb. If you are planning on going to Moldova from Ukraine, buses and trains from Odessa or Kyiv will pass through Transnistria and you will not receive a Moldovan entry stamp. This may cause problems for you when you try to exit Moldova but you can obtain the stamp from various locations around the capital. I was flying home from Chisinau and didn’t want to take any risks by not having the entry stamp (causing me to miss my flight) so I decided to enter through a northern border from Ukraine that doesn’t pass through Transnistria. From Kyiv, I took a night train to Chernivitsi and a mashrutka (minibus/furgon) to Chisinau. Both can be booked by international cards online in advance. Chernivitsi also seemed like a nice place to spend a few days and I walked over an hour from the train station to the bus station to explore some spots with my new friends in the morning. If you don’t feel like walking, there are buses.
Getting cash
The Transnistrian Ruble (PRB) may well be one of the rarest currencies in the world. It is colourful and plastic and it is well worth getting extra to take home with you. We found only one ATM that took international cards but it only dispensed Russian Rubles which could be exchanged to PRB. You can change your Russian Rubles, Moldovan Lei or Ukrainian Hryvnia into PRB. They may have had euros or dollars too. If you have Mastercard or Visa, you can head into the bank in the central market and after taking your passport details and signature they can withdraw money from your card for you. The ladies were also happy to give us a variety of coins if they had any. Interestingly, my online banking sent me a notification welcoming me to Russia! It’s unlikely that many establishments would let you pay by card, we only asked at the supermarket that accepted local cards and cash only.
The exchange rate can be tricky to find in advance but it was 19 PRB for 1 GBP and 23 PRB for 1 EUR when I was there so you can work out your own currency accordingly (as of July 2017).
Where to stay
Tiraspol has a hostel and a few hotels which you can find on Booking.com. We decided to get creative and stay in a monastery. We decided on Kitskany monastery which is located around 5km from Tiraspol in a village. To get there, cross the bridge onto the other side of the river and you’ll find regular mashrutkas. If you plan to go here, I highly recommend going with a Russian speaker or local if you don’t already speak the language. Otherwise it could get very confusing and you’ll probably break a lot of rules. It didn’t seem as if they’d ever had tourists before and some priests were friendlier than others. We walked around the village, visited the school, and peeled potatoes as well as attending some services. The monastery provides two meals a day at midday and 8pm (signalled by the church bells). We shared these meals with a colourful cast of characters. You’ll be expected to pay a small donation when you leave the monastery and your passports will be taken until you return your key.
Even if you prefer not to stay, I recommend walking around the village and visiting the monastery to buy wine. The wine is brewed on the grounds and you can pay what you wish for a 1.5 litre bottle (you’re expected to pay more than the price of a standard supermarket bottle of wine which was 25PRB in 2017). You’ll be treated to a generous wine tasting of three wines and the experience is surreal.
If you do decide to stay, you must know 3 things:
Do not cross your legs in church Doors close at 11pm Please give the grey cat a cuddle from us- we named her Peaches
What to eat
We ate in the monastery (everything was vegan) but in the supermarket, you can get a bottle of wine for 25PRB, a block of cheese for the same price and a sausage and vegetable wrap from a food truck for 13PRB. Prices are cheap here so you won’t go hungry.
What to do
In Tiraspol, visit the central market, the bustling heart of the capital. Walk around, watch people, if you’re anything like me, you’ll enjoy just being in such a unique place. Walk along 25th October Street you’ll see a lot of the main buildings including a Lenin statue. There isn’t much to “do” in Tiraspol so a day of wondering should be more than enough.
As I mentioned before, Kitskany village is also worth visiting.
There are so few tourists here that if you have time, you can travel around the country and truly feel as if you’re in a forgotten corner of Europe.
So that’s Transnistria.
Put on your adventurer socks and make your way over. Don’t worry, this place will stay off the beaten track for a while to come!
Have you ever visited an unrecognised country? Tell me in the comments. Any more questions about Transnistria are welcome below!
AdvertisementsDENVER — In terms of bang for the buck, there was no bigger loser in the November elections than liberal billionaire Tom Steyer, who beat his own individual federal spending record but failed to break.500 when it came to backing candidates.
The San Francisco hedge fund manager sank $87.6 million into Democratic candidates and causes, making him the leading individual funder of the 2016 election cycle and easily surpassing the $75.4 million he spent on federal races in 2014, when he was also the top donor, according to OpenSecrets.
That largesse failed to buy him a winning record. Of the seven federal candidates — Democrat Hillary Clinton and six Democratic Senate hopefuls — supported by his NextGen Climate Action Committee, only three won their races.
Mr. Steyer also backed the victor of the tight North Carolina governor’s race, bringing his tally to 4-for-8.
The mediocre outcome represented a slight improvement from the 2014 midterm elections, when Democratic candidates for Senate and governor backed by Mr. Steyer went 3-for-7.
Even so, Mr. Steyer, who jumped into politics three years ago to push climate change as a campaign issue, said after the Nov. 8 elections that he wouldn’t change a thing.
“Did we get the president we want? Absolutely not. Did we get a majority of clean energy supporters in the Senate? No,” Mr. Steyer told the Reuters news agency. “But in terms of what we did, and the strategy we took, we wouldn’t do anything differently.”
Meanwhile, his spending has become fodder for critics of his climate change agenda, who have suggested that Mr. Steyer may want to stick to investing in stocks instead of campaigns.
“Tom Steyer isn’t just bad at politics; he’s the biggest loser of the past two election cycles,” said Simon Lomax, an associate energy policy analyst at the free market Independence Institute in Denver.
“He has spent at least $163 million trying to keep Republicans from running Congress and the White House, and failed miserably on both counts,” said Mr. Lomax, an oil and gas industry consultant. “He spent that money lecturing voters about climate change and dismissing their very real economic concerns about the cost of fringe environmental proposals that would dramatically increase energy prices.”
Mr. Steyer’s emphasis on climate change failed to sway the electorate, he said, and may have alienated voters in key Rust Belt states worried about the Obama administration’s “war on coal” and its impact on jobs and economic growth.
A Fox News exit poll found support for the Democratic presidential candidates among union voters dropped by 10 percentage points from 2012 to 2016, marking the lowest union support for a Democrat in 20 years.
“His obsession with climate politics and his support for the ‘keep it in the ground’ agenda drove blue-collar voters away from the very candidates he was trying to help,” Mr. Lomax said.
When deciding upon candidates, NextGen doesn’t just choose Democrats; it chooses Democrats willing to fight fossil fuels in the name of combating global warming. NextGen declined to endorse the re-election bid of Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat who supported the Keystone XL pipeline.
NextGen also notched less-than-stellar returns on its strategy of increasing voter turnout among millennial voters by engaging them on climate change.
“The millennial vote may be decisive — and millennials are voting for Clinton because of climate change,” NextGen strategic adviser Jamison Foser declared in a Nov. 4 memo.
But postelection figures show 18- to 29-year-old turnout barely budged, ticking up from 49 percent in 2012 to 50 percent and falling short of 2008, when it reached 52 percent, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at Tufts University.
Mr. Steyer said voter turnout among young people was up 20 percent in areas where NextGen focused its efforts. Still, it wasn’t enough to hold back a wave for Republicans, who captured the presidency and retained control of the House and Senate.
The three Senate Democrats endorsed by NextGen who won their races were Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who upended Sen. Mark Kirk in Illinois; New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, who ousted Sen. Kelly Ayotte; and Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, who defeated Rep. Joe Heck.
Steyer-backed Democrats who lost were Katie McGinty, who fell to Sen. Patrick J. Toomey in Pennsylvania; Deborah Ross, who was defeated by Sen. Richard Burr in North Carolina; and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who was defeated by Sen. Rob Portman.
NextGen Climate also endorsed North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who edged Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.
The rankings by OpenSecrets, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics, show that Democratic donors overall failed to realize returns on their investments in November.
Six of the top 10 federal donors were pro-Democrat, contributing a combined $238 million to candidates and causes, compared with $155 million donated by the top 10 pro-Republican contributors.
Placing second to Mr. Steyer was Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a supporter of Donald Trump who spent $82 million in federal contributions to Republican candidates and causes.
Top Democratic moneyman George Soros placed 12th with $21 million, and former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg came in 11th with $21.1 million to Democratic causes and candidates.
Far behind them was one of the best-known Republican donors, Charles G. Koch, who came in 50th among individual donors with $3.8 million.
The ranking by OpenSecrets, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics, includes individual contributions to federal candidates, parties, PACs, 527 groups, and Carey committees.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.TONY Abbott may claim he's "delivered on his promise", but over the weekend a glitch on video site YouTube meant his message was taken down for 'deceptive content'.
Over the weekend Abbott released a video titled A Message from the PM - Delivering on Our Promises.
In the clip Mr Abbott describes a growing national confidence and promises to "scrap the carbon tax, end the waste and get the budget under control".
"From talking to people around our country, my sense is that confidence is returning," he says.
He claims the Federal Government has made "big progress in border protection" and boasts last month was the first since 2009 that has "gone without the arrival of a single illegal boat".
"The people smugglers are finally getting the message that this country is under new management," Mr Abbott says.
"It's been a remarkable turnaround in only a few months. Our policies are working."
But it seems others see it differently.
Soon after it was released, the Prime Minister's video was suspended by YouTube after social media users claimed it contained 'deceptive content'.
YouTube's guidelines state videos are reviewed when "a video gets flagged as inappropriate". YouTube then suspended Mr Abbott's entire account.
media_camera Tony Abbott's deleted tweet featuring deleted video. Picture: Mumbrella
"Well, to be fair on YouTube, Abbott has broken well over a dozen promises since his election," wrote one reddit user.
"Removal of his latest speech (which talks about delivery of his promises) is well within YouTube's Terms of Service. Good to see them applying standards to content - even content made by powerful organisations."
Tony Abbott's YouTube account terminated for breaching policy against spams,scams & commercially deceptive content. pic.twitter.com/2XU4aaP6SD — Natalie Peluso (@knewnative) February 2, 2014
Tony Abbott's YouTube video terminated for deceptive content. YouTube suspends the entire channel!!!! Absolute gold!!!! — Rob Moody (@robelinda2) February 2, 2014
Wait, I thought that YouTube Tony Abbott thing was just photoshop... But it's true! His whole channel has been removed. — James (@jamesey_baby) February 2, 2014
YouTube's guidelines state: "We review the video to determine whether it violates our Terms of Use - flagged videos are not automatically taken down by the system.
"If we remove your video after reviewing it, you can assume that we removed it purposefully, and you should take our warning notification seriously."
media_camera A screengrab of Tony Abbott's suspended YouTube account. Picture: reddit
Mr Abbott's page is now back up and running, as is the video, but a statement from Google sent to news.com.au and Mumbrellaprovides some insight into the tech fail.
"Occasionally, a video flagged by users is mistakenly taken down. When this is brought to our attention, we quickly review the content and take appropriate action, including restoring videos or channels that had been removed."
*news.com.au have contacted the Prime Minister's office for comment.
Originally published as YouTube suspends Abbott's accountSidney Crosby has been added to Canada's roster for the 2015 IIHF World Championship.
Crosby scored 28 goals and 56 assists in 77 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014-15. The Penguins were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the New York Rangers on Friday, losing their best-of-seven series 4-1. Crosby netted two goals and two assists in the series.
This marks Crosby's second ever appearance for Canada at the Worlds, with his first coming in 2006. He scored eight goals and eight assists in nine games for Canada at that tournament, earning the Best Forward award and a spot on the tournament All-Star Team.
Canada finished fourth at that tournament, losing to Finland in the bronze medal game.
The 27-year-old Crosby boasts an extensive international resume, having represented Canada at the Olympics, World Junior Championships and Ivan Hlinka tournament in addition to his previous experience at the Worlds. He has a pair of Olympic gold medals, including the home-ice win in Vancouver that he sealed with an overtime winner over the United States. He also owns silver and gold medals from the 2004 and 2005 World Junior tournaments.
Should Crosby lead Canada to gold at the tournament - which begins Friday in the Czech Republic - he would become the fourth active Canadian to earn Triple Gold status. Triple Gold status is earned by winning Olympic and World Championship gold in addition to a Stanley Cup over a player's career. The only other active Canadian members are Eric Staal, Jonathan Toews and Patrice Bergeron.
The Cole Harbour, N.S.-native joins an already-talented forward core that includes the likes of Claude Giroux, Jason Spezza, Tyler Seguin, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon.
Canada's first World Championship game is Friday against Latvia and can be seen live on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5 starting at 10am et/7am pt.Dr. Marek Urban has developed a unique type of plastic material that turns red or “bleeds” when damaged, and self-repairs like human skin when exposed to sunlight. (Submitted photo)
Dr. Marek Urban has developed a unique type of plastic material that turns red or “bleeds” when damaged, and self-repairs like human skin when exposed to sunlight. (Submitted photo)
It’s the stuff of dreams that became a reality in a University of Southern Mississippi laboratory.
Inspired by his own dream of a technology now considered revolutionary in the world of plastics research, polymer science professor Marek Urban developed a unique type of plastic material that turns red or “bleeds” when damaged.
When the damage occurs, or when stressors mount that portend damage to the material, the molecule links that span along chains of chemicals within the material split and release a color simulating bleeding. After exposure to sunlight or change in temperature, the material begins repairing itself in much the same way human skin does.
“I dreamed of developing this after thinking about how human skin repairs itself when damaged, and how blood coming from the injury works as a sign of that damage,” Urban said. “Sometimes, damage to material may not be visible to the human eye, but with the release of the colors that mimic bleeding we have a warning of damage.”
The material has the potential to be developed into self-repairing surfaces in a wide variety of commonly used products, including cell phones, laptops and military weapons.
Stuff, a publication of Britain’s Haymarket Media Company covering the latest in popular technology, cited the invention as among “5 materials that could change the world” in its May edition. In its assessment the magazine notes, “This plastic, which ‘bleeds’ red then heals itself with light, is being hailed as the Holy Grail of materials. The plastic could be developed for use in self-healing cars, planes and bridges. Oh, and gadgets. RIP insurance?”
Earlier this year, Urban made a presentation on the invention at the 243rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.
“Dr. Urban is one of the most inventive people I’ve come across,” said his Southern Miss colleague Dr. Robert Lochhead. “He has a valuable talent that is rarely found; that is, to have an original idea that meets human or societal needs, and then to take that idea to an invention and implement it.”
Urban is enthusiastic that further research, with the assistance of graduate students and staff in his Urban Research Group, can extend the material to usage in cars, planes and spacecraft, as well as large infrastructure. The development of similar material that can also withstand high temperatures is on the drawing board.
“I believe there are endless possibilities, and we continue our research in hopes of capturing those possibilities that can further enhance our quality of life through the products we access daily,” Urban said.During the summer of 1991, the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, conducted a survey of Maine Acadian culture through an inter-agency agreement with the National Park Service. Folklife fieldworkers designed a fieldwork strategy for the documentation of the contemporary culture of the Upper St. John Valley with emphasis on Acadian cultural resources. While tailored to deal with issues unique to the Valley, this data collection strategy was broadly similar to those employed by other folklife field projects. Fieldworkers concentrated their efforts on cultural expressions, guided by the idea that all communities use aesthetic experience to shape deeply felt values into meaningful forms (Hymes 1975: 348). These expressions, such as stories, songs, recipes, and houses, which have grown out of shared experiences and values, can serve as windows into a community's worldview (Hufford 1986: 19). The primary work of the survey's fieldworkers was interviewing local residents, documenting cultural events, documenting sites and artifacts, engaging in participant observation, and analyzing archival materials. The report of the survey fieldworkers (Brassieur 1992) formed the basis for the 1992 public review draft of this volume. The survey aggregated a large ethnographic collection consisting of 5,600 photographic images, 500 pages of field notes and catalogs, 40 hours of audio recordings, 50 pages of sketches, and an assortment of ephemera such as local publications, program souvenirs, and historical and contemporary press clippings on cultural subjects and issues. The collection will be preserved for posterity in the Archive of Folk Culture, Library of Congress. A reference copy has been placed at the Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes where it will serve as a resource for further research, planning, and programming within the region.Staples has shot back at President Obama over comments made to BuzzFeed News, where he criticized the company for its policy of limiting the number of hours worked by its part-time employees.
"I suspect that they could well afford to treat their workers favorably and give them some basic financial security," President Obama said in an interview Tuesday with BuzzFeed News. "And if they can't, then they should be willing to allow those workers to get the Affordable Care Act without cutting wages."
The comments were made in response to a BuzzFeed News report showing the company has begun strictly enforcing a rule limiting part-time workers to 25 hours of work per week. Some part-time employees said their hours have been cut severely in recent months, leading to hundreds of dollars of lost monthly wages. A memo posted at one Staples store said "recent changes have necessitated a strong stance" on the weekly hours policy, and employees could be subject to disciplinary action including firing if they exceeded the limit.
"It's unfortunate that the president is attacking a company that provides more than 85,000 jobs and is a major tax payer," Staples spokesperson Mark Cautela said in a statement. "We are very proud of our associates and offer competitive wages and benefits. Staples is a leader in helping associates build a secure future."
Calling the BuzzFeed News report on the company "misleading," Cautela said the company policy limiting part-time workers' hours has existed for more than a decade, predating the Affordable Care Act. "Unfortunately, the president appears not to have all the facts," he said.
Staples employees have told BuzzFeed News that enforcement of the policy on hours has become particularly strict this year, as an Affordable Care Act provision requiring employers to offer health insurance to staff working more than 30 hours per week kicked into effect.
In January 2014, BuzzFeed News reported that a December 2013 Staples memo to store managers said the company was "implementing a policy" regarding part-time worker hours, limiting them to 25 per week. The memo included a guide offering talking points for managers needing to explain the new rules to staff, describing it as a "new policy" that would be "effective at the beginning of the year."Free Press and Public Knowledge love to lob bombshells at ISPs. Free Press was a big backer of the FCC complaint against Comcast's traffic management system for dealing with P2P uploads, and the two groups have now issued a new report (PDF) that takes aim at a new ISP practice: selling user Internet data to advertisers. The report calls out NebuAd, which recently began a high-profile partnership with cable operator Charter, and it doesn't mince words. The NebuAd system "commandeers users' Web browsers," makes use of a "browser exploit," and operates "by using what is effectively a classic man-in-the-middle attack."
Robert Topolski, a technology consultant for both groups, prepared the report. Instead of taking a wide-ranging look at the NebuAd system or digging deep into potential illegal activity under the Wiretap Act, Topolski confines himself to looking at the system by which NebuAd gear places various tracking cookies on user machines.
NebuAd works its targeted advertising magic by partnering with ISPs and installing a box in their network. The box examines inbound and outbound traffic from all users, and it builds a highly-targeted profile for each Internet user by taking a look at the sites that people visit and the keywords displayed there. These profiles are then used by NebuAd to insert relevant advertising into web pages that have elected to use to the NebuAd network (NebuAd does not override ads displayed on sites that are not part of its advertising network).
To do all of this, NebuAd relies on a set of tracking cookies that are placed on each machine. Such cookies are pretty standard fare in the web advertising world and aren't themselves of much note, but Topolski's report takes issue with the way that the cookies are placed onto people's machines. A subscriber to Wide Open West (WOW!) gave Topolski remote access to his machine, and Topolski then verified that WOW's NebuAd system was planting its own cookies when users visited Google and Yahoo, among other sites.
This couldn't normally happen, since neither Google to Yahoo serves up NebuAd tracking cookies and NebuAd is not a partner to either firm. After examining the TCP/IP packet data more closely, Topolski concluded that the NebuAd box was simply appending its cookies to the HTML code served up by Google and Yahoo. To do this, the box creates a new packet and forges the same IP address and port number of the Google or Yahoo server that just sent data to the user. In addition, it uses TCP's ACK and SEQ system to "prevent the [user's] system from rejecting the forged packet."
This extra packet carries a bit of JavaScript data not actually served up by the sites in question; the code directs the browser to visit NebuAd-related sites in order to grab a cookie. This is the basis for Topolski's statements that "NebuAd's code injected into another's page source is a cross-site exploit (XSS) and the subsequent behavior of loading cookies it normally would not load is a browser hijack. NebuAd accomplishes its XSS by using what is effectively a classic man-in-the-middle attack."
Deleting the cookies in question simply leads the system to send them again on future visits to various web sites, though NebuAd says that it respects opt-out requests.
In a statement sent to Ars Technica, NebuAd expressed disappointment with the "misleading characterization" of its system. The company stresses that it uses standard tracking cookies, but when it comes to the details of how these cookies are placed on people's machines, it says only that it uses "industry-standard techniques and that cookie code "is clearly demarcated outside of and does not modify any publisher code." As the question at issue, whether NebuAd uses its boxes to "fake out" users and slip third-party cookies onto their machines by forging packet information—well, that's not addressed.
Also not addressed is the far more important question of whether this entire system is legal. Such concerns have been raised on both sides of the Atlantic, since wiretapping rules might seem to prohibit this interception of traffic on an opt-out basis. In the US, such a system may also run afoul of the Communications Act, which generally requires that this type of data collection can only be done with "prior written or electronic assent of the subscriber." That was the basis for a bipartisan letter sent to Charter earlier this month from the two ranking members on the House Telecommunications Subcommittee. When both Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) think your program should be halted until Congress can take a look at it, that's a pretty good sign that the political resistance around these kind of schemes could be stiff, at least until they are fully opt-in.Hillary Clinton often says she wants to help families struggling to pay for child care and other expenses that come with raising kids. Now she’s presenting a plan designed to do just that.
Clinton’s proposal would not fulfill her lofty, high-profile promise to set a hard limit on what families pay for child care. But the new plan would get part of the way toward that goal, giving millions of families significant financial relief along the way.
The initiative, which Clinton will formally unveil Tuesday, is pretty straightforward. She would double the size of the child tax credit, an existing break for both low- and middle-income families, for children 4 years old and younger. Then she wants to tweak the tax credit’s design, so that it provides more relief to some of the poorest families in America.
The initiative is part of a broader agenda to update America’s social welfare state, in order to accommodate a profound change in society over the last few decades ― the mass entry of women into the workforce, and resulting disruption to traditional childrearing arrangements.
Clinton has called for a suite of policies, including federally backed pre-kindergarten programs and paid family leave, and said she would limit child care expenses to 10 percent of family income. That would be no small thing, since the average cost of child care in the U.S. is now around $9,600 per year, according to a recent report from the New America Foundation.
Clinton’s expansion of the child tax credit would increase its maximum value from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. On its own, that’s not enough to hit the 10 percent goal for many families. Although the Clinton campaign has said she will introduce additional initiatives, it’s becoming clear that the 10 percent cap is not a concrete objective, as she has suggested previously, but an aspiration.
Even so, Clinton’s tax proposal represents a substantial new investment in families with children ― one that will, like other tax breaks Clinton has proposed, provide major benefits to everybody except the wealthy. That’s because the child tax credit is mostly refundable, meaning that families too poor to owe any income tax can claim the credit and receive a check from the government for its value. Clinton’s plan would actually make it even more valuable to the poorest families, by increasing its value at very low incomes.
This is pretty much the opposite of the approach that Donald Trump has taken with his tax policy in general, and his child care proposals in particular. Over the summer, Trump proposed a new tax deduction for child care expenses. But deductions are worth a lot more to people in higher income tax brackets ― and worth nothing at all to people too poor to pay income taxes.
Trump’s child care plan also includes a subsidy for low-income families, but it would be worth a maximum of $1,200 per family, regardless of the number of children.
Figuring out who would benefit more from each candidate’s proposals right now is basically impossible, since the Trump campaign has changed its tax plan several times, and Clinton is just now releasing details of her proposal. There’s bound to be a lot of variation, depending on individual household circumstances. But given the available information, it’s likely that Clinton’s would ultimately provide greater tax relief to less affluent families, while Trump’s would provide greater relief to more affluent ones.
Clinton’s plan would also cost a lot less than Trump’s and would fit within an overall budget that, according to an assessment by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, has nearly enough new revenue to offset the cost of new initiatives. The same assessment found that Trump’s agenda, including his child care tax cut, would add $5.2 trillion to the federal debt over the coming decade.
The child tax credit gets relatively little attention, even in Washington. But policy experts who focus on children think it’s a critical tool for fighting poverty, because even modest amounts of money can make a big difference for low-income Americans ― and because research has shown that assistance for very young children can have profound effects on their future health and intellectual and emotional development.
“If you’re trying to maximize the effect of where you put your dollars, it’s poor young kids, because it’s such a critical stage of brain development,” said Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. ”It’s a moment of great vulnerability, but also great opportunity.”
Clinton’s proposal has a lot in common with Democratic proposals circulating on Capitol Hill, including bills from Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. But the child tax credit also has a long history of bipartisan support.
It dates back to bipartisan legislation that President Bill Clinton signed, and it has undergone expansion and extension several times, under President George W. Bush and most recently President Barack Obama ― who, late last year, signed a bill making recent expansions of the tax credit permanent.Story by Zach Parcell
It has been just a few weeks since the announcement of the Disc Golf World Tour and we’ve already seen Paul McBeth and Simon Lizotte agreeing to be Athlete Ambassadors for the tour next year. Today, the third big name in disc golf is joining the fun, but not as a competitor, but as a commentator.
2009 PDGA World Champion Avery Jenkins has been named the co-commentator for the 2016 Disc Golf World Tour. Jenkins will work along side Jamie Thomas to provide a competitor’s point |
mission is called WFIRST-AFTA (for "Astrophysics-Focused Telescope Assets").
The WFIRST-AFTA mission would carry out exoplanet exploration, dark energy research, and galactic and extragalactic surveys.
Desert and mountaintop testing
Small-scale versions of starshades have undergone nighttime desert testing in Nevada and California and, more recently, at the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope site.
How a starshade works. The concept is telescope-agnostic and could find use on NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) project. (Image: © Northrop Grumman)
The sites selected for evaluating starshade designs each have pros and cons, but collectively the evaluations are complementary and help to validate optical modeling of the idea, said Steve Warwick, Starshade program manager at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
"We can't do everything we can do in space on the ground in terms of optics, but the tests add a lot of confidence to how the starshade will work on orbit," Warwick told Space.com.
McMath operators said testing sharshades with the telescope, which was dedicated in 1962, was the craziest way that anyone had used the facility to date, Warwick said.
"They were extremely helpful and excited to see what we could do with their facility," Warwick said of the McMath team. Starshade testing at the Arizona site has been done twice so far, in late March and then in June.
The hope is to return to that location in the November-December time period; the exact timing will depend partly on other McMath users' schedules, Warwick said.
A mix of NASA funding and Northrop Grumman funding has enabled the starshade test program to move forward.
Planet light
So what's the big deal about starshades?
The technology — a flower-shaped screen that flies at a considerable distance from a space telescope —blocks starlight to create a high-contrast shadow. This shadow is so dark that only planet light enters a space telescope for examination by onboard instruments.
NASA's proposed Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is an orbiting telescope with a 2.4-meter primary mirror — the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope mirror. Work is underway to fly a starshade in concert with WFIRST to enable exoplanet studies. (Image: © NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)
You can think of it as your big thumb blocking out blazing beams of light from the sun.
Tackling technology gaps
But a starshade in space has never seen the light of day, so to speak. While starshade engineers are drawing upon a successful track record of fielding large, deployable antennas in space, they must also beat back what are called "key technology gaps," Warwick said.
"For there to be a starshade launch with any telescope," Warwick said, "we obviously need a lot of confidence that we're going to get the science that we want to get."
Both the desert trials and McMath mountaintop testing address a key technology gap — "that the optical models are trustworthy … that the models agree with what we measure," said Warwick. He added that he thinks these gaps can be filled relatively soon.
"For me, where I sit, what excites me is the idea of being able to fly along with WFIRST," he added.
Technicians have made use of the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona to assess and validate optical models of starshade designs. (Image: © Northrop Grumman/Robert Brown)
Given the potential 2024-2025 launch of that instrument, a decision about whether to include a starshade on the mission could come in the next two to three years, Warwick said.
There are other possibilities beyond WFIRST as well. For example, the proposed 33-foot (10 m) Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared (LUVOIR) telescope and the projected Habitable Planet Explorer, or HabEx for short, could also incorporate starshades, Warwick said. [Next-Generation Space Telescopes Could Look for Aliens (Video)]
Snagging spectra
There is growing general support for WFIRST to include technology demonstrations of both a coronagraph (a light-blocking instrument that's built into the space telescope) and a starshade (which flies separately), Warwick said.
"From our point of view, that's a very exciting opportunity," Warwick said. Such technology may enable spectra to be examined of some planets located in the "habitable zone" around their stars, where liquid water could exist on a world's surface.
"A starshade with WFIRST could give us indications about habitable planets … but there's a huge difference between 'habitable' and 'inhabited,'" Warwick cautioned.
A larger telescope with a larger starshade could inform scientists about biosignatures from exoplanets, Warwick said, "and that would give us an indication of inhabited planets."
But again, Warwick said, any biosignatures detected would not necessarily identify intelligent alien life. Rather, such signs would indicate some type of biological activity that has changed the planet's atmosphere.
In pondering the larger cosmic picture, Warwick said he sees a starshade or something similar revealing that Earth life is not alone in the universe.
"I'll take a bet that we will find signs of life outside of our solar system before we find it inside our solar system," Warwick concluded.
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and is co-author of Buzz Aldrin's 2013 book "Mission to Mars – My Vision for Space Exploration" published by National Geographic with a new updated paperback version released in May 2015. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.I don't mean to get all sentimental, but Harley's carrying hope.
Harley and her dad made the data cards as a fun activity for the convention. Harley loves interacting with other people, and they thought this was a fitting tribute to their love of Star Wars and Fisher. As Harley ran into Leia cosplayers of all variety of ensemble, she handed over the Death Star plans. I don't know how many Leia cosplayers were moved to tears by this act, but I'd wager it wasn't a small number.
Harley didn't limit her interactions to Leia either. She also took a minute to make sure R2-D2 got the Death Star plans directly from the source:
View several more pictures of Harley handing out the Death Star plan data cards to a multitude of Leia cosplayers at Celebration over at Imgur. Prepare your heart to melt into a pile of goo. Oh, and for the record, Jyn isn't Harley's only Star Wars costume. She also has a Rey ensemble, complete with a Millennium Falcon.
If you attended Star Wars Celebration, drop to the comments and let me know if you spotted little Jyn or any other costumes. Leave links there or send me photos at Twitter.
Images: Dino Ignacio
What does Luke's "end" mean for The Last Jedi?It is because the demographic change (remember they are changing America by changing the people) is far advanced in North Carolina while it is only beginning in South Carolina.
Of course all that will change for SC in a few years as Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham and Rep. Trey Gowdy are making little to no effort to hold the line in terms of the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program, and Graham himself was one of the Senate ‘Gang of Eight’ that pushed through an amnesty bill for illegal aliens a couple of years ago.
I don’t understand how Rs like Graham don’t see that as the immigrant population grows it will be attracted to the Democrat Party which promises to keep their welfare goodies flowing and will ultimately lead to the downfall of the Republican Party in states like his.
But, it isn’t SC I want to tell you about.
Trump and Clinton going to North Carolina today!
***Update*** November 4th: 1/2 million federal grant to encourage ethnic separation awarded in Raleigh.
I’ve wondered how North Carolina, the land of Senator Jesse Helms, is now a toss-up state and today as both Hillary and Trump head there, we see very clearly that it is a traditional red state turning blue and both parties are fighting for it.
So, I did a little numbers research. And, I am not saying that there are enough refugee voters to swing the election, but the vast disparity between the states is stunning. Also, NC has obviously thrown out the welcome mat to illegal aliens. (Note in my previous post that it is clearly in the top ten for the placement of the ‘unaccompanied alien children.’)
All of the following data can be found at the Refugee Processing Center. And, I found a bit more at an ORR annual report to Congress.
From 1983 to 2001, North Carolina resettled 16,640 refugees, while South Carolina only got 1,925.
Then from FY 2003 to FY 2016 the states break down this way: NC (27,748) and SC (2,042).
Total refugee tally for NC is roughly 44,388 to SC’s 3,967.
(In between those two documents, I was too lazy to look up 2002, but you get the idea).
So, I am maintaining that it is the influx of vastly more immigrants and refugees to North Carolina than South Carolina that makes the difference—why NC is turning blue and SC isn’t (yet!).
***Update*** And, I should have mentioned all those worker visas for NC, here.
We have a pretty substantial archive on North Carolina and problems there with refugees, go here to learn more. Don’t miss a stunning murder case, contractors not taking care of the refugees, companies looking for cheap labor and posts on how NC colleges lured Arab students, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, to the state to boost their student enrollment.
Then I found this stunning. From FY2003 to FY2016, North Carolina received refugees from the following 56 countries. This list does not include illegal alien-sending countries like Mexico and some from Central and South America. Can you imagine the problems with languages in the medical system, the school system and the criminal justice system!
Where were they placed?
I started to look at all the towns and cities and when I got to 35 I quit. Bottomline, I bet there were at least 50-60 towns and cities in North Carolina that received refugees. Maybe only a couple in some towns, but they were very widely distributed and surely helped destroy community cohesiveness.
Eight of the nine major resettlement contractors are operating (competing!) in North Carolina. The only one missing is the International Rescue Committee. Go here for office locations.
The wild card for Trump and Clinton is whether the African American community there gets it—that they are being out-competed in the job market by tens of thousands of refugees pouring in to the state. And, if Hillary is elected there will never be a slowdown.A British man accused of violently raping a tourist who was left with a fractured wrist and bruises has been arrested in Cambodia.
The named locally as 25-year-old Nick Laycock, is in custody after the 22-year-old British woman was raped at a guest house in a commune near the southern town of Kampot.
The commune, made up of several bungalows, is said to have a reputation for drinking and late-night parties.
Accused: The man accused of rape has been named locally as 25-year-old British man Nick Laycock
The woman was at a party at the Arcadia guesthouse complexn (pictured) in Kampot before she was attacked
Police claim that the rape took place while the woman was under the influence of alcohol and that she suffered numerous injuries.
The Cambodian ex-patriate website Khmer 440, in a translation of local media, says the British woman has accused the man of raping her with force on the night of August 21 at around 11pm.
She was at a party at the Arcadia guesthouse complex in Kampot, where he is said to have been working for the past six months, with about 20 friends.
She left for a short time and it was then that she was attacked.
Reports claim she was shaken, shocked and crying and could not talk when asked by friends what had happened. Two women took her to hospital for treatment.
Her friends were questioned at the hospital by police trying to gain more details.
The translation of local media, published on the Khmer 440 site, adds that a hospital doctor said the woman had injuries and bruises all over her body, a fractured wrist and was in a state of shock.
Last night the owner of Arcadia guest house confirmed to MailOnline that the accused man was Mr Laycock and insisted his arrest was the result of a ‘terrible mistake’.
Joel Miles said the young woman involved, despite being vague about the events that night, did not want to press charges.
The man accused of attacking the woman in Cambodia is said to work at the Arcadia guesthouse (pictured)
Mr Miles, an Australian, said Mr Laycock and woman had walked down to the river’s edge where they had consensual sex.
‘Afterwards they were walking back to the bar and because she was a bit tipsy she fell over and hit her head and injured her hand,' Mr Miles said.
‘Nick helped her up and escorted her back to the bar, but she continued on to her room while he stayed at the bar.
‘Then she returned and because her friends knew she and Nick had gone off together to the river and then saw her injuries and how confused she was, they put two and two together - believing she had been raped.
‘They went with her to the hospital and the police were called in. They took statements from the girls, as witnesses, and then it all got worse because the British Embassy became involved.'
Mr Miles said that when he learned the truth of what happened and the CCTV footage backed up Mr Laycock's story, he showed it to the woman's friends and they realised a mistake had been made.
‘The young woman involved also saw the CCTV footage and understood that she had injured herself in a fall,' he added.
The Arcadia guesthouse complex is located 7km from Kampot town (pictured) in southern Cambodia
‘They all asked the police to have their statements handed back to them, but the police, not wanting to lose face after making an arrest, refused to give the statements back.
‘They still believed the girl had been raped and kept Nick in custody. He’s expected to be in court on Monday.
‘He’s a good guy and the sad thing is that his reputation is going to be tarnished because of this.
‘There is enough evidence to show that he didn’t attack the girl. I am still trying to persuade the police to have those statements withdrawn.’
The Arcadia Backpacker’s guesthouse describes itself as being the only ‘utopia’ in Kampot on its website.
It adds: ‘Owned by three well-travelled guys from Australia, Ireland and England, Arcadia was dreamt up at a rave on the salt flats in Bolivia in 2012.
‘In subsequent conversations the owners continued to travel and plot spanning an impressive selection of locations around the world.
'However, it wasn’t until they all met in Kampot in June 2013 that they knew they had at last found the perfect place to bring their dream to life.’
The rooms are cheap, as most in Cambodia are. They are advertised as being from $1 to $20.This post originally appeared on artnet News
by Brian Boucher
ISIS militants smash artworks in Mosul in their latest propaganda video.
While no one should take ISIS to be any less of a threat than it is, we might take some small consolation from the possibility that some of the sculptures the militants smashed on video this week at the Nineveh Museum in Mosul, Iraq, were replicas. While an Assyrian stone lion smashed in the videos is indisputably a terrible loss, the destruction of replicas in this particular case may soften the blow.
"According to archaeologists, most if not all the statues in the Mosul museum are replicas not originals," reports Channel 4 News, London. “The reason they crumble so easily is that they're made of plaster. ‘You can see iron bars inside," pointed out Mark Altaweel of the Institute of Archaeology at University College, London, as we watched the video together. ‘The originals don't have iron bars.'"
“According to the British Institute," adds Channel 4, “the originals were taken to Baghdad for safekeeping. ISIS probably wouldn't care about the distinction. One false idol is the same as another."
All the same, reaction around the world has been swift and horrified (see The Metropolitan Museum and Others Respond to ISIS Destruction of Assyrian Sculptures). ISIS has also done a brisk business in smuggling antiquities out of the region for sale on foreign markets (see Increase in Antiquities Smuggling Busts amidst Government Crackdown), though the international trade is mostly focused on smaller items.
Why are the militants so bent on destruction of the region's cultural heritage? Amr al-Azm, a Syrian anthropologist and historian, told the New York Times that the destruction of artworks, and the slaughter and capture of Assyrians and others in the area that it accompanied, are strategic. While the militants claim that they are smashing the sculptures because they are idols forbidden by Islam, he posits that “It's all a provocation" aimed to lure U.S. and Iraqi forces to try to retake Mosul. “They want a fight with the West because that's how they gain credibility and recruits," Azm said.
ISIS has “repeatedly threatened to destroy [the museum's] collection," according to the Times, since they took the city in June.
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Read More artnet News / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / TumblrI am filled with absolute terror whenever I get a message like this in my inbox:
"You inspired me to quit my job to make indie games!"
(emphasis mine)
For those of you new to this blog, my name is Lars Doucet, I'm an independent game developer, and my company Level Up Labs has been pretty successful. We started with a simple but compelling little game, Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten, which we sold direct over the web for almost a year before clawing our way onto Steam, and wound up doing better in the second year of release than the first.
At last count, we've sold about 195,000 copies.
I'm elated at this success, but it also fills me with some discomfort. For one, I know that I'm one of the lucky few indies who ever succeed at making a living doing what they love. And for some further perspective, even with our much-hyped success, our company can still only afford one full-time employee -- me. Everyone else moonlights part-time or is an external contractor. To put it in baseball terms, if Braid was a home run and MineCraft a grand-slam, Defender's Quest would be a solid base hit. So in a field like games with such an astronomical strike-out rate, it terrifies me whenever I find out I've inspired another rookie to go all-in.
But at the same time, who am I to tell people they shouldn't follow their dreams? Which brings me to the title of this article:
Follow Your Dreams!... or Maybe Don't.
Following your dreams is crazy, scary, fraught with risk, and the kicker is... you might not even want it as much as you think you do.
What is your dream, really?
The first thing to realize is your dreams might not be what you really want. My wife worked for many years as an academic adviser, and whenever she asked students what they wanted to do, she'd get the same responses:
I want to be on ESPN!
and:
I want to do broadcast journalism on (Fox News/MSNBC/CNN)!
And so on. Teenagers tend to focus on forward-facing jobs modelled in popular media.
Likewise, if you ask children what career they aspire to, they'll say "firefighter," "astronaut", or "police officer," or any other Richard Scarry jobs that they see modeled in the toys they play with. And God help the kids who want to be models and actors. Have you seen those documentaries?
Well, what about me? When did I decide I wanted to be a game designer? It's pretty simple -- I've known it since I played Super Mario Bros. for the first time when I was five or six years old. For years afterwards I would fill notebooks with detailed drawings, thinking with some weird cargo-cult-like determination that if I just assembled enough pictures of a video game a real one would pop into existence. And then, after many years of hard work, perseverance, and refusing to quit, I became a professional game developer! And So Can You! (TM)
The catch is that there's some selective memory involved in my personal history. I also wanted to be a science fiction/fantasy writer, a cartoonist, a fine artist, a 3D-modeller, an animator. I still have tons of creative material from all those different fields stashed away in a closet at my mom's house, or on forgotten hard drives. I got my Bachelor's in Architecture of all things, and my Master's in "Visualization Sciences", which is a fancy word for "I want to work for Pixar."
When I reached adulthood and finally had the chance to try my hand at these careers, I tried them -- all of them, and to my surprise, I hated them. It wasn't just that I sucked, couldn't hack it, and quit -- it's that none of these things were nearly as fulfilling or interesting in real life as they had been in my head, and I found I just didn't love them enough to get over the hump of getting good at them. And then I realized -- that's okay. Why should I kill myself trying to get a job I know I'll hate just to keep a promise to my 8-year old self?
Even more ironically, actually becoming a game developer required me to dive into a world my eight-year old self was sure to hate: programming. I desperately wanted to makes games, but I did not want to be a programmer. Oh sure, somewhere along the line I figured out programming was necessary if you wanted to make games, so forced myself to learn C, C++, Java, ActionScript, and all the rest. But that wasn't my real vocation, that was just some bad medicine I forced down to get there.
Years later, all I do is programming. Except for when I'm doing business stuff like quarterly reports, taxes, invoices, balancing the budget, vetting contractors, etc. Making games is nothing like I imagined it would be, and strangely enough, I love it!
My Dream Game vs. My Actual Game
Nothing puts this difference between expectations and reality in sharper contrast than reflecting on Defender's Quest. When I was a kid, my big dream was to make an Epic Fantasy RPGTM called Secret of the Dragons (or whatever). I still have a notebook filled with ideas for it, which I see now as an amalgam of random ideas stolen directly from Quest for Glory, Final Fantasy I-VI, and Secret of Mana.
When I was finally old enough to make Secret of the Dragons, I thought to myself, I would write these great characters, tell an awesome story, draw lots of amazing art, and intricately design all the game systems. It was going to be awesome. Just you wait and see!
Instead I formed a small team that made Defender's Quest, and other people wound up doing those "creative" jobs I craved as a kid. James Cavin created the story and characters, Anthony Pecorella designed the game systems, and Karen Petrasko, Tyvon Thomas, Zhi Jiang, and James did the art. To be fair, I had a ton of influence on the design, and since I was the one actually implementing the ideas my vision touched every corner of the game. Still, my point remains -- the experience was basically the exact opposite of what I imagined as a child.
Sometimes when I look at DQ it feels "mundane" compared to Secret of the Dragons. It doesn't have a walkable overworld map and dungeons filled with treasure like Final Fantasy, it doesn't have Quest for Glory's immersive sense of place, and it doesn't have Secret of Mana's expansive, proto-open-world feel. I mean, it doesn't even have ONE team of humanoid dragons that fuse into a giant three-headed magical hydra that shoots green fire at an awesome skeleton boss. But you know what? I think Defender's Quest is pretty great, and unlike Secret of the Dragons, it actually exists.
So I guess that's my first point. Dreams are intangible, and what you actually achieve will probably be very different, for better or for worse.
My next point is that there are dark forces in the world that prey on young Dreamers.
Beware of The DreamTM Machine
First, pictures with captions:
Thanks! Got an opening for "Legendary Chinese Philosopher?" Thanks! Got an opening for "Legendary Chinese Philosopher?"
So not debt, illness, obligations, economic meltdown or bad luck?
Guess I'm just lazy! So not debt, illness, obligations, economic meltdown or bad luck?Guess I'm just lazy!
When I was a kid my family spent some time in thrall to a Multi-Level-Marketing cult with a penchant for dream rhetoric. Years after my parents escaped, I looked back and realized statements like "Never Quit following your Dream!" easily translate to: "Sacrifice your money, your youth, your health, your friends, all for some arbitrary goal!"
This becomes especially destructive when:
Someone else stands to profit from your pursuit of a DreamTM Your DreamTM isn't even your own, but was planted by that someone That someone profits whether or not you actually achieve the DreamTM
This Multi-Level-Marketing cult would encourage members to "Dream-build."
Come on, let's go look at fancy cars and Yachts, you'll have one someday. Pick out one you like, take a picture. Imagine your dream-home, draw the plans, pick an architect. Put that picture on the fridge, that's your DreamTM. How will you succeed without a DreamTM? Now while you're working hard hawking laundry detergent and vitamins to your downline on your independent small business, I've got some new motivational business tapes for you to listen to. I know you just bought a bunch last week, but don't worry about that, it's an investment in your business and your Dream!TM Just think, without your DreamTM you'd be working for The Man in a dead-end job like all your deeply concerned friends and family those negative sheeple who keep telling you to quit this business!
It seems silly now, but don't dismiss it - I know first-hand how captivating this rhetoric can be for children and adults alike, especially for people disillusioned with the world and yearning with ambition.
Okay, so you may not be trapped in a legal pyramid scheme, but if you want to get into game development these days, there's still a lot of shady folks out there who have every incentive to pump your head full of DreamTM and harvest your blood and sweat.
A short list:
I'm not saying every school and company is out to get you, but be on guard. The voice encouraging you to give it "everything you've got" may actually be more interested in "everything you've got" than in your well-being.
I guess my point is just:
It's OKAY not to follow your dreams
Being a game developer is pretty cool, but it's really hard to pull off and it may not even be what you really want out of life. If it is really important to you, then I definitely encourage you to try, but surely not at "any cost." How much are you willing to sacrifice? Only you can answer that. But I think it's smart to draw a line in the sand, say "this much, no further." Defender's Quest was my one big risk, and it happened to pay off, but if it hadn't I was fully prepared to go back to being a contractor, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
It's hard enough to make a living in this economy, so if you're going to commit yourself to a specific career, do it with your eyes open.
Here's some other people with some smart things to say on the subject:
DON'T do what you love by Rachel Nabors
The War on Work by Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs:Counterprotesters crowded around him at an anti-illegal immigration rally in Southern California.
R.C. Maxwell, an African-American supporter of President Donald Trump, was voicing his views on immigration, saying that he had grown up in the black community and "I've seen problems with illegal immigrants."
"There's a problem with illegal immigration; I speak out against that," Maxwell shouted Sunday night during the "America First!" rally held in Laguna Beach. "That doesn't make me a Nazi."
Then the crowd got loud.
"You're a traitor!" one hollered.
"People want you in chains, dude," another person called out.
"I know they do," Maxwell said.
Another said: "If you want to keep the peace, you should leave."
Video showed a man emerge from the crowd and throw a punch - then Maxwell hit the ground. The scene turned into chaos as others tried to make him stop, and someone asked, "Where's the cops?"
The man, who was heard screaming and cursing, was later identified by police as 20-year-old Richard Losey, of Lancaster, Ohio.
Losey was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of misdemeanor battery with a hate crime enhancement, Laguna Beach police said this week in a statement.
But prosecutors have since said "there is not enough evidence" to charge Losey with a hate crime, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"Political motivation is not an area covered under hate crimes in the penal code," Susan Kang Schroeder, chief of staff for the Orange County district attorney, said in a statement, according to the newspaper.
California law defines a hate crime as "a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim:
Authorities said in a statement that the victim was "sucker-punched" as he was "peacefully speaking with a group of people."
Losey had fled by the time police had arrived at the scene, authorities said, but video of the incident was shared widely on social media. Authorities said that after the victim contacted police Monday to report an assault by a counterprotester, police were able to identify the suspect.
When he was arrested, Losey was attempting to buy a bus pass for home. Police believe he was trying to flee the state to avoid prosecution.
Online booking records show that Losey is being held on $5,000 bail.
It's unclear whether Losey has an attorney in the case. He is set to appear in court late next week.
Following the incident, Maxwell wrote that he had been punched in the face by "ANTIFA," a far-left political movement characterized as anarchists and antifascists.
"My name is RC Maxwell and I am a victim of leftist violence," Maxwell wrote Tuesday on the website Liberty Writers.
He added: "I was in attendance in Laguna ready to speak out against open borders and the consequence was a beating at the hands of the resistance crowd popularized by anti-Trump sentiment. My "stunt" is reasoning, my "tricks" are persuasion. In 2017, fact and reasoning is a justification of violence especially when it looks as good as I did in Laguna Beach.
"I knew things would get worse from there and the fact that I was dressed for one of my GOP events and not for a socialist rebellion was even more concerning. I couldn't back down. After all I skipped making an appearance to troll protesters at UTR with Baked Alaska to sponsor an event organized by Maxine Water's strongest challenger (Edwin Duterte) and I was feeling like quite the cuck watching Baked Alaska lay his life out on the line for American values while I posed for photo ops with cougars on the coast.
"I took a punch for Trump in Laguna Beach. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to expose to the nation how violent leftist agitators are."
Maxwell could not be immediately reached for comment, but he told Fox affiliate KTTV that the attack was unwarranted.
"I went over to the left side to see if I could engage them with dialogue, and I was instantly encircled by the so-called antifascists," he told the news station.
"I think the fact that I'm a black conservative causes a lot of problems for the left side, because there's no way they can really resolve that according to their narrative of what they think Trump supporters are," he added. "So I think that was something that was a bit triggering to the other side."Australian tennis champ Margaret Court is doubling down against marriage equality in Australia, saying that proponents of equality are seeking to destroy marriage and all major holidays in the country.
“They want marriage because they want to destroy it,” said Court, now a Pentecostal minister. “There will be no Mother’s Day, there will be no Father’s Day, there will be no Easter, there will be no Christmas.”
A tennis champion with 64 Grand Slam Title wins to her name, Court made her most recent anti-LGBT remarks after being ousted as patron of the Cottesloe Tennis Club in Perth, which she said was motivated because of her views on marriage equality. She called the move by the tennis club politically motivated and suggested that the actions of the club reflected a left-leaning agenda that impinged on her freedom of speech, according to The West Australian.
“I think it’s sad. You don’t have the freedom of speech today to really defend yourself,” Court said. “It’s a sad day for our nation when it comes to that.”
To be fair, the president of the tennis club, Ian Hutton, confirmed that her views were discussed as part of the patron election process, as her extreme anti-LGBT stance may have prohibited her from attending certain events at the club. Chief executive of Tennis West Michael Roberts agreed that her views likely played a role.
“If you’ve got an opinion that’s very polarizing, when you’re so firmly supportive or against something, then it’s going to have an impact on how you’re perceived in the community,” he told The West Australian.
Australians currently have until November 7 to mail in a vote on whether they are for or against marriage equality, before Parliament votes on the issue. The results are of the mail-in vote are nonbinding, as Parliament will ultimately decide the fate of LGBT Australians. However, the mail-in ballot has inspired anti-LGBT groups to create harmful campaigns claiming that gay people are pedophiles and that marriage equality would lead to boys wearing dresses in school.
Court’s failure to be reelected as a patron to the Perth club prompted her to further comment on her perceived victimization even as same-sex couples in Australia are not recognized equally under the law there.
“I sense at the moment you can put a Yes [to marriage] sign in the window, everything’s all right, but if you put a No sign you get a brick through your window,” Court said. “We already have 36,000 gay couples in this nation, that’s not a lot of people when you think about the 25 million. They already have civil union [sic].”
Earlier this year, another tennis great — out star Martina Navratilova — wrote an open letter to the The Sydney Morning Herald urging the operators of the Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena, which hosts the Australian Open, to change the name. Billie Jean King, another lesbian tennis star, weighed in and said that Court’s remarks about LGBT people have been “hurtful” but that she did not believe the arena name should be changed.
Four months prior to King’s famous "Battle of the Sexes" 1973 match, in which she trounced Bobby Riggs, Court played the famed chauvinist and lost miserably in what has been dubbed "The Mother’s Day Massacre." At an event in Los Angeles early this summer, Jessica McNamee, who plays Court in the upcoming film Battle of the Sexes, spoke with The Advocate about the controversy surrounding the real person she portrayed in the film.
"As far as changing the name of the court … I actually spoke to Billie Jean King recently. I guess I mimic her sentiment in that [Court] has a right to freedom of speech, and I don’t necessarily think that the name needs to be changed,” McNamee said. “Essentially, you know she was awarded that exclusively for her tennis, you can’t deny that she was the best female tennis player of her time. But yeah, I definitely have strongly different beliefs than her."Whenever I think of virtual reality, my mind immediately jumps to Sword Art Online. A MMORPG experience that submerges your entire being inside of a game to hack and slash at monsters as if you were really there, seems like a complete fantasy.
We aren’t anywhere near that virtual experience, but whether it be the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or the PlayStation VR, I can see that future getting closer and closer.
VR is nearly impossible to get hyped about before trying it. Watching a gameplay demo doesn’t feel special when it is shown just like any other game. Going into this demo, I was excited about the prospects of what the future may hold, but apprehensive about how long it will take to get there.
Due to a few demos set up around Toronto this past weekend, I was able to try out Sony’s VR machine at one of my local EB Games. Players were given the option of a few games: Battlezone, the modern VR retelling of the 1980 Atari classic, Eve Valkyrie, and a couple of PS VR World’s experiences, The London Heist and Into the Deep.
I didn’t get a chance to experience Battlezone or Into the Deep due to time constraints, but reviews from other players at the demo event were only positive about both of those experiences. The smile one gamer held on her face as she gunned down blocks in Battlezone spoke more to me than the words she shared after.
When it was my turn, I decided I had to give Eve Valkyrie a go first. I couldn’t resist trying out the game that seems to be getting the most attention in the VR space, and after that brief demo, I can understand why.
With the VR headset snug comfortably on my head, and over my glasses, something I was worried about going into the demo, a set of headphones over my ears, and a dualshock controller in my hands, I was ready to go.
Right away, I was impressed with the level of immersion. Dropped right into the cockpit of one of Eve Valkyrie’s fighters, I was consumed by flashing red lights, sirens, and commands from my squadron leader over the headset |
been repaid in full, and most have not seen any of their money returned, according to charging documents.
Throughout it all, the FBI agent told the court, Anderson lied to those who were supporting him in a failed effort to cover up the fraud. He went so far as to claim he himself had been the victim of theft and was going to the FBI.
An attorney for the investors actually went to the FBI in March 2012 and began outlining the thefts. Subsequent investigation led to the charges against Anderson, which were unsealed Monday.
The FBI agent went on to note that in a recent interview with writer Keegan Hamilton for Seattle Weekly, Anderson admitted to much of the fraud and suggested he used the money he acquired to repay other loans.
Anderson has been charged with five counts of wire fraud. He made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court at Tacoma.
Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.
Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.In the wake of Friday’s order by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby to impose same-sex marriage immediately on the state of Utah, many fundamental questions arise about just how resilient is the constitutional guarantee of republican self-governance. But Gov. Gary Herbert and newly named Attorney General Sean Reyes have an historic opportunity to demonstrate resilience in the face of this challenge.
The unprecedented overreach by Judge Shelby — and most especially his refusal to temporarily stay the effects of his decision — has come at high cost. The immediate outcomes from Friday’s decision include a high dose of legal uncertainty for those licenses being issued under the court order as well as polarization of pubic opinion around these understandably emotional issues.
But self-governance rests on more than just the outcome of votes or court orders. It relies on a deeply embedded culture of civility, thoughtful participation in public decision-making, faithful adherence to legal process and visionary leadership. None of those was swept away on Friday by federal court order.
As the fate of Amendment 3 moves forward through the appellate process, we acknowledge that there are people of good will on both sides of this contentious issue, and we appreciate that Utah’s culture of civility and respect will continue to guide how this issue is engaged. The spirit of can-do volunteerism and community spirit that unite our state must prevail through this difficult conversation.
But even as we temper the volume of our voices, we encourage Utahns to stay engaged with the issues in an informed way. Utah’s Amendment 3 is not unique among the states. Thirty-three states have specifically amended their constitutions in the same manner. North Carolina did so just last year. It is expected within a well-functioning democracy that the people will enshrine into their fundamental law those principles most conducive to the protection of the family as the basic unit of society. Moral sentiment and experience can and should guide such protections.
It is also important to know that the legal process is moving forward. Utah has not changed its definition of marriage. A single federal judge has used a novel interpretation of the Constitution to prevent enforcement of that widely used definition. In the not-too-distant future, the collective wisdom of a three-judge panel on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will have the opportunity to review that definition — with further appeal available to the Supreme Court.
And it is precisely through this legal process that Utah will have a unique role to play. Utah’s Amendment 3 may provide precisely the robust legal case that will, in the end, preserve to the states their right to define marriage to be exclusively between and man and a woman.
Contrast Utah’s situation to that of California. In California when the constitutionally enacted definition of marriage as between one man and one woman was challenged in federal district court, neither the state’s governor nor the attorney general bothered to show up. Because the wrong parties were contesting the issues in court and on appeal, the ensuing litigation created more questions than answers and the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the appeal precisely because state officials had failed to defend what voters had approved.
Herbert and Reyes, however, have both the opportunity and the willingness to take a full and vigorous legal fight forward. Building on the extraordinary social and economic results that we believe stems from Utah’s deep-seated support of the traditional family, Herbert and Reyes can shape a full-vetting of the complex issues involved in this vitally important debate in both the courts and in the court of public opinion. The vision, tone and rigor that they bring to this debate will provide much needed leadership, not just for Utah, but for the nation.CLEVELAND — A woman caught on camera driving on a sidewalk to pass a Cleveland school bus that was unloading children stood in the cold Tuesday at an intersection holding a sign warning people about idiots.
A Cleveland Municipal Court judge ordered 32-year-old Shena Hardin to serve the highly public sentence for one hour Tuesday and Wednesday for the Sept. 11 citation.
She arrived bundled up against the 34-degree cold, puffing a cigarette and wearing head phones as passing vehicles honked. Satellite TV trucks were on hand to stream the event live near downtown Cleveland.
The sign read: "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."
Hardin refused to comment, as did her mother, who watched from a parked car.
Hardin's license was suspended for 30 days and she was ordered to pay $250 in court costs.
Lisa Kelley, whose 9-year-old daughter boards the bus which Hardin had been passing on the sidewalk, said the sentence fit the crime. "She's an idiot, just like her sign says," Kelley said as she watched Hardin lean against a fence, her head down and her eyes hidden by dark glasses.
"She did this almost every day last year," Kelley said. "She won't stop laughing. She's not remorseful, she laughed at every court appearance. She's still laughing, so she needs to be humiliated like this."
Kelley said she was only sorry the woman was standing in the cold and not the rain or snow.
A message seeking comment was left for Hardin's attorneys.
Bill Lipold, 37, who works nearby in the blue-collar neighborhood of older homes and factories, yelled "Why do you hate kids" to Hardin.
He hopes the punishment works. "How else are you going to stop her from doing it again? She really didn't show remorse for her action after being caught, so you've got to try something," he asked.
With two schools located with two blocks of the location and busy commuter traffic, the area can be risky for youngsters walking to class, Lipold said.Tyler the Creator Arrested For Inciting a Riot
Tyler the Creator -- ARRESTED... For Inciting a Riot
EXCLUSIVE
was arrested Saturday afternoon at an airport in Texas... after cops say they had a warrant with his name on it -- for starting a riot at the SXSW festival.Austin PD officials say Tyler was booked this afternoon for inciting a riot at his concert Thursday.Cops released a video of the riot (below) -- and Tyler is clearly telling everyone to break down the barricade to get in. The scene is pretty scary.As you may recall, Tyler's concert was cancelled the night before -- after a driver plowed into a crowd of people waiting to get in -- leaving 2 dead and 23 injured.According to the warrant... a bartender at the facility told police he tried protecting a woman from getting trampled on... but a guy punched him in the face for it.Tyler's still in custody on a $3,500 bond.Image copyright AFP Image caption There have been protests against Bollywood star Aamir Khan's comments on intolerance in India
In recent weeks, actors, writers, academics and scientists have expressed concern over growing intolerance in India.
A movement that began with writers returning state awards has spread to scientists, historians and filmmakers. Some 200 academics teaching in India and abroad have issued a joint statement against rising "intolerance and bigotry.
Even Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan have spoken on the issue. Opposition politicians have demanded a parliamentary debate on intolerance in the ongoing winter session.
They have cited the killing of rationalists MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare, as well as the lynching of a man over suspicions he consumed beef, as examples of rising intolerance in the country.
However, many insist that India has suddenly not become intolerant under the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
Books and films have been banned for as long as we can remember. Writers and artists have been hounded and threatened by political parties and groups across the country.
And as commentator Mukul Kesavan says, the main opposition Congress party does not exactly have a stellar record in defending liberal values.
So is India seeing a new form of intolerance driven by majoritarian politics? Or, as analyst TN Ninan says, some of the intolerance is related to the "social churn linked to modernisation" of a complex nation?
Sanjay Subrahmanyam, who teaches in the US and France, is one of India's most distinguished and provocative historians and biographers. I spoke to him on whether he thought India had become intolerant under Mr Modi's watch.
Intolerance in India is not a new thing. So why are we suddenly so outraged and worried about what has been happening after the BJP government came to power last year?
I have not been in India for almost a year. So my impressions come from a distance.
However, it seems that the concerns stem from the fact that the BJP has such a massive majority in parliament, which may seem an occasion for them to impose their agenda in a way they could not in the period 1998-2004 [when the party was previously in power].
People would be less concerned if this was a coalition government.
Image copyright UCLA Image caption Sanjay Subrahmanyam is one of India's most distinguished historians
Further, the current federal government speaks consistently with (at least) two voices.
One is more reasonable, reassuring and tolerant; the other more strident and aggressive.
This ingrained, almost structural, duplicity is being constantly refined as a strategy of "good cop, bad cop". It would seem natural to worry that this will become a pattern for the five years of this government.
Do you believe India has actually become more intolerant? Isn't it the case that Congress and many other non-BJP state governments don't have a leg to stand on, insofar as liberal values are concerned?
It is not a question of "India", but of the upper echelons of the political class and their attitudes.
It is true that "liberal values" have always been fragile in independent India. The BJP is not alone in the matter of attacking them. Few parties actually incarnate any real political liberalism.
But should that make the BJP immune to criticism?
Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Modi says he is committed to 'work for the welfare of people of all sections and religion'
If I am being robbed by two pickpockets, is that any consolation? If the only criticism of the current political climate was politically motivated, and came from political parties with a murky past of their own (like the Congress), it would not be so much of an issue.
But it comes from many members of civil society who feel threatened, and when they protest in a non-violent way, they are told brutally to leave the country and go elsewhere. That is the crude language of majoritarianism. It is being felt in many institutions. My friends in the universities are also feeling it more and more.
So how different is that intolerance with this one under the BJP regime? Are we panicking too much?
There are certainly reasons for concern when a certain type of intimidation and bullying becomes a part of the normal language of public discourse.
The BJP is not the only group to do this, but they are the ones with the power in many parts of India.
If I lived in Pakistan, my concern would be with the Salafis; if I lived in France, it would be with the Front National, who also use a majoritarian language to say "either become French on my terms, or face the consequences".
This needs to be protested, just as the 1975 Emergency needed to be resisted, or Nandigram [killings] needed to be protested. Why should we make an exception for the BJP's bullying?
How tolerant has India been as a civilisation?
As a historical space, India has been no more or less virtuous than any other part of the world.
Why do we also need to claim that we are better than everybody else? It is precisely because we are not, that we need to examine our own present as well as our past with a critical eye.
The student of Indian history finds no lack of violence of all sorts in the Indian past, whether based on religion, caste, colour, xenophobia, or political jockeying.
Image copyright AP Image caption "As a historical space, India has been no more or less virtuous than any other part of the world."
There was never a "golden age" in India, despite what all stripes of myth-makers like to claim.
Yes, there were moments and spaces of toleration, or cosmopolitan coexistence. But these were actually interesting exceptions, not the rule.Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Michael Bisping and Anderson Silva strutted their stuff during workout sessions ahead of their UFC London clash - now just 48 hours away.
A big crowd turned out for the Oxford Street event, which saw the two engaged in a series of warm up drills.
Bisping was his ever-confident self and played to the crowd as he entered the mats. After proclaiming he was going to KO Anderson in round two he picked a child out from the crowd and proceeded to show him how to hits pads to the delight of the watching audience
After that the fun was over and it was down to business as he put on a good sweat showcasing his dynamic set of kicks and boxing skills on the pads.
This time around he managed to avoid kicking his trainer in the head as he did in a similar session ran in Los Angeles two weeks ago.
Read more:
Speaking afterwards in his media scrum, 'The Count' reiterated his excitement to get the fight with Anderson and said that he was doing not just for himself but for all British MMA fans.
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty)
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty)
"It's my first fight back in London and there's a huge turnout," said Bisping.
"The place sold out really fast and the O2 Arena is an amazing venue. Anderson Silva is the biggest opponent I've faced and outside of a title fight, this is the biggest fight available to me right now."
"I can feel the buzz, I can feel the hype and I've trained accordingly. When I'm walking out there, I'm obviously representing myself, representing my family but I'm also representing Great Britain.
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty)
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty)
"I'm going to prove we can perform on a world stage in mixed martial arts. We ruled the world at one point with great boxing world champions and it's only a matter of time before we have a UFC champion, hopefully, one day it's going to be me but who knows."
"The card is full by many up and comers, but I tell you this, I will be fighting my heart out this Saturday and the best version of myself will be on display and there will be no quit. I will fight with every ounce of heart and soul that I have."
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty)
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty)
The legend Anderson 'The Spider' Silva also started his workout in a playful mood and danced and joked around with the gathered crowd throughout his workout. After a short stay working his Jui Jitsu on the mat, Anderson shadowboxing his way around the mats and then showing off his fancy footwork hitting pads with his coach.
Although Anderson hasn't fought outside of the US or Brazil since 2010 and not in the UK since 2006. He said, however, this evening that he was looking forward to fighting again in the English capital and said that he couldn't wait for Saturday night:
"Man I have great memories. I loved staying here back in London, I fight for a long time here in Cage Rage and it was great days and I'm so happy to be back in London," said the former middleweight champion.
When asked what we should expect from Anderson Silva on Saturday night his answer short and sweet:
"Victory, victory."Roger Ailes at the 2006 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour on July 24, 2006, in Pasadena, California. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
The news that Roger Ailes had died initially passed as a blip in the middle of Fox & Friends on Thursday morning. “Beth, you’re in our thoughts and our prayers,” co-anchor Ainsley Earhardt said after her co-host Steve Doocy read a statement from Ailes’ wife, Elizabeth. “And so is Zachary, their beautiful son.” The show then cut to a commercial break. But toward the end of the broadcast, the hosts memorialized Ailes’ death more fully. “Many people out there would say he saved this country by starting the Fox News Channel,” Earhardt said, as meteorologist Janice Dean choked down sobs. “And you know, he went out in such a sad way. But who doesn’t have sins?”
The sins Earhardt was referring to were the sexual harassment allegations leveled against Ailes by several women, including onetime Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson, who says she was fired after rebuffing Ailes’s sexual advances. If Ailes was saddened by his departure from Fox, one would imagine the $40 million he received upon leaving lifted his spirits at least a little. But, as Earhardt said, Ailes truly does leave behind an astonishing legacy—millions of Americans do indeed believe that Fox News, as an institution, has stood as a vital bulwark against threats to America and the American way of life both real and, more often, thrust into the imagination by Alies’ menagerie of demagogues. Members of that crew past and present are paying their respects on Twitter:
He was a brilliant man. I'm telling the stories of the Roger Ailes I knew. Listen now https://t.co/pkdyC33lfO — Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) May 18, 2017
Roger Ailes founded one of the most important and successful media outlets in American history. I will miss his friendship dearly. RIP. — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) May 18, 2017
Prayers to Beth and Zach. R.I.P Roger Ailes- you changed television as we know it. https://t.co/ijOtxlV488 — Eric Bolling🇺🇸 (@ericbolling) May 18, 2017
Still one of the most brilliant books on communications: "You are the Message" by Roger Ailes.https://t.co/cOMt47dHRR — Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) May 18, 2017
Sean Hannity, perhaps Fox’s biggest current star, is rending his garments.
He saw something in me and many others he hired that we never saw in ourselves, and he forever changed the trajectory https://t.co/kK3Iy9CKZG — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 18, 2017
of thousands of peoples lives. https://t.co/jImCDFng5n — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 18, 2017
In many ways he was like a second father after I lost my father 6 months after I started at FNC in 3/97. I am forever grateful. https://t.co/OrDWDjOYBl — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 18, 2017
God speed Roger Ailes! https://t.co/dBeXEZQCv0 — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 18, 2017
Alex Jones and Roger Stone, two of the many heirs to the vast right-wing asylum Ailes helped build, have also toasted him.
RIP Roger Ailes a good friend, great American and communications genius @StoneColdTruth — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) May 18, 2017
Rodger Ailes Dead! RIP founder of modern talk radio and Fox News.. Say what you want but we stand on his shoulders. pic.twitter.com/SWcU1aLBP5 — Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) May 18, 2017
There’s been no word yet from the president, who owes Ailes not just the kind of official remembrance that usually follows the death of a major figure, but sincere thanks—for demonstrating that an entirely different, sealed, and self-sustaining version of reality can be crafted and maintained for a large subset of the American people; for ceaselessly fanning the flames of American racial paranoia; and for making a political movement, driven by the worst impulses in American political life, pig-headed and thick-headed enough to elect him as the most powerful man in the world. It’s only fitting, then, that whenever Trump does leave office—and eventually when he too leaves this mortal coil—he will exit precisely as Ailes did: richer and with a trail of abused women and despondent sycophants behind him.Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam.
Jane Kahn and Michael Bien, two activists with the anti-Israel New Israel Fund, had a complaint about San Francisco's Jewish Community Federation. They were unhappy that JCF wouldn’t fund Hamas.
Or more specifically, they whined that “we were unable to make donations through our JCF donor-advised philanthropic fund to certain organizations that we support”. One of those organizations was the American Friends Service Committee because the JCF narrow-mindedly refuses to help fund groups that “endorse or promote anti-Semitism” or promote BDS.
The American Friends Service Committee does these things and more. It promotes BDS as if that were its religion right down to a “BDS Summer Institute”. And it has a long and troubled history with anti-Semitism from urging Jews to “tolerate some anti-Semitic remarks” to throwing a shindig for Iranian madman Ahmadinejad.
But, more importantly, the AFSC has urged the United States to deal with Hamas despite its call for the eradication of the Jewish people. It has a history of supporting Hamas front “charities” and its website defends Hamas and describes its murderous terror attacks against Israeli civilians as “the use of violence in resisting Israel’s occupation”. It tells supporters “U.S. government policy officially supports Israel’s continued siege on Gaza and the Isolation of Hamas. This is a situation that must end.” It urges supporters to demand a, “complete end to Israel’s siege on Gaza and engagement with Hamas.”
AFSC Palestine-Israel program director Mike Merryman-Lotze justifies anti-Semitic terrorism by arguing that, “Violence is the inevitable response.” AFSC figures advocate the destruction of Israel in various forms. AFSC coordinates with other extreme anti-Israel groups, including JVP. This isn’t a new development for the AFSC which has an ugly history of defending politically correct genocide.
Like many on the left, including Noam Chomsky, the American Friends Service Committee denied Pol Pot’s crimes for as long as they could, instead describing the horrifying atrocities as “the example of an alternative model of development and social organization.” There is doubtlessly an anti-Semitic component to the AFSC’s hostility toward the Jewish State, but the AFSC has supported enough horrifying dictatorships for ideological reasons that it is simply what the organization does.
The left has become so thoroughly corrupted that it is possible for Judith Butler, the Hannah Arendt Chair at the European Graduate School, and Zaid Jilani, formerly of the Center for American Progress, to argue that Hamas or Hezbollah are “progressive” organizations. The notion that there is a distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is swiftly collapsing as a former Doctors Without Borders president argues that Jews wearing Kippahs have it coming because Jewish religious clothing shows “allegiance to the policies of the state of Israel” or when a respected NPR host casually accuses Bernie Sanders of dual loyalty, despite his anti-Israel credentials, simply because he is Jewish.
The question though is should the Jewish Community Federation be expected to provide aid and comfort to the advocates for an organization that speaks of “Our struggle with the Jews” and states that, “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews)”?
Is it really too much to ask that a Jewish community group shouldn’t be funding organizations that “endorse or promote anti-Semitism” or promote the revival of Nazi boycotts of Jewish businesses?
According to Jane Kahn and Michael Bien of the New Israel Fund, an organization that is responsible for more than its own share of controversial funding programs to groups that libel, smear and wage an unceasing war against the Jewish State, it is.
This debate did not begin yesterday. The original open letter attacking the Jewish Community Federation’s “No anti-Semites” policy back in 2010 was signed by, among others, Cindy Shamban of the misleadingly named Jewish Voice for Peace, who more recently became the only speaker to oppose a call by Jewish faculty, alumni and students for the University of California to fight anti-Semitism.
There’s a pattern here and it’s a very ugly one. Advocates of boycotting Jews complain that it’s wrong for Jewish charities to boycott them. Endorsers of an academic boycott against Israel warn of a “chilling effect” if they and their groups don’t get the money they want. Activists with organizations that aid anti-Semitism demand civility and respectful dialogue even while their comrades scream hate outside Jewish synagogues and businesses in a twisted hateful reenactment of 1930’s Germany.
All of this is an obscene farce and it should have come to an end long ago.
Jewish charities should not be funding organizations that hate Jews, that kill Jews and that justify the murder of Jews. There is no dialogue, civil or otherwise, to be had about this subject.
These phenomena are not new. Max Naumann and his VNJ blamed Nazi anti-Semitism on the Zionists. They boycotted pro-Israel programming and sponsored a tour by an “Ex-Zionist” to reveal the “Truth About Palestine”. They endorsed Hitler. The Gestapo came for them anyway. The Marxist movements in Russia that became the Yevsektsiya, the Jewish Section, helped the NKVD round up and kill Rabbis and Zionists. Until their turn came and they ended up on the wrong side of the fence. Just like the VNJ.
JVP is just VNJ. J Street is just the Yevsektsiya. And none of their twisted antics will stop a Muslim terrorist from killing them anyway. A great deal of spilled ink has been wasted on analyzing such pathological behavior. But it’s a waste of time and energy. Arguing with the insane is insanity.
Aiding those who want to kill you or those who want to help kill you is suicide. Anyone who aids their own killers is by definition insane and their arguments and justifications should be viewed as the ravings of the utterly unhinged who have chosen to commit suicide and want to take everyone else with them.
The insane can have great charismatic powers of persuasion. Not everyone who drank the Kool -Aid at Jonestown was crazy. But those who had a choice, chose to participate in homicidal and suicidal insanity. The Jewish Anti-Israel left is just Jonestown on a multinational scale. Their Kool-Aid is routed through a sophisticated network of NGOs and delivered to students on campuses around the world.
But for all the cleverness and sophistication, the billionaire funders and policy papers, the front groups and brand names, it’s all just a Jewish Jonestown with a much better marketing campaign.
That’s all it was in 1930. That’s all it is today. That’s all it ever will be.
Instead of following insanity through its complex pathways of rationalization in which black turns white and up seems down, insanity is best met with common sense. If you follow the logic of madness far enough, you can come to a point at which mass suicide seems like the logical solution. It takes common sense to say that we should not kill ourselves and we should not fund our killers or those who aid them.
The San Francisco's Jewish Community Federation’s policy of not funding those who hate Jews and the Jewish State is only controversial to those whose survival instincts have been drowned in ideological insanity. It is elementary common sense to everyone else.
The only people who really think that a policy of not funding anti-Semitism is controversial are anti-Semites and their insane Jewish accomplices.On Tuesday, Flipps Media of San Mateo, CA, announced the development of an online service called FITE TV, and that Jim Ross has signed on as the public face of the product, strongly suggesting he would be doing more commentary.
FITE TV will give viewers worldwide access to PPV and iPPV events from pro wrestling, boxing, and MMA. There will be both a free and a PPV component to the service, which in many ways, is reminiscent of Go Fight Live, a similar service.
The key is this service will also offer streaming PPV events from TNA and ROH for those who either a) don't have access to them or b) want the convenience of streaming rather than buying on TV. FITE TV will be available on smart TVs as well as most streaming devices. The app is available free on iTunes and Google Play now.
Besides TNA and ROH, the entire WWN Live family of Evolve, Shine and FIP, as well as Future Stars of Wrestling have signed on with FITE. If you remember, Jeff Jarrett used Flipps Media for the iPPV broadcast of Wrestle Kingdom 9 when he had the international rights to the show.
Ross' involvement was due to a connection with Mike Weber, the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Flipps Media. Weber had a long history in pro wrestling, serving as a marketing head for WCW, WWE and TNA.
"Getting invovled with FITE is an opportunity I couldn't pass up," said Ross. "It is the future of televised fighting sports. There is no easier way to stream wrestling, MMA and other fighting sports content including special commentaries on those sports by me."
Other organizations involved will include the Las Vegas based Tuff-N-Uff amateur MMA promotion, Legacy Fighting Championships, USA Sumo and the World Arm Wrestling championships.The Professional eSports Association has decided to suspend its plans to operate a CS:GO league later this year, following a player vote that saw the teams choose to participate in the ESL Pro League instead of the PEA.
Earlier this week, the PEA owners put the decision to play in a PEA-operated league or the EPL to a player vote. According to Scott "SirScoots" Smith, many of the players decided to vote to play in the EPL as they were concerned about the long-term growth of the PEA and wanted to be more connected to the community. SirScoots said that at least six teams' players voted unanimously to play in the EPL, though he is unaware of how compLexity Gaming's players voted.
"Since the time of the original announcement of the PEA CS:GO league, it has become clear to the PEA organizations that there isn’t sufficient financial support in the ecosystem," a PEA spokesperson wrote in a statement sent to theScore esports. "Either from broadcast/streaming partners, sponsors or others, to profitably operate a third prominent online league, due to the oversaturation of the marketplace and the recent upward spiral in operating costs."
In September, the PEA formed and announced their intention to run a 10-week, $500,000 CS:GO league, with a total of $1 million across its first year of play. The teams involved are Team Liquid, Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, NRG Esports, Team SoloMid, Cloud9 and compLexity Gaming. These seven North American organizations stated that their goal was to become the "NBA of esports."
At the time, C9 CEO Jack Etienne stated that the PEA would be an "end to the 'Wild West' days of esports" as it would give stability and proper revenue sharing to players and teams who participated in the league.
Since then, however, the CS:GO scene has changed significantly. In their statement, the PEA cites the fact that the World Esports Association has increased payouts for the EPL and is now offering revenue sharing.
According to the statement, WESA is offering a total of 10 percent of EPL's gross revenue to non-WESA teams, half of which was offered to the PEA teams under the condition that they agree not to run a PEA league for two years and instead commit to the EPL for two years.
"We tried to put together a CS:GO league structure which was innovative and would allow players to help shape operations and execution," the PEA stated. "This wasn’t our time and we’re looking forward to the future."
Daniel Rosen is a news editor for theScore esports. You can follow him on Twitter.CARSON, Calif. (Thursday, July 17, 2014) – The LA Galaxy, in conjunction with Manchester United, announced today that Manchester United will hold an open training session on Tuesday, July 22 at 7:00 p.m. PT at the Rose Bowl Stadium ahead of the Chevrolet Cup against the LA Galaxy.
General admission tickets to the open training session, which cost $20, are available for purchase via Ticketmaster. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the LA Galaxy Foundation. Packages for the open training session and the Chevrolet Cup match between Manchester United and LA Galaxy can be purchased by calling 877-3GALAXY (342-5299) or clicking below.
Manchester United will visit the United States this summer as part of their 2014 preseason tour ahead of their 2014/15 Barclays Premier League campaign. This will be the team’s first visit to North America since the club’s two successful back-to-back tours in 2010 and 2011 and the first visit to Los Angeles since 2003.
Individual tickets for the Chevrolet Cup, starting at $35, are available for purchase via Ticketmaster. Fans can receive discounts on their seats by purchasing an LA Galaxy group or multi-game plan or by becoming a Season Ticket Member. Packages can be purchased by calling 877-3GALAXY (342-5299) or visiting www.lagalaxy.com/manutd. Galaxy Season Ticket Members will receive the same number of seats at Rose Bowl Stadium as they have in their full season plan and have the opportunity to purchase additional tickets at a discount off face value prices.
Chevrolet kicked off its seven-year shirt sponsorship with Manchester United on July 1, and will stream the match free online at www.chevroletfc.com.
Following the match against the Galaxy, Manchester United will take part in the 2014 Guinness International Champions Cup. The English giants will open against A.S. Roma on July 26 in Denver before facing Inter Milan on July 29 in Washington D.C. and Real Madrid on August 2 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The tournament final will be played August 4 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. For more information fans can visit www.internationalchampionscup.com.By Brahma Chellaney
In a classic replay of its old game, China intruded stealthily into a strategic border area in Ladakh and then disingenuously played conciliator by counselling “patience”, “wisdom” and “negotiations”. The incursion bore all the hallmarks of Chinese brinkmanship, including taking an adversary by surprise, seizing an opportunistic timing, masking offence as defence, and discounting risks of wider escalation. Occurring at a time when India has never been so politically weak, the intrusion was shrewdly timed to exploit its political paralysis and leadership drift.
What China did was to impudently violate border-peace agreements with India by employing coercive power on the ground. Then — armed with the leverage from its encroachment into the Debsang plateau — it embarked on coercive diplomacy by setting out military demands for India to meet.
In doing so, it presented India with a Hobson’s choice: either endure the Chinese ingress into a region controlling key access routes or meet China’s demands at the cost of irremediably weakening Indian military interest in a wider strategic belt extending up to the Karakoram Pass and the Siachen Glacier. After a three-week standoff, China withdrew from the occupied spot but only after India blinked by ceding some ground — an action it has tried to rationalise as granting China a “necessary face saver”.
The plain fact is that India made a concession to end the stand-off, while China — in a triumph for its coercive diplomacy — conceded nothing. In fact, placing the aggressor and the victim on the same pedestal, India announced both sides would pull back troops to end the stand-off.
Two Steps Back
India, oddly, wilted just when China was coming under adverse international spotlight for intruding into Indian-controlled territory after expanding its “core interests” and provoking territorial spats with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Instead of raising China’s diplomatic costs for the encroachment so as to deter it from staging another intrusion at a time and place of its choosing, India rewarded the aggression by dismantling its defensive structures at Chumar. It took China just one platoon of up to 50 troops to bring India to heel.
The intruding troops could not have survived the icy wintertime conditions in the temporary shelters they erected. But had the intrusion continued for several more weeks, it would have shone an unlikeable international light on China’s territorial revanchism and imperial resurgence.
All that India needed to do was to reinforce its military positions without encircling the intruders, yet standing firm on the demand it initially made while summoning the Chinese ambassador — an unconditional return to the status quo ante. Yet India gratuitously brought itself under pressure over Chinese premier, Li Keqiang’s impending visit, instead of feeling insulted that Li was stopping over in New Delhi on his way to Pakistan to bless the newly elected government there.
Making the most of India’s apparent lack of self-respect, Beijing insisted that India degrade its border defences by dismantling a key forward observation post, destroying defensive fortifications such as live-in bunkers for its troops, and suspending infrastructure development near the line of actual control (LAC). For its part, China, seeking to bolster its larger game-plan in eastern Ladakh to encroach on Indian land bit by bit, continues to rapidly build up an offensive capability.
In forcing Indian troops to start demolishing bunkers before officially terminating the stand-off and softening up India for further bargaining, China has vindicated its coercive |
2011–12 season, in which he led Juventus to the league title, the Supercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia Final, as well as leading Italy to the final of Euro 2012, saw him nominated for the 2012 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, in which he finished 4th.[10] He was also elected to be part of the ESM 2012 Team of the Year and the 2012 UEFA Team of the Year.[106][107]
2012–13 season [ edit ]
Pirlo played in the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana in Beijing on 11 August 2012 against Napoli, helping Juventus to a 4–2 win in extra time.[108] He curled in a free kick to seal a 2–0 defeat of Parma on the opening day of the new Serie A season. The goal caused much controversy, as the Parma players protested that it had not gone over the line, and replays proved inconclusive.[109] In the following league match against Udinese on 2 September, Pirlo helped to win a penalty and assisted Sebastian Giovinco's second goal of the match, as Juventus went on to defeat the home team 4–1.[110] On 29 September, Pirlo opened the scoring when he dispatched a trade mark free kick to send Juventus on their way to a 4–1 defeat of Roma.[111] Pirlo was nominated for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, along with Juventus and Italy teammate Gianluigi Buffon, following their performances throughout the calendar year.[112] Pirlo provided three assists for Juventus during the group stage, helping them to top their group undefeated and advance to the knockout stages for first time since the 2008–09 tournament.[113] Pirlo was also elected the 2012 Serie A Footballer of the Year, as well as the best midfielder of the season, also winning the 2012 Guerin d'Oro. He was named as part of the 2012 Serie A team of the Year for his performances.[13] Pirlo also won the Pallone Azzurro, given to the best player of the year in the Italian National Team,[114] as well as placing fourth in the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker of the Year Award,[115] and seventh in the FIFA Ballon d'Or.[116] Pirlo and Juventus retained their Serie A title that season. Juventus were, however, eliminated by Bayern Munich in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League, and in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia by Lazio; both of these teams were the winners of these respective competitions.[117][118]
2013–14 season [ edit ]
Pirlo featured in Juventus's 4–0 win against Lazio in the 2013 Supercoppa Italiana, on 18 August 2013, at the Stadio Olimpico, in Rome. Pirlo helped to create Paul Pogba's opening goal in the twenty-third minute of play.[119] Pirlo was the only Italian player to be nominated for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and was also nominated for the 2013 FIFPro World XI.[120] On 1 December, Pirlo sustained a knee-ligament injury which would keep him off the field for over a month.[121] On 12 January 2014, Pirlo signed a new contract with Juventus, which will keep him at the club until 2016.[122] On 27 January, Pirlo was named Serie A Footballer of the Year for a second consecutive time, and was once again included in the Serie A Team of the Year.[123] Juventus won their 30th league title that season with a record 102 points and 33 victories; this was also their third consecutive title since Pirlo's arrival. Juventus also reached the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, losing out to Roma. The Turin club suffered a group stage elimination in the UEFA Champions League, but managed a semi-final finish in the UEFA Europa League, losing out to Benfica, with Pirlo scoring a match winning goal from a free kick in the round of 16 against Fiorentina.[124] Pirlo was chosen to be part of the 2013–14 Europa League Team of the Season, for his performances in the competition.[125]
Pirlo playing for Juventus in 2014
2014–15 season [ edit ]
On 11 June 2014, Pirlo signed a new contract keeping him at Juventus until 2016.[126] Pirlo made his 100th league appearance for Juventus in a 3–2 home win over Roma on 5 October 2014.[127] On 1 November, Pirlo scored Juventus's opening goal from a free kick in a 2–0 win over Empoli, on their 117th anniversary; this was his 26th goal from a free kick in Serie A, putting him two goals behind the all-time record holder, Siniša Mihajlović.[128] On 4 November, Pirlo scored once again from a trademark, curling direct free kick in a 3–2 home win over Olympiacos in a group-stage UEFA Champions League fixture.[129] This was Pirlo's 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, marking the occasion with his first UEFA Champions League goal with Juventus.[130] On 15 December 2014, Pirlo was named the Serie A Footballer of the Year for the third time in his career, and for the third consecutive year since his arrival at Juventus; he was also named part of the 2014 Serie A Team of the Year.[131] In Juventus's 2–1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, on 24 February 2015, Pirlo left the pitch during the first half of the match, after injuring his right calf, ruling him out for three weeks.[132] Pirlo was called up on 11 April 2015 against Parma following his injury.[133] He returned to the starting line-up on 14 April 2015, helping Álvaro Morata to win a penalty which was later converted by Vidal in a 1–0 victory over Monaco at the Juventus Stadium, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals; he was replaced by Andrea Barzagli during the second half.[134] On 26 April, Pirlo scored from a free kick in a 2–1 away defeat to local rivals Torino in the "Derby di Torino"; this was his 28th goal in Serie A from a free kick, which put him level with Mihajlović as the player with the most goals from free kicks in Serie A history.[135] On 20 May, Pirlo played a part in both of Juventus's goals as the Turin club defeated Lazio 2–1 at the Stadio Olimpico in the 2015 Coppa Italia Final.[136] On 6 June 2015, Pirlo played the entirety of the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final as Juventus were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona at Berlin's Olympiastadion;[137] this was the final game of his Juventus career. Pirlo was named to the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Squad of the season for his performances.[138]
In total, he made 164 appearances for Juventus in all competitions, scoring 19 goals (15 of which were scored from free kicks), also providing 39 assists; 31 of his goals came in Serie A, from 119 appearances. During his four seasons in Turin, he won four Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, and two Supercoppe Italiane, also reaching the fourth UEFA Champions League final of his career during his final season with the club. Over 20 seasons in Italy, he made 493 appearances in Serie A.[139]
New York City [ edit ]
Pirlo with New York City in 2017.
2015 season [ edit ]
On 6 July 2015, it was announced that Pirlo had completed a move to Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise New York City as their third Designated Player.[139][140][141] In doing so, he became the highest paid Italian player in all leagues with an $8 million salary,[142] until Graziano Pellè overtook him after moving to Chinese club Shandong Luneng the following year.[143][144] Pirlo made his debut with the club on 26 July 2015 at Yankee Stadium in New York against Orlando City, coming on as a substitute in the 56th minute; he was involved in his team's third and fourth goals and was booked in the 88th minute as New York won the match 5–3.[145] He made his first start for New York on 1 August, in a 2–3 home defeat to the Montreal Impact.[146] On 12 August, it was announced that Pirlo had placed seventh in the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe.[11] On 13 August he set up a goal for David Villa in a 3–1 home win over D.C. United.[147] In October 2015, Pirlo was named to the 59-player shortlist for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or.[148] He finished the 2015 MLS season with 5 assists in 13 appearances, and ended up third in the MLS in minutes per pass, although he failed to score a goal.[149] Despite the presence of Pirlo and two other UEFA Champions League winners, David Villa and Frank Lampard, New York City failed to qualify for the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs at the conclusion of their debut season, which drew criticism from the press;[150][151] Pirlo in particular drew criticism from the media for his low defensive work-rate.[152] In November, Pirlo became the first MLS player in history to be nominated for the FIFPro World XI.[153]
2016 season [ edit ]
Pirlo made his first assist of the 2016 MLS season on 30 April, as he set up a goal for David Villa from a corner in a 3–2 home win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.[154] On 18 June, he scored his first MLS goal from a free kick in the 50th minute of a 3–2 home victory over Philadelphia.[155] In July 2016, Pirlo was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game.[156] Pirlo finished his second MLS season with the club with one goal and a team seasonal best of eleven assists in 32 appearances,[149] as New York City finished in second place in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time ever, clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference semi-final.[157] He was ruled out of the first leg, however, after sustaining a last-minute calf injury, and New York lost the match 2–0 away to Toronto FC.[158] He appeared in the second leg on 6 November, as New York were eliminated from the Playoffs 7–0 on aggregate, following a 5–0 home defeat to Toronto.[159]
2017 season and retirement [ edit ]
After struggling with persisting physical problems for most of the 2017 MLS season, on 8 October 2017, Pirlo announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of the season;[160] in total, he was limited to only 15 appearances and two assists during the 2017 MLS regular season.[149] He made his final professional appearance on 5 November, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute in a 2–0 home win over Columbus Crew, in the second leg of the 2017 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semi-finals; New York were eliminated from the Playoffs following a 4–3 aggregate loss.[161][162] In total, Pirlo made 62 appearances for New York – 60 of which came in the MLS regular season, with the other two coming in the MLS Cup Playoffs – over the course of his three seasons with the club, scoring one goal and providing 18 assists, all of which came during the MLS regular season.[149] Pirlo officially communicated his retirement from professional football the following day, on Twitter.[163] A testimonial match – La Notte del Maestro – was played at the San Siro Stadium in Milan on 21 May 2018, in honour of Pirlo's retirement from professional football.[164]
International career [ edit ]
Pirlo is a silent leader. He speaks with his feet. Marcello Lippi[165]
To pass the ball to Andrea Pirlo is like to hide it in a safe. Zbigniew Boniek[166]
Is he the best player of his generation? Not quite, but he is the most important. Michael Cox[167]
Under-21 and Olympic Career, senior team debut, and Euro 2004 [ edit ]
Pirlo captained Italy to an Under-21 European Championship in 2000, wearing the number 10 jersey, and winning the awards for best player and top scorer of the tournament with three goals; he scored both goals – one from a penalty and the other from a free kick – in Italy's 2–1 victory over Czech Republic in the final. He also led the Italy under-21 team to a semi-final finish in the 2002 edition of the tournament. Pirlo played for Italy at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, scoring a goal in Italy's 1–0 opening win over hosts Australia on 13 September;[168] he also helped Italy win the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. With 46 matches and 16 goals, Pirlo is the record appearance holder for the Italian under-21 team, and the second highest goal-scorer after Alberto Gilardino.[3][107]
Pirlo made his Italy senior debut on 7 September 2002 under Giovanni Trapattoni, at the age of 23 in a 2–0 away win over Azerbaijan in a Euro 2004 qualifying match;[169][170] he also appeared in a friendly match in Pescara against Turkey on 20 November, later that year, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[171] Pirlo scored his first goal for Italy from a free kick in a 4–0 away win in a friendly match against Tunisia.[172] His first major tournament with the Italian senior team was UEFA Euro 2004 under Trapattoni, where he made two appearances in Italy's last two group matches: the first in a 1–1 draw against Sweden, and the second in a 2–1 win over Bulgaria. The Italian team was eliminated in the first round, on direct encounters, following a three-way five-point tie with Sweden and Denmark.[107]
2006 World Cup [ edit ]
Under Trapattoni's replacement, Marcello Lippi, Pirlo became a key member of Italy's starting line-up during their 2006 World Cup Qualifying campaign, and he was eventually called up as a starting member of the Italian squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[173] On 26 March 2005, he assured Italy's participation in the tournament after scoring from two free kicks in a 2–0 win against Scotland in a World Cup Qualifier.[174][175]
Pirlo was named to Italy's 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup,[176] and appeared in all of Italy's matches at the tournament, playing 668 minutes in total.[177] In Italy's first match of the tournament on 12 June, Pirlo scored the opening goal against Ghana, and subsequently helped set up a goal for Vincenzo Iaquinta to seal a 2–0 victory, as the midfielder was named Man of the Match.[178] In the second match on 17 June, he set up a diving header for Gilardino from a set piece which proved to be vital in the 1–1 draw against the United States.[179]
In the semi-final against Germany on 4 July, he assisted Fabio Grosso's opening goal in the dying minutes of extra-time, and was again named Man of the Match, as Italy triumphed 2–0 over the hosts.[180] In the final against France on 9 July, his corner kick produced Marco Materazzi's equalising header ten minutes after France had opened the scoring with a Zinedine Zidane penalty. Following a 1–1 deadlock after extra-time, the match went to a penalty shoot-out, in which he scored the first spot kick, helping Italy to win the title.[181][182] Pirlo formed a formidable midfield partnership with Milan teammate Gattuso, and he completed 475 passes out of 580 attempted throughout the tournament, while also winning 18 challenges.[177][183] After the final, he was named Man of the Match for a third time, winning more Man of the Match Awards than any other player in the tournament.[3] Pirlo was voted the third-best player of the tournament, winning the Bronze Ball,[3] and he finished the victorious World Cup campaign as the top assist provider along with teammate Francesco Totti, as well as Juan Román Riquelme, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Luís Figo.[184] He was named as part of the 2006 FIFPro XI and as part of the 2006 World Cup Team of the Tournament for his performances, placing ninth in both the 2006 Ballon d'Or and the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards.[12]
"I don't feel pressure... I don't give a toss about it. I spent the afternoon of Sunday, 9 July 2006 in Berlin sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening, I went out and won the World Cup." Pirlo, on his mental state in Italy's World Cup victory over France in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Berlin.[185]
Post World Cup [ edit ]
Pirlo appeared in all three of Italy's group matches at UEFA Euro 2008. He was named Man of the Match in Italy's second group match, a 1–1 draw against Romania, on 13 June.[186] On 17 June 2008, Pirlo netted a penalty as Italy defeated France 2–0 in the final group match, to send their rivals and World Cup runners-up crashing out of the European Championships in the first round.[187] Italy lost on penalty kicks to eventual winners Spain in the quarterfinals,[188] as Pirlo and Milan teammate Gattuso were suspended for the match.[189][190]
On 15 June 2009, Pirlo assisted Giuseppe Rossi's second goal in a 3–1 win in Italy's opening match of the Confederations Cup against the United States.[191] Italy subsequently lost the following two group matches against Egypt and Brazil, and were eliminated from the competition in the first round.[192]
Pirlo was not able to play the first two games in the 2010 World Cup for Italy due to recent injuries. He came off the bench for Italy late in the match on 24 June against Slovakia. Even with his help in orchestrating a renewed Italian offence, Pirlo could not prevent Italy from being knocked out of the first round.[193]
Euro 2012 [ edit ]
Coach Prandelli named Pirlo Vice-Captain of the Italian squad, behind captain, Gianluigi Buffon. Pirlo appeared in nine matches as Italy qualified undefeated for the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine,[194] providing several assists, and netting one goal in Italy's 5–0 victory over the Faroe Islands on 7 September 2010.[195]
Andrea Pirlo playing for Italy against England in quarter final of Euro 2012
Because of his excellent performances in leading Juventus to win the Serie A title, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli included the playmaker in his 32-man provisional squad for Euro 2012, and subsequently in Italy's final 23-man squad for the tournament.[196][197] Pirlo provided the cutting ball from which Antonio Di Natale scored the opening goal of Italy's 1–1 draw with World and European champions Spain in the opening round of group play on 10 June 2012.[198] Pirlo then opened the scoring himself from a direct free kick in Italy's second group match against Croatia on 14 June, which also ended in a 1–1 draw; Pirlo was named Man of the Match.[199][200] In the final group match against Republic of Ireland, Pirlo set up Antonio Cassano's goal from a corner kick to help Italy take a 1–0 lead.[201] Italy eventually won 2–0 and progressed to the knock-out stage of the tournament as runners-up in Group C.[202]
On 24 June, Pirlo produced a Man of the Match performance in the quarter-finals against England, as Italy won 4–2 on penalties after the game had finished 0–0 in extra time.[203] Pirlo scored in the shoot-out with an audacious chipped penalty down the centre of the goal, also known as a Panenka.[204] Following the match Pirlo spoke of his eloquent penalty, stating, "At the moment I saw the goalkeeper making strange movements, so I waited for him to move and hit it like that... It was easier for me to chip it at that stage. Maybe my effort put some pressure on England."[205][206] Pirlo completed more passes than the entire England midfield, as he managed 131 passes, the most of any player during the match, and the second most in a single match in the history of the European Championship, behind Xavi, with an 87% pass completion rate, as Italy finished the match with 63% ball possession.[207] He also ran 11.58 kilometres throughout the match, covering more distance than any England player.[204]
In the semi-final round, on 28 June, Pirlo once again put up a Man of the Match performance against Germany, starting the play which led to Balotelli's first goal of the match, as Italy won 2–1 to advance to the final of the tournament.[208] Following Italy's success in the semi-finals, Italy were defeated 4–0 against Spain in the final.[107][209]
Pirlo won three Man of the Match Awards at Euro 2012, the most awards won by a single player, along with Andrés Iniesta of tournament champions Spain.[107] Pirlo was nominated for the Player of the Tournament Award, which ultimately went to Iniesta, and he was also elected to be part of the Team of the Tournament.[210]
2013 Confederations Cup [ edit ]
Pirlo was selected for Italy's squad to play in Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup.[211] He won his 100th cap on 16 June in Italy's opening game against Mexico, opening the scoring with a trademark free kick as Italy won 2–1, and Pirlo was voted Man of the Match.[212] In the second group stage match against Japan on 19 June, Pirlo assisted De Rossi's goal against from a corner, as the match ended 4–3 to Italy.[213] The win allowed Italy to progress to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time. Pirlo did not play in the third group stage match against hosts Brazil, as he had come down with a minor injury at the end of the second match, although he would be available to play for the semi-finals.[214] Italy were defeated 4–2 in the final group stage match on 22 June, which meant that they finished second in group A, and would be playing the winners of group B, tournament favourites Spain, in a rematch of the European Championship Final of the previous year. Italy held Spain to 0–0 draw on 27 June, as the match eventually went to penalties. Pirlo netted his penalty, but Bonucci's miss allowed Spain to advance to the final, as Italy lost the shoot-out 7–6.[215] Pirlo was injured for the third place final, although Italy managed to defeat Uruguay 3–2 on penalties on 30 June, after a 2–2 draw. Pirlo was named to the Team of the Tournament,[216] and was nominated for the Golden Ball award, although he failed to place amongst the top three players of the tournament, as the awards went to Neymar, Iniesta, and Paulinho, respectively.[217]
2014 World Cup [ edit ]
Pirlo scored one goal during Italy's qualification campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which saw them top their group, undefeated.[218] Pirlo converted a penalty as Italy dispatched Armenia by a score of 3–1 on 12 October 2012, and assisted several goals during the World Cup qualifying campaign.[219] On 5 June 2014, Pirlo was selected by Italy manager Prandelli as part of his 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[220] On 12 June, Pirlo announced that he would retire from international football following the tournament.[221]
In the 2014 World Cup, Italy were placed in Group D, along with Costa Rica, England and Uruguay, in what was called the "Group of Death".[222] On 14 June, in Italy's opening match against England, Pirlo wore the captain's armband due to Buffon's last minute injury. The match ended with a 2–1 win to Italy. Pirlo heavily contributed to Italy's win, controlling the flow of the game, and setting up several goalscoring chances, as Italy dominated possession. During the match, Pirlo made 108 passes in total, only misplacing five, with a pass completion rate of 95.4%, completing the most passes of any other player in the previous opening matches of the 2014 World Cup. With a 93.2 pass percentage, Italy also managed to record the highest pass accuracy percentage of any team in a World Cup match since Denmark in the 1966 World Cup, completing 561 of their 602 passes.[223] Pirlo also contributed to Italy's first goal of the match: Antonio Candreva's short corner was played to Marco Verratti, who then passed the ball out wide towards Pirlo, who drew his marker with him. Pirlo let the ball pass in between his legs to Marchisio, leaving him with space to score with a low drive from outside the area. Pirlo also managed to hit the crossbar from a swerving free kick in injury time.[224] Italy suffered 1–0 defeats in both of their remaining matches against Costa Rica and Uruguay, however and were eliminated in the group stage for the second consecutive World Cup, finishing in a disappointing third place in their group, behind Costa Rica and Uruguay. Pirlo's appearance against Uruguay was his 112th cap for Italy, which allowed him to equal Dino Zoff's number of appearances for the Italian national team, and made him the fourth most capped player for the Italian national team. The Italian squad and manager, Cesare Prandelli, were criticised for over-relying on Pirlo to create goalscoring chances. Although Pirlo was able to set up some goal scoring opportunities and did test the opposition goalkeepers with some dangerous free kicks in the final two group games, his performances were stifled by the defensive pressure of the opposition, and he was much less dominant than he had been in the opening match against England.[218] Although he had previously communicated his intention to retire after the World Cup, he stated, upon his return to Italy, that he would still be available to play for the national team.[225]
Euro 2016 [ edit ]
Pirlo playing for Italy in 2015
Despite previously announcing his international retirement following the 2014 World Cup, Pirlo reversed his decision, and under new Italy manager, and Pirlo's former Juventus manager Conte, Pirlo returned to the Italian squad.[226] On 10 October, Pirlo started in Italy's second Euro 2016 qualifying match, which ended in a 2–1 home win over Azerbaijan, overtaking Zoff with his 113th appearance for Italy.[227] Pirlo assisted Chiellini's first goal of the match from a corner kick.[228] In August 2015, Pirlo was called for Italy's Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Malta and Bulgaria in September; he appeared in Italy's 1–0 home victory over Malta on 3 September, becoming the first MLS player to represent Italy;[229][230] this was his final international appearance.[231] In total, Pirlo made four appearances under Conte, as Italy qualified for Euro 2016 on 10 October in a 3–1 win over Azerbaijan.[232] On 23 May 2016, Pirlo, along with fellow MLS compatriot Giovinco, was left off of Conte's 30-player shortlist for Italy's Euro 2016 squad. Regarding their omission, Conte commented in a press conference: "When you make a certain choice and go to play in certain leagues, you do so taking it into account that they could pay the consequences from a footballing viewpoint".[233] In response to Conte's comments, Pirlo stated to Sky Italia: "I have spoken to Conte and there is no disappointment on my part, he knows what he has to do and what he should not do. We had discussions during the season and both parties made their own decisions. He is the coach and it's only right he makes his decisions and decides what is best for him. I hope Italy win although the favourites are other teams such as Germany, Spain and France."[234]
In total, Pirlo made 116 appearances for Italy, scoring 13 goals, making him the fifth-most capped player in his nation's history.[235]
Style of play [ edit ]
Pirlo is a genius. Together with Baggio, I think he's the greatest talent that Italian football has produced in the last 25 years. Gianluigi Buffon[236]
Pirlo spots a pass in a split-second that lesser players could spend a whole lifetime waiting to see. Carlo Ancelotti[237]
Pirlo can make his feet do whatever he wants. He's a genius. Johan Cruyff[95]
Position [ edit ]
Tactically, Pirlo was capable of playing in several midfield positions, but was usually deployed by his club and national teams as a central midfielder, in the role of a deep-lying playmaker, due to his vision and passing accuracy. A highly technical and creative player, Pirlo is regarded by players, managers, and pundits as one of the greatest ever players in his position;[6][8] throughout his career, he was considered as one of the best midfielders in the world and of his generation,[7][238] and as one of the greatest Italian players ever,[236] and is regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time by several pundits, managers and players.[239] Pirlo started his career in a more advanced role, as an attacking midfielder, and also played as a supporting striker on occasion.[240] Although he was considered a talented young prospect, even drawing comparisons with former Italian footballer Gianni Rivera,[241] Pirlo occasionally struggled in this role, due to his lack of pace, and competition from other talented and more dynamic players in his position.[8][26][242]
Because of this, he was later moved to a deep-lying playmaker role by his coaches Mazzone, Terim, and Ancelotti, where he was able to excel due to his unique capabilities.[8][26][243] This position best utilised Pirlo's attributes, and allowed him to operate creatively from a deeper position, in or even behind the main midfield line, in a seemingly defensive midfield role, where he was allowed more time on the ball to create scoring opportunities with his trademark long balls.[8][26][244][245] During his final season with Milan, Pirlo was also used on the wing under Allegri,[246] due to his ability to provide accurate crosses.[247][248][249][250]
Skills [ edit ]
Pirlo playing for Juventus in 2012
Although not gifted with pace, stamina, physicality or notable defensive skills, work-rate, or tackling abilities,[nb 1] Pirlo was known for his composure in possession, and drew praise for his touch, technique, balance, close control, and dribbling ability, as well as his flair and creativity in beating players with feints during one-on-one situations, in order to retain the ball and create space.[nb 2] His reactions and ability to anticipate plays also enabled him to cover ground in midfield and intercept passes despite his lack of pace, tackling ability, or stamina.[260] As a playmaker, he is highly regarded by pundits for his outstanding vision, awareness, and football intelligence, as well as his movement, inventive play, anticipation, ability to read the game, and his wide range of distribution, which enabled him to play the ball first time and rarely relinquish possession, even when put under pressure; in addition to being capable of playing precise, short exchanges to teammates, he was also known for frequently attempting riskier and more difficult passes and is renowned in particular for his extremely accurate long-range passing, both on the ground or in the air, with either foot, despite being naturally right footed.[nb 3] He is considered to be one of the best passers in the history of the sport,[nb 4] and is also known for his accurate striking ability from distance.[261][271] These characteristics allowed him to contribute to his team's offensive play with goals and assists.[256]
Pirlo was a free-kick[261][272] and penalty-kick specialist.[261][273][274] Throughout his career, he was regarded as one of the best free-kick takers in the world,[261][275] and drew praise from pundits for his versatility, and ability to both score and create chances from dead-ball situations.[252][276][277][278] He was extremely effective at curling shots accurately on target from close range,[272] a technique that he perfected by studying Baggio in training sessions during their time at Brescia together;[272] as a youngster, Michel Platini was also one of his major influences when taking free kicks.[279] Pirlo was also capable of scoring from long-range free kicks with swerve and power, due to his unique technique, which was inspired by Juninho's "knuckle ball" free kicks; this technique was later dubbed the maledetta ("accursed") in the Italian media.[280][281] Pirlo has scored the highest number of free kicks in Serie A, alongside Siniša Mihajlović.[135][282]
Nicknames [ edit ]
Fellow players on the Italian national team nicknamed Pirlo l'architetto ("the Architect"), because of the way in which he built plays, and set up goal-scoring opportunities with long, lobbed through passes.[nb 5] In later seasons, Juventus fans also dubbed him il professore ("the professor"),[285] Maestro,[139] and Mozart,[285][286] as a reference to the Austrian composer's prodigious ability. Pirlo was also frequently compared to fellow former Milan and Italy playmaker Albertini early in his Milan career,[287] due to their similar characteristics and style of play. Pirlo was often thought to be Albertini's heir for Milan and the national team; he inherited his nickname the metronome whilst playing at Milan, for the way in which he influenced games by controlling the tempo of his team's play through his direct and efficient passing game in midfield, as well as his ability to make himself available to teammates to receive and subsequently distribute the ball.[nb 6]
Personal life [ edit ]
Pirlo is one of two children along with his brother Ivan.[26] Pirlo and his wife Deborah Roversi married in 2001 and have two children: son Niccolò (born 2003) and daughter Angela (born 2006).[291] In 2014, Pirlo and Roversi divorced after thirteen years of marriage, following Pirlo's affair with Valentina Baldini, a woman he met at his golf club.[292]
Pirlo's father founded a metal trading company in Brescia in 1982 called Elg Steel. Pirlo himself retains a stake in the family business.[293] With regard to his wealth from his family business and footballing career, Pirlo stated in an interview with Italian Vanity Fair magazine that he never talks about money.[294] Pirlo is known for being a wine connoisseur and he also runs his own vineyard in Italy, which produces around 15–20,000 bottles a year.[295]
In 2013, Pirlo wrote an autobiography, with Alessandro Alciato, titled Penso Quindi Gioco (I Think Therefore I Play).[296][297] On 1 September 2014, Pirlo, along with many current and former footballing stars, took part in the "Match for Peace", which was played at the Stadio Olimpico, in Rome, with the proceeds being donated entirely to charity.[298][299]
In July 2016, it was reported that Pirlo's jersey was the highest-selling MLS shirt in 2016.[300]
On 7 July 2017, Pirlo's partner, Valentina Baldini, gave birth to their twins named Leonardo and Tommaso.[301][302]
Career statistics [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
International [ edit ]
Italy national team Year Apps Goals 2002 4 0 2003 1 0 2004 7 1 2005 9 3 2006 14 1 2007 8 1 2008 9 1 2009 12 1 2010 8 1 2011 9 0 2012 13 2 2013 13 2 2014 6 0 2015 3 0 Total 116 13
International goals [ edit ]
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.[231]
Honours [ edit ]
Club [ edit ]
Brescia[2]
Milan[2][8]
Juventus[2][306]
International [ edit ]
Italy[2]
Individual [ edit ]
Orders [ edit ]
CONI: Golden Collar of Sports Merit: 2006[337]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]Image copyright FYI Brecon Image caption Brecon is home to Army barracks
Police are investigating the death of a soldier in Brecon.
Officers received a report of an unconscious and injured man found on Lion Street at about 01:00 BST on Sunday.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance but later died.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the man was a soldier and Dyfed-Powys Police said the death was being treated as unexplained.
It |
first Dirk Dashing game has received a major upgrade. This game (and its sequel) really reflect me, as a person - who I am, and what I like - my love of comic books and classic gaming, my sense of humor, my art, my style of story-telling, and more. The Dirk Dashing games are the kinds of games that I've always wanted to make, and I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity. I hope I can continue to make more of them, because I've got so many other stories I want to tell - not just about Dirk Dashing but about Rick Rocket and some other wonderful characters you haven't even met yet.I hope you enjoy the game. And "thank you" to everyone who has supported me over the years by buying my games and telling your friends about them! I couldn't keep doing this without you!Sincerely,Troy HepfnerMy Game CompanyStory highlights Hackers steal details for 12 million customers of South Korean phone giant
Bank details, home addresses obtained for three-quarters of KT Corp's users
Details used by an accomplice to sell cell phones posing as KT representative
Second major data leak in South Korea since January
Police have arrested two people in connection with a cyber-attack that yielded personal details for 12 million customers of one of South Korea's biggest phone companies.
One of the suspects, identified only by the surname Kim, used his own customized hacking program to break into the computer system used by KT Corp, Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Lee Sang-Won said in a statement obtained by CNN Thursday.
Kim, whom police said was 29 year old, accessed bank details, home addresses and employment information for three-quarters of KT's 16 million registered users. This data was sold on to a 37-year-old man identified only as Park. The owner of a telemarketing business, Park used this information to sell cell phones posing as a KT representative, police said.
The two made 11.5 billion won (US$10.8 million) from the scheme, which dated back to February 2013, police added.
A third person initially implicated in the case was released.
The investigation is now expanding to other hacking activities and other cell phone sales stores.
KT said in a statement that it would actively cooperate with the police investigation to "minimize the damage to its customers," and "figure out the route of information leakage."
Credit card scam
In January this year, the personal data for 20 million South Korean credit card customers was stolen by a worker at the Korea Credit Bureau -- a company that offers risk management and fraud detection services.
The worker, who had access to various databases at the firm, is alleged to have secretly copied data onto an external drive over the course of a year and a half.
Clients of three Korean companies -- KB Kookmin Bank, Lotte Card and Nonghyup Bank -- were hardest hit by the data theft.
Following this leak, financial regulators have been working to revise legislation to beef up the protection of personal information, the Yonhap news agency reported.Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
Popular street artist Shepard Fairey — who created the “Hope” posters widely used during Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign — says New York City’s high cost of living is driving artists out of town to Los Angeles, and making LA the country’s new cultural hub.
“You can’t be in New York and not have either a trust fund or a good enough job to live,” Fairey explained at a Hennessy V.S luncheon at Soho House New York celebrating his label design for a limited-edition bottle. “Artists are screwed in New York right now,” he said.
Asked about LA’s growing popularity as a center for emerging artists, Fairey noted, “The reason why LA is becoming a hub is because LA still has affordable spaces for artists to have studios.”
He continued, “New York was a hub for so long [because] high-low culture, high-low economics co-mingled very fluidly for years.” But artists have been priced out of former lower-cost enclaves Soho, the Bowery, Greenwich Village and Williamsburg, with high-rent condos and office buildings moving into what were previously artist lofts.
“New York is incredibly successful, and one of the things that’s suffering is space for people to be struggling to make something that nobody’s seen before, or hear something nobody’s seen before, where they have no money and it’s not commercially viable yet, but it’s going to be the next thing. That’s happening in LA,” he observed.
Fairey, who lives in LA, is also completing a mural at 161 Bowery as part of the Little Italy Street Art Project. He added that LA has benefited from the influence of new media outlets covering more than just Hollywood.
He said, “New media has meant it’s not just the dominant few stations that are only interested in what Tom Cruise is doing, [saying] ‘Like, this is LA.’ Now there’s opportunities to put attention towards things that are happening in the underground scene.”David Banks/Associated Press
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday that Chicago Bulls All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler is rumored to be in favor of a potential trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sources told Cowley that Butler has spoken to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving and that indications are Butler may push the Bulls front office to send him to the defending Eastern Conference champs.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein first reported Monday that Cleveland was attempting to put together a deal to pry Butler away from Chicago.
Per Stein, the Cavs are prepared to offer forward Kevin Love as part of the deal but need to get a third team involved to sweeten the pot.
The 27-year-old Butler has been named an All-Star in each of the past three seasons, and he is coming off his best NBA campaign to date, as he averaged 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game in 2016-17.
Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Will Harden Burn Himself Out Before the Playoffs? When MJ Wore #12 After His Jersey Was Stolen Before a Game 15 Years Ago, LeBron, Wade and Melo Took Over All-Star Weekend 14 Years Ago, Iverson Dropped Career-High 60 Points The Kyrie and LeBron Bromance Is Back! Bats Have Become an Unexpected Attraction at Spurs Games KD Giving Back to His Hometown with Durant Center Four Years Ago, Klay Drops Record 37 Pts in One Quarter Remembering the Night Kobe Scored 81 Points Happy 37th Birthday Dwyane Wade Steph Is a Few Shots Away from NBA 3-Point History Can Harden Keep His Dominance Going? Steph Gifts Fan Who Asked for Girls UA Kicks with New Curry 6s Happy 34th Birthday to LeBron 👑 4 Years Ago, Kobe Passed Jordan on the NBA Scoring List Drummond and Embiid Reignite Rivalry Happy 24th Birthday to Giannis Antetokounmpo Right Arrow Icon
Butler also has two years remaining on his contract with a player option for 2019-20, according to Spotrac.
The Cavaliers aren't the only team with reported interest in Butler, as Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago mentioned the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns, while Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves had contacted the Bulls.
Cleveland has reached the NBA Finals in each of the past three seasons, but it is 1-2 against the Golden State Warriors and was vanquished in five games this year.
With Love performing inconsistently during the Finals, a swap for Butler is a move that may go a long way toward closing the gap between the Cavs and Dubs.Core Badges - October 2016
It’s once again time for us to release some more great core badges. As always, all badges are NOT retroactive. All badges were voted upon by the community, so head over and vote for your favorites for our next batch!
Riding Steady
Check-in to 5 beers with an ABV under 5% (Level to 50)
Check-in to 5 beers with an ABV under 5% (Level to 50) Pew Pew!
Check-in a beer at 5 different venues categorized as ‘Arcade’ (Level to 50).
Check-in a beer at 5 different venues categorized as ‘Arcade’ (Level to 50). Call of the Swiss
Check-in to 5 different beers from a brewery in Switzerland (Level to 50).
Check-in to 5 different beers from a brewery in Switzerland (Level to 50). Hidden in Plain View
Check-in a beer at 5 different venues categorized as ‘Speakeasy’ (Level to 50).
Check-in a beer at 5 different venues categorized as ‘Speakeasy’ (Level to 50). That’s for Sör!
Check-in to 5 different beers from a brewery in Hungary (Level 50)
Remember, you can help decide what the next set of core badges will be by casting your vote over at https://untappd.com/uservote/badges.The Incline Club will be closing January 1st, 2018…
Here’s some news we didn’t see coming… Scotty Cranmer has announced that the Incline Club will be closing down on January 1st, 2018 after 18 years of good times. It sounds like it was a hard business decision to make between the cost of running the park, the lease on the building and more. Scotty’s video today breaks the news, followed by a look back at a bunch of great memories from the place over the course of the past 18 years. It sounds like Scotty is working on figuring out a new location and will, hopefully, be re-opening a new park in the future. They will be throwing one last bash on December 30th, so make sure you get to that if you’re looking for your last session at the park!
“After 18 years my skate park, The Incline Club is officially closing down. I am sad to see it go but I can’t help but smile when I think about all the amazing memories this place has given me and thousands of other people around the world! In this video I decided to find some old video of the amazing moments that I have had because of this skate park and relive them again with my YouTube channel! There were tricks that were invented inside this building and friendships that will last forever! In this video I also announce the final lock-in that we are having and also the final session of the skate park on December 30th. As sad as I am to see the skate park close down I am excited about the future. Huge thank you to my parents for giving so many people the opportunity to ride such an amazing skate park for 18 years.” – Scotty CranmerMiata 13B Rotary Mount Kit
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At $1,999.00 its the most affordable and highest caliber Rotary kit on the market! We are only making a short production run at this time so get your hands on one before they are all gone!0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard
Trump surrogate and former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer might have handed the state to Hillary Clinton by proclaiming that Trump will carry the state because Hispanics don’t vote.
The Boston Globe reported:
“There are other states right now that are very close contests, but even if we manage to pull off a win [it] would not have that same symbolic significance as Arizona,” said Brian Fallon, the Clinton campaign press secretary. “I think that speaks to demographic changes in the country that are really upending the normal map.”
Some Republicans dismissed the notion that Democratic-leaning Hispanics will become a significant enough force to tip the balance to Clinton.
“Nah,” former Arizona governor Jan Brewer said in an interview. “They don’t get out and vote.’’
It sounds like Brewer was issuing a challenge to Arizona’s Hispanic voters. If Hispanic voters set out to prove the former governor wrong, they will not only validate the perception of their growing political power. Arizona Hispanics will also play a big role in sending Hillary Clinton to the White House while rejecting Donald Trump.
Donald Trump’s surrogates have been some of the worst enemies of the Republican Party during the 2016 election. There were reports one month ago that Latino anger at Trump was motivating them to get out and vote for Clinton in Arizona.
Jan Brewer’s comments may launch the wave that turns Arizona blue in November.
Brewer says that Hispanics don’t vote, so it is up to them to prove her wrong.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:Despite a dismal season along the offensive line last year, the Raiders didn't make a lot of additions this off-season. One of the few was signing offensive guard prospect, Lamar Mady as an undrafted free agent.
With the addition of Mady, the Raiders have another body to compete for a job along the interior offensive line. He is a versatile lineman, having played every offensive line position except left tackle in his college career.
As a right tackle his sophomore season, he helped Butler County Community College to the JuCo National Championship game. As a junior transfer at Youngstown, he started at left guard and didn't allow a single sack or pressure all season. As a senior he started all 11 games at right guard.
Though he was never a regular starter at center, he was a star center in high school and had taken snaps there enough in college to have some scouts projecting him as a center at the NFL level. He is not known for grasping a new playbook quickly which is a skill NFL centers must have as well as call out defenses. The Raiders also have three other centers on the roster in Stefen Wisniewski, Alex Parsons, and fellow UDFA rookie Deveric Gallington which makes the position a bit crowded.
His mobility and run blocking skills had some scouts pegging him as a zone blocking specialist. But at 6-2, 317 pounds he has the build and plenty of punch for a power man system. He also proved he can hold defenders out of the backfield consistently.
Mady put his strength on display and turned some heads with some solid offensive line play in the Texas vs The Nation game. That is also where undrafted free agent tight end Brian Leonhardt stood out and got the Raiders' attention. The well built offensive lineman later impressed again at the combine when he bench pressed 225 pounds 35 times which was second best among all players.
The New York Giants had shown a great deal of interest in Mady at his Pro Day and most scouts had him pegged as a round 6 or 7 pick. He went undrafted and either the Giants' interest petered out altogether, or Mady simply chose the Raiders over them as well as other potential suitors.
Mady joins another Youngstown State alum, Brandian Ross, on the Raiders.
The offensive guard position is not very crowded for the Raiders at the moment. Mady will compete with Tony Bergstrom, Mike Brisiel, Lucas Nix, and Jason Foster for time at one of the guard spots.
Follow @LeviDamienCommanders,
The battlefields are wild zones, and to survive you need to be very skilled. It is time to show us your warrior competency by achieving a number of special missions on the battlefield. After all, a real tanker will always follow orders, and especially when the mission involves the biggest tiers available in the game.
We are continuing with the Big and Heavy specials to honour the 15th Anniversary of Wargaming, and this time it comes with bonuses for the top end of the British medium tank branch.
Enjoy 30% discount and 30% increased profits with the following medium British tanks:
If you have dreams about driving these big machines, and you still don’t have them in your garage, then you will enjoy the discount on their sale price. If you already have them, you will be pleased to know that they will earn you more credits after each battle.
Missions
However, that is not all. Once you are in the battlefields with these beasts, you need to achieve the Victory Mission:
If you achieve 15 victories with each one of these 3 vehicles (so 45 victories in two weeks), you will be rewarded with 500!
Please note that this mission can only be completed once per account.
Not got these tanks yet? Go out hunting them instead by accepting the Destruction Mission:
Destroy one of each of the 3 vehicles in this special in random battles, and you will be rewarded with a garage slot.
Please note that this mission can only be completed once per account.
This special offer starts on 1st July at 07:10 and ends on 15th July at 07:00 CEST (GMT+2). This means you have two full weeks to enjoy the bonuses and the missions!
Ready, Commanders? The battlefield awaits you!Prior to serving as an animated buffoon in the White House, Anthony Scaramucci spent years as an animated buffoon on Futurama.
After "the Mooch" first appeared in his new role as White House Communications Director on Friday, Twitter users couldn't help but compare the newly appointed mouthpiece to the infamous "That Guy" character from Futurama. "That Guy" was known for wearing flashy suits — think Gucci meets a suburban Armani Exchange outlet — and trying to con everyone around him.
Trump finally found the throwback schmoozer the White House so desperately needed.
"That Guy" was based on the character of Gordon Gecko, a legendarily smooth-taking and corrupt business tycoon from the '80s.
Anthony Scaramucci, a technically charismatic former Goldman Sachs Executive, will be in charge of selling the President's latest lies to the press.
Compare and contrast, then agree with me.
Scaramucci is the 80s guy from Futurama pic.twitter.com/8ohqILqj7O — do it for her 🌹 (@chivalress) July 21, 2017
Wow- our first press secretary with Boneitis. pic.twitter.com/3ZuqBd6xsr — Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) July 22, 2017
Anyone notice that the White House hired the 80s guy from Futurama to be the new head of communications? #Scaramucci #boneitis pic.twitter.com/UON7Jg6rix — Ethan James (@ethangroothuis) July 21, 2017
"That Guy" was also known for coming up with affable, absolutely meaningless slogans and optimistic self-help babble.
Imagine a walking, talking self-help book for CEOs on Wall Street. That's "That Guy," otherwise known as the "Mooch."
He'd like to invite you to his invite-only, award-winning special executive training at the Orlando Marriott.
"You get back to the farm, shift some paradigms, revolutionize outside the box." #Scaramucci #Futurama pic.twitter.com/UFhOwhLXaf — Ethan James (@ethangroothuis) July 21, 2017
Fast forward to Scaramucci as Trumps Director of WH Comms position... This time next week pic.twitter.com/tdFmhzyUof — 4030Lisa (@4030lisa) July 21, 2017
Don't you worry about ________ let me worry about _________. — I'm a cop, you idiot (@imacopyouidiot9) July 21, 2017
The Futurama is Nowarama.In this spread-happy age of Pac-12 football, Stanford has made much of its living being different.
Nowhere has the Cardinal's singularity been more pronounced than in their extensive use of the tight end position. When it comes to comparative advantages, Stanford's reliance on that group has made sense: It's not easy for the league's perimeter-oriented defenses to match up with multiple 6-foot-5, 250-pound specimens, especially when those hulks can either road grade for the run game or sprint out for a pass on any given play.
Former USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin explained it best back in 2011: "[Stanford's tight ends] look like offensive tackles. And then all of a sudden, you see [one of them] streaking down the field and he runs a 4.5 40."
Cardinal safety Dallas Lloyd must cover the team's tight ends in practice every day, and he confirms it's easy to be flummoxed by the position's versatility.
"Run and pass look exactly the same," he said. "You can't tell which is coming. You have to be obsessed with details just to be in position to defend [them]."
In the past, especially when Andrew Luck commanded the Stanford offense, the Cardinal's tight ends took advantage of that, catching opponents out of the correct spot on a regular basis.
But Coby Fleener, Zach Ertz, Levine Toilolo, and Konrad Reuland -- the giants who comprised the position group in those days -- were all in the NFL after the 2012 season was done, and Stanford's offense staggered as a result. Tight ends combined for only 10 catches in 2013, and a freshman replacement crop didn't establish consistent rapport with quarterback Kevin Hogan until late in 2014 -- long after the Cardinal's offensive cohesion and red-zone efficiency had taken a drastic dive.
Stanford Tight End Production Catches Yards YPC TD 2010 59 857 14.5 13 2011 86 1356 15.8 20 2012 94 1300 13.8 10 2013 10 69 6.9 0 2014 55 763 13.9 5
It appears Stanford's dearth of tight end production, though, was merely temporary. The position unit looks primed to return in force this season. Austin Hooper brings back 40 catches and 499 yards, while Dalton Schultz -- the nation's top-ranked tight end recruit from 2014 -- is ready for big playing time following a redshirt season.
"I love our tight end group," coach David Shaw said. "[Schultz] and Hooper are a phenomenal 1-2 punch... I like the versatility, size, and athleticism. It's going to be fun to watch these guys grow together."
Greg Taboada and Eric Cotton also scream "mismatch" at the position -- and they are versatile enough to line up at fullback when needed -- so it has actually looking more like a 1-2-3-4 punch for Stanford. Hogan even envisions plays with all four on the field at once.
One can bet he grins at that chance to baffle defenses.
"If a defense lines up with big bodies, we can split [the tight ends] out," Hogan said. "If they line up with little bodies, we can run the ball. I’m really excited to see what those kinds of packages look like."
Schultz's debut generates the most anticipation. He speaks of emulating Ertz, one of his idols during the recruiting process: "The way he comes out of breaks is just insane."
The freshman, who cut his body fat from 18 to 11 percent over the past redshirt year, flashed newfound explosion on several catches during Saturday's open scrimmage.
"[Schultz] can run routes at a high level and still be a force in the run game," Hooper said.
That is precisely the adaptability that has made the Stanford tight end position click -- all the way from the recruiting trail to its comparative advantage against Pac-12 defenses that specialize in combating purely athleticism, not a combination of bruising size and deft hands.
"Our style gives everyone in the tight end room a lot of pride," Hooper said. "We feel we can still be legitimate football players. We are hard-nosed and not afraid of contact, but we can still play the small man's game."
For more than a year, the Cardinal couldn't boast about that type of versatility. Now, though, Stanford is eager to prove the unique tight end combination is back in its arsenal: Too fast to be covered by a linebacker, too big to be contained by a defensive back, and too strong for the defense to forget about the run.
If Stanford's reintroduction of the tight end succeeds, it'll bring a true sense of deja vu to the Farm.
"Only a couple programs in the conference even use a single tight end," Hooper said. "Here, we use four."
In that regard, it's beginning to sound like it's 2011 all over again.When Kevin Boss does charity work with children in the United States, the kids are often overwhelmed by the opportunity to spend time with an NFL player.
In Haiti, children are overwhelmed by the attention of anyone who takes the time to care.
There, Kevin Boss, the NFL player, carried little clout. Boss the human being, however, won over the hearts of dozens of children from one of the world’s most needy areas.
Weeks after the versatile tight end signed with the Kansas City Chiefs after being a salary-cap casualty in Oakland, Boss made a trip that was much more life-changing than the simple exchange of NFL colors. Moving from the Silver and Black to Arrowhead Stadium all became so secondary to the harsh reality of third-world living when Boss fulfilled a longtime goal of visiting Haiti.
The Oregon native took a week-long mission trip to an orphanage in a small, poor mountain town in Haiti this spring with childhood friend Denny Bain and Tennessee Titans linebacker Tim Shaw. Bain runs a non-profit organization, lovinghaiti.org, that helps an orphanage and school in the country.
Kevin Boss spent much of his time in Haiti working, teaching and playing with about 35 children. Courtesy of Kansas City Chiefs
“It was incredible,” Boss said in a phone interview this week. “I’m already thinking about going back. I told my wife the Haitian people have most beautiful smile in the world. They don’t have much but the clothes on their backs, but they have their smile. They melt your heart.”
Boss and his party spent nearly their entire week at the orphanage, working, teaching and playing with about 35 parent-less children. They also did significant physical work to improve the living conditions, including helping to install solar panels because electricity is so unreliable in the area. Boss’ group also built a wall around the area to boost security. He also made a nearly day-long trek for food and supplies during the trip and went to several church services with the residents of the area.
Although he has more missionary work planned, Boss, 28, wants to return to the same orphanage because of the incredible bond he forged with the children during his short stay.
“We played and laughed every day,” Boss said. “Those kids could care less that I play in the NFL. They don’t even know what the NFL is; they just appreciate people who help them. They cherished the opportunity for help.”
Of course, Boss and Shaw did bring some footballs to the children, and tried to get some games going. Yet the kids always turned the pigskin games into matches of their more familiar soccer. “All they wanted to do was kick the ball,” Boss chuckled.
Shortly after signing in Kansas City, Boss asked the Chiefs to donate several team shirts and hats for the children in addition to other clothing, including 100 pairs of new athletic shoes. Although the children were wowed by the bright-red clothes, the Chiefs memorabilia will serve a purpose much more than the showing of team pride.
“These kids need anything we could have given them,” Boss said. “Those clothes are important. I saw some kids who were in the same clothes for the entire week we were there. … The kids would run around and play soccer in their bare feet in the gravel. We’d flinch because it looked like it would hurt, but they are used to it.”
Now that he is back Stateside, Boss is concentrating on being a key cog in the Kansas City offense. He will back up Tony Moeaki (and provide strong injury insurance for Moeaki, coming off of a torn ACL) and will play often in multiple-tight end sets.
Boss has already been praised by his new teammates for his leadership.
“I’m excited about Kevin Boss,” Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel said this week. "He’s a guy that’s come in and worked very hard. He’s a true professional, and he’s learned the offense quite quickly. It’s great to not only have him out there on the field, but also his leadership in the locker room. There are a lot of young guys here that are watching him work and respect the fact that he can go out there and work extremely hard each and every day.”
Although Cassel is getting to know and appreciate Boss for his skills as an NFL player, there is a group of children a world away who appreciate him for merely being human.BEIJING, July 18 (Reuters) - Iraq has asked China to set up a fund to help with the reconstruction of the war-battered country, an Iraqi government official said on Monday during a visit to Beijing by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh also said Baghdad was keen to get Chinese companies investing in the country, which is China’s seventh largest supplier of oil last year.
The United States has spent $54 billion in relief and reconstruction efforts since the 2003 invasion, and it and the Iraqi government have spent billions more in Iraqi money, but ordinary people have seen little improvement.
The Iraqi government, which gets most of its $72 billion budget from oil revenues, says it is committed to improving basic services. But progress is painfully slow.
“We are asking the China side to make a fund, for... reconstruction and to guarantee and assure the investment in Iraq for Chinese companies,” Dabbagh told reporters in Beijing.
“Koreans they did the same, they had to create a fund, which they support their companies to work in Iraq. Germany is going to make such a thing. Iraq is requesting from China to have such (a) fund,” he added, speaking in English.
“We left it to the Chinese to check and to find out how they could manage this one. It’s especially dedicated to Iraq.”
Several big contracts signed by Chinese oil firms in Iraq were cancelled in 2003 following the toppling of former president Saddam Hussein, but oil firms from the world’s second largest economy have been working hard to rebuild their presence.
In 2008, the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) successfully renegotiated a contract originally signed by the previous regime to develop the Ahdab oilfield, becoming the first country to sign an oil service contract in Iraq under the new U.S.-backed regime.
CNPC completed construction of the first phase of the oilfield in June this year, and it is also developing Iraq’s Halfaya oilfield with France’s Total SA and Malaysia’s Petronas. CNPC also has a 37 percent stake in a service contract to develop the Rumaila oilfield, which pumps out almost half of Iraq’s total oil output.
HELP ON MILITARY TRAINING
Dabbagh said Iraq wanted more than just Chinese investment in the energy sector.
“In oil, they have a good investment but we want to have more than in oil, more than energy. In reconstruction... I think there are huge opportunities for Chinese to participate in construction,” he said.
“Petrochemicals and steel, there is a good chance. And refineries as well, there is a good chance.”
But increasing political tension could hamper Iraq’s fractious governing coalition as it tries to stabilise the country after years of war and decide whether to ask U.S. troops to stay beyond an end-year deadline for their withdrawal.
U.S. forces officially ended combat operations in Iraq last August but have come under increasing fire in recent weeks.
Dabbagh said Iraq was open to Chinese help in providing training for its military, and maybe weapons.
“Iraq is going to take over and Iraq is going to take the full responsibility and we don’t think there is going to be any gap. Training, we are negotiating with many countries. I think that China could have training support if we buy some weapons and equipment from them.”
China traditionally has had limited diplomatic sway in the Middle East, even as it relies heavily on energy imports from the region.
Analysts say China wants to avoid messy entanglements with Middle East countries and has no appetite for turning the regional upheaval into a point of confrontation with the United States. (Additional reporting by David Stanway and Jim Bai; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)Family friends recently returned from a trip to the Wynn Las Vegas, but the first story they had to tell wasn’t about luxurious accommodations, gambling, restaurants, or shows. It was about the snacks on top of their minibar.
The motion-detector minibar wasn’t new to me. Those are bad enough: You move any item in the minibar, and if you don’t put it back within 60 seconds, you’ve bought it. So much for making room to store your own food or beverages in there.
But what the friends told us was about the outside of the minibar. Snacks were placed on a tray. Not inside anything, but out in the open. (Heres a photo of the display.) There’s a warning that the food is on an electronic scale, and moving the item means you bought it.
This is just absurd. What if you wanted to look at the nutritional information on the back? Or, as one Expedia review noted, what if you have kids who inquisitively pick stuff up? (Best not to take the kids to the Wynn!) And check your bill: As one TripAdvisor reviewer learned, after getting hit with $100 of minibar fees, even though they didn’t consume anywhere near that much, you need to watch your charges, to make sure you didn’t accidentally budge anything.
The next time I will just buy some snacks from 7-eleven, read some online casino reviews and play from home. Much cheaper, better chances of winning, and I don’t have to worry about accidentally being charged $10 for a bag of crips.
What’s next, a tripwire that triggers a fee if you use the bathroom?David S. Kime Jr. was many things. World War II veteran. Purple Heart recipient. Father. Grandfather. Husband. And, it should be noted, Burger King enthusiast.
The 88-year-old Kime died Jan. 20, and during his funeral procession a few days later, members of Kime's family took a detour to the Burger King drive-through.
Linda Phiel, one of Kime's three daughters, said her dad loved fast food and ate it daily. "He always lived by his own rules," she said. "His version of eating healthy was the lettuce on the Whopper Jr."
The York (Pa.) Daily Record spoke with Phiel, who explained that when her mother was alive, she tried to keep his eating habits in check. "When she died, for a while, he would eat with us," she said. "But he considered us health freaks because we ate things that were green, like broccoli."
After a while, Phiel stopped trying to talk her dad into eating more veggies. "When you're 88 years old, I guess you've earned the right to do what you want to do," she said.
The funeral procession ordered a whopping 40 of the Whopper Jr. burgers, including one for the dearly departed. Kime's Whopper was placed on top of his casket before burial.
The Burger King's manager, Margaret Hess, said, "It's nice to know he was a loyal customer up until the end—the very end."Last week, I wrote an opinion article about the Windows Store, noting that Microsoft seemed to have issues with the Windows store’s uptake by developers. One of the issues cited, was the lack of qualitative numbers on the quantity of new apps in the Windows store – something which stood out considering Microsoft normally expanded on the statistics of the Windows Phone and Windows 8 Store before. I reached a conclusion that the Window Store wasn’t doing as well as it was supposed to. While I haven’t changed that conclusion (Hello Snapchat and Google) I don’t believe the situation is as dire as it would seem with the amount of publicly available information.
Microsoft reached out to us to clarify a few points about the Windows 10 app store, correcting my earlier speculation of the number of Universal Windows apps being a mere 420 and explaining that there are thousands of new Windows store apps.
When pressed on details like the removal of the “Built for Windows 10” and “universal app” tags that surfaced in Windows 8.1 and later again in Windows 10 version 1511, Microsoft explained that they had moved on from tagging apps, to creating dedicated collections, stated:
“As we built out the capabilities of not only Windows 10, but the Windows Store, we included a tag that highlighted apps that took advantage of new Windows 10 features we wanted our consumers to know and love. As we’ve added more apps to our Store, we have moved away from using the tags and instead now have whole collections dedicated to these features like the “Better with Cortana” and “Apps for Windows Ink” collections. Of note, all apps in these collections are UWP apps and are not comprehensive lists. Like I mentioned yesterday, there are more than 1,000 apps that are Cortana-integrated.”
Windows phone users will also note a new Continuum apps collection in the store, highlight apps that use Continuum and similar features. Ideally, Microsoft would have several collections for almost every use case in the store, but I suppose the number they have is enough for non-powerusers.
Another point we noted was that Microsoft was no longer sharing the exact numbers of apps which were present in the Windows store. Microsoft had previously given the numbers on the apps they had in the store, breaking them down for Windows phone and Windows PCs. Since the Windows 10 November Update, the firm had moved away from mentioning |
orc who was directly in front of him on the chain. It felt as if his voice was being projected directly into the back of Ragnok’s head, and Ragnok was sure he felt spit on the back of his neck. As he turned, the orc was standing at a distance that showed a great lack of personal space and his arm was extended towards Ragnok, nearly touching his chest.
Ragnok remained silent and just stared into the face of Zonk. He could see how uncomfortable the silence made Zonk, and he was just beginning to relish the feeling of this moment when he was interrupted by Zonk’s voice, “...and this is my bloodkin, Donk… Looks like we are being placed together, but just stay out of our way and you’ll all be fine!” Zonk finished as he gracefully finessed a sword from the rack on the wall.
“I am Ragnok,” Ragnok started slowly, addressing the orcs before him and slowly turning towards the weapons on the wall. “Together with Bashuk the She-bear the entire Thrak Gulch clan fights with honor beside you.” He finished with confidence as he pulled an axe from the rack.
One of the nearly identical orcs stepped forward, the one with the tusk nearly digging into his cheekbone. “I am Nalgor of the Grim Maw Clan. This is my blood, Talgor. We fight for the glory of the Grim Maw!” They each grabbed an axe in unison, muscles rippling with each move.
Appearing from the shadows behind them walked the dark, blue-skinned orc. His eyes were fixed only on the sword he began to reach for as he talked, “I am Grishnok. My clan is dead. I fight to survive.” He then walked passed Ragnok towards the edge of the tunnel and into the shadows, blending into the darkness and out of sight.
Ragnok heard the now familiar machinations of the gate begin to whir. This was followed almost immediately by growling coming from Bashuk. Her tightened face showed Ragnok the pain she was experiencing as she fell forward. Ragnok could feel the pain as he watch her bones stretch, twist and grow. Her entire body appeared to distort and waver slightly as if Ragnok was viewing her through the heat of a flame. In only a couple seconds the orc was gone and replaced with an enormous, roaring bear.
“I’d always wondered what that looks like,” Donk spoke for the first time.
“It looks like it hurts,” Zonk laughed and jabbed Donk with his elbow.
“It does,” Donk’s smile quickly turned into a grimace as he tried to stifle the yelps of pain. He also began to fall forward and he, too, became distorted in Ragnok’s vision. Seconds later there stood a ferociously squealing boar with powerful tusks lowered aggressively towards the ground as if ready to charge. Ragnok could see the same tension in the legs of this boar as he had noted in Donk earlier.
Bashuk turned to Donk and roared her approval, slobber flying from her teeth and into his ear and the side of his face. Donk squealed at her shaking his head to dry his ear and pawing impatiently at the dirt in front of the gate.
Zonk winked at Ragnok’s disbelief and then spun his sword gracefully in front of himself. Zonk began to move his feet rhythmically with the spinning of his sword before striking a balanced pose and becoming completely still, waiting for the gate to open.
Ragnok could see the far gate had already began to open and the orcs from inside were headed out into the arena. Ragnok could count ten of them. One of them lowered his crossbow towards the still drumming orc and loosed a bolt. The bolt hit the orc squarely in the side of his skull and he fell lifelessly towards the ground. The crowd roared its approval for the beginning of the bloodshed, and the gate began to raise in front of Ragnok and his allies. The drumming in Ragnok’s mind did not build slowly this time. As the gate opened it started immediately at full volume and drove him onward into battle.
Donk was the first through the gate and he moved incredibly quickly across the battlefield, but Bashuk was only a few steps behind. Zonk led the rest of the charge as Ragnok, Nalgor and Talgor followed only a few steps behind. Grishnok was nowhere to be seen, and Ragnok assumed cowardice had kept him trapped in the tunnel.
Three crossbow bolts were loosed towards Donk. Two of them bounced off of his thick hide, but the third stuck in his shoulder. His stride slowed slightly which allowed Bashuk to pass. The fourth crossbow was almost reloaded from killing the drumming orc when Bashuk got to them and swiped three of them across the chest. The fourth stepped back just before she was able to strike, but Donk swept up on him like a spear and he was impaled on Donk’s tusks and taken to the ground. The six, sword wielding orcs began to move in on Bashuk and Donk who were separated by their speed from Ragnok and the rest of his allies. Bashuk took four strong hits that seemed to have almost no effect on her. She swiftly bit down on the neck of one of the crossbowmen. Ragnok had to imagine the sounds of his neck snapping as the drumming in his mind grew even more deafening as he finally neared range to attack. Three of the sword wielding orcs were behind Bashuk and Donk. Two of them began to turn to face the charging Ragnok, Donk, Nalgor and Talgor, but one remained focused on Bashuk’s back and began preparing a lunging thrust. Just before Ragnok was about to strike this orc in the back to stop his attack on Bashuk, Ragnok noticed Grishnok slip in from seemingly nowhere and lunge his sword deep into their foe’s kidneys. Ragnok was able to adjust his strike to hit the next orc in the shoulder just as he turned towards Ragnok and his charging allies. The axe sank deep into this orc’s shoulder, spraying blood on Ragnok’s face. Ragnok’s roar was matched by Bashuk as she maimed another foe.
As Ragnok pulled the axe from his enemies shoulder and looked to the next target, he saw Nalgor and Talgor swing their axes as the same target, knocking the orc onto the ground as his entrails spilled forth. Ragnok saw Zonk close in swiftly on another orc whose eyes were so fixated on Zonk’s dancing sword that they did not see his kick. This knocked the orc off balance and Zonk capitalized on the opening, hewing the orc to the ground. Donk flung two dead crossbowmen to the ground at least one of which had a gaping hole in its abdomen from where the tusk was ripped out as he fell.
The final two orcs appeared to pause, though Ragnok could not tell if it was their fear, or the comparison to the speed at which Nalgor and Talgor rushed them. Before anyone else could react, the nearly identical brothers had moved forward. They unleashed two devastating blows each and both of the orcs fell to the ground leaving a mist of blood where they once stood.
The grey-armored onlookers let Ragnok and his allies know that they were pleased, growing loud enough that even Ragnok could hear them over the drumming. Zonk sliced the head off of one of their fallen foes and held it aloft and the crowd grew louder still. Zonk continued to bask in the attention, and thus was the last to notice the two score grey-armored and heavily armed orcs pouring into the arena. They hurriedly surrounded Ragnok and his allies, stripped them of their weapons, and ushered them forcefully from the arena.
As they were swept out, it was chaotic and the drumming in Ragnok’s mind subsided.
“Where are we going?! I was just getting started!” Zonk shouted at the deaf ears of their escorts. They were led from the arena and across the street into what appeared to be a large barn. Inside there were orcs holding buckets of water. One orc approached each of them and wiped the blood from their bodies and then dumped the remaining water on their heads. Zonk complained aloud at every action they took, “If I still had that sword, you’d all be in for it!” All of his complaints were ignored.
After the bathing, they were taken through another doorway into another section of the building. Here they were outfitted in grey armor. This armor was identical to what the rest of the orcs were wearing besides one thing; this armor had a black stripe running down the center of the chest and the back. Along the far wall, guarded by dozens of grey-armored orcs Ragnok saw several weapons, and he was disappointed to find that none of them were hammers.
A large orc in grey scale armor walked through the door. This was the first Ragnok had seen this grey armor as anything besides chain. The rest of the orcs in room stood silently, watching as this orc entered. His face was scarred from what appeared to be an old injury. All that was left of his nose was two gaping holes.
“Who the hell are you?!” Zonk demanded and the room fell completely silent.
After a long pause, the orc spoke, breaking the silence in the room. “Your clans are dead. Now there is only you, and a chance at glory. You will join the Clanless, or die fighting against it. We give you a chance at honor and justice. We have already taken the Scar and it is only the beginning.
“There are a few clans that continue to stand against us. One such clan can be found a few days journey to the south. You will head east against the current of the Talruk River until you find them. You have proven yourselves to be valiant fighters. You will show us your true worth. Their banner is a snapped bone. You will take it and bring it to us to prove you are worthy to join the Clanless, or you will die. If you stray from following the creek bed, you will die. If you choose to take their banner and bring it to us, you will join the greatest war this world has ever seen. Even the Ancients cannot compare to the glory of this war.
“You will find all you need for your journey in this room. Take it and leave. If you linger long, the Clanless will know you by your chain. Any uninitiated found in the city after sunset is fodder for the Clanless. The Silversun is already low in the sky. Move swiftly.” When he finished his monologue he turned and walked from the room. Ragnok stared silently at the wall of weapons before him, but he did not see the weapons. His mind was busy trying to catch up on all that had been said. Ragnok had lost himself in the first four words the orc had spoken, “Your clans are dead.” He knew the truth of these words. And now they want us to kill the Bone Crusher Clan? Ragnok tried to distract himself with the idea that vengeance against the Bone Crushers could be his destiny, but he could feel the silence in the room. Ragnok looked to Zonk, surprised he had held his tongue for so long. Zonk’s face looked as defeated as Ragnok’s spirits. He looked to Bashuk, but her face was cold and blank.
“We should go,” Bashuk said and began searching through a crate in the corner of the room. She pulled out two leather satchels, handed one to Ragnok then headed towards the door. Before exiting, she turned back towards the group, “Grab your things.”
“We will crush them, won’t we Donk?” Zonk said with a forced smile as he grabbed Donk’s shoulder and shook him. Zonk threw a satchel to Donk, whipped a sword from the wall, up and back down with a flourish to his side. They headed for the door and Bashuk stepped aside, waiting for Ragnok.
Grishnok already had a sword and Ragnok just caught a glance of his back as he exited the door in front of Zonk and Donk. Ragnok threw the satchel over his shoulder and walked towards a great axe on the wall. As he approached the axe he could hear the drumming in his mind begin to echo in the distance. It grew louder as he grabbed the axe and he could feel the relief loosen his face. He could almost smile. Perhaps this glory was the reason he had been kept alive by the drumming.
Ragnok saw Bashuk cock her head slightly as if she wanted to ask a question. Perhaps she saw his demeanor change. She paused for a brief moment, as if thinking about something but then softly said, “Let’s go.”
As they walked south and out of the city of the Clanless, Ragnok saw the faces of the grey-armored orcs as they passed. Many of the Clanless seemed to make a note of the black stripe on their armor. Some would then glance at the sky and look back at Ragnok and his allies with hunger and disappointment in their eyes. Others just stared at them with indignation. The vast majority, however, seemed to intentionally ignore their existence.
A small group of grey-armored orcs followed them through the city. Ragnok imagined that they were just hoping to catch them still in the city when the Silversun set. He began to think that they might follow them out of the city and attack them regardless, but they did stop at the edge of the city.
“We’ll just keep heading south if you want to come and take your shot!” Zonk shouted back at them. It was unclear to Ragnok whether or not they heard, but he feared that Zonk’s mouth would eventually get one of them killed. He intended to be sure that when it did, it would not be Bashuk or himself.
The road was relaxing. Ragnok had not had time to enjoy travel since the last Silversummer. It was his first as a Thrak Gulch Warrior, and that Goldfall was the start of the attacks by the grey-armored, Clanless orcs. They had heard of the attacks, but had never seen them until that day which was now only a few weeks ago. The elder’s often spoke of how the cowardly methods of the grey-armored orcs reminded them of the Ancient wars with the Bone Crusher Clan. Ragnok had been told stories as a child of his clan’s wars with the Bone Crusher clan. He had heard the hatred in the elders’ voices as they passed on the stories, and he believed it. He tried to feel the anger. He tried to hate them, and he thought that he had. But as they traveled, and the days passed on the road Ragnok was able to truly feel this hatred for the first time. The drumming grew louder in his mind until it was a constant force that drove him forward. Forward to the death of the Bone Crushers and revenge for his ancestors.
They slept for a few hours each day wherever they could find shade from the sun. The ground was hard and rocky, but it did soften a couple times as they crossed some of the smaller streams that fed into the Talruk and eventually into the Great River. As they neared these streams more trees would dot the landscape and this would slow their travel as they rested in the shade. Zonk spoke at Donk nearly incessantly for the entire trip. He spent most of his time complaining about the heat even though this was Silverspring and the mild Silversummer wasn’t even upon them yet. Donk typically just agreed with Zonk’s exaggerations. You could see Nalgor and Talgor’s annoyance with his complaints in the twitching of their muscled necks, but they gave up within the first 24 hours on trying to get him to take a breath between sentences. Perhaps this same annoyance is what led Grishnok to keep his distance from the rest of the group. He typically stayed ahead and often disappeared from sight only to show back up on the horizon waving them forward several moments later.
The travel passed swiftly as Ragnok’s focus drew him onward towards his vengeance. It did not seem to Ragnok that a week had passed when they could see the Bone Crusher sigil waving in the distance. The village was exactly how Grishnok had described it when he returned from scouting ahead by appearing from behind a tree. The Bone Crusher village was small, and only a few hundred yards away from the creek bed Ragnok and his allies had just crossed through. The Bone Crusher Clan had certainly lost its former glory from the days they warred with the Thrak Gulch Clan. From this vantage all that could be seen was what appeared to be a hastily constructed barrier surrounding a more well-crafted wall. These walls surrounded two thirds of the village and butted against a steep and treacherous canyon wall that completed the other third of their fortifications. This canyon wall was too tall for the cliff to be used as a way into the village. It was likely carved an age ago by the Talruk River and the creek that now gently gurgled behind Ragnok.
There was a large clearing around the village as any nearby trees appeared to have been used to form the walls. There was no gate, but rather what appeared to be a choke point in the walls which would allow only one or two orcs to walk through it at a time without brushing shoulders with the iron-tipped spikes protruding inwards. The Bone Crusher sigil waved proudly on a large, leather banner stretched between two posts above the largest building in the center of the village. These posts raised the sigil high enough that it was in the light of the rising Silversun, while the rest of the village appeared to sit quietly in the shade created by the nearby cliff wall.
“Great!” Zonk spat sarcastically. “I hate fighting as the sun rises.”
“So do they,” Bashuk responded over her shoulder, still staring angrily at the village.
“We should move in while there’s still shade,” Donk suggested.
Ragnok could hear the drumming in his mind begin to deepen, and its tempo increased with the thought of moving in now, “We shall shed their blood for the glory of Thrak Gulch!” He shouted, slapping Bashuk in the shoulder. “Those walls are no match for you, She-bear.”
“We should move in quietly,” Grishnok pointed to where the wooden walls met the cliff wall on the south side, “The ground is hard as stone near the walls. It is hard to dig, and their walls will be weaker. And we can use the darkest part of the shade for cover.” He began to silently trot off towards the cliff without giving anyone a chance to disagree with his plan. Judging by their swiftness to follow, there wouldn’t have been much argument.
The drumming rose in Ragnok’s mind as they moved quietly along the canyon wall and towards the Bone Crushers. The sounds of Bashuk ripping the spikes from the ground as she charged through the walls joined with the rhythm of the drums and helped drive Ragnok onward. As he entered the village he heard a few Orcish voices shouting from the nearby huts. There were nine huts in the village and to Ragnok’s left he saw an orc who had just been pacing inside the walls begin to reach for a horn on his hip. Ragnok began to charge towards him as he heard the loud crash of Bashuk tearing one of the walls of a nearby hut into pieces. Ragnok could hear the weighted footsteps of Zonk, Donk, Nalgor and Talgor as they charged into the village looking for foes. Ragnok shouted, “Kill them all!” and could feel his allies’ steps increase in speed along with the drumming in his mind.
As he charged the orc with the horn, Ragnok passed a tent-like hut with walls made of leather and he heard the sound of steel being taken from a sheath and footsteps coming around behind him. The orc with the horn was raising it to his lips now and Ragnok chose to try and stop him rather than worrying about the sounds behind him. His strike was true and it cut through the horn and his axe was buried into the face of this orc, but only after the orc was able to release a short, loud blast. Ragnok could feel the footsteps coming behind him and turned just in time to see Grishnok’s sword pierce through the wall from inside the leather hut and into the back of the Bone Crusher that was charging at Ragnok. As the orc fell on his face, Grishnok’s crimson sword disappeared back through the hole it had created in the leather.
Ragnok turned around this hut to help Nalgor and Talgor with whatever orcs remained, and he saw two orcs with crossbows on their backs climbing on top of huts along the far wall. “Archers!” Ragnok warned, but Zonk, Donk, Nalgor and Talgor were fighting back to back and surrounded by eight Bone Crushers. These orcs had not had time to put on their armor, but all of them had either a sword or an axe in hand. Ragnok pushed forward to help and saw the She-bear burst through the other side of the hut she had entered and toss a battered Bone Crusher corpse to the ground as she moved in as well.
Both of the Bone Crusher crossbowmen were able to get their shots off and they chose Bashuk as their target. One of the bolts appeared to bounce off of her, but the other stuck deep into her side near her kidney. Bashuk and Ragnok pushed onward towards their friends, but Ragnok saw two more orcs with crossbows climbing on top of the huts. Ragnok was able to finish off one of the Bone Crushers that Zonk had wounded and with the kill he heard a loud gong in his head. The drumming was blending with the sounds of combat to push Ragnok onward. Zonk felled another Bone Crusher and Nalgor and Talgor coordinated to kill three more. Bashuk swept in and wounded another three, one of which lost his weapon and fell to his knees looking dazed.
Ragnok heard two more crossbow bolts being loosed and felt a sting in his stomach. The drumming skipped a beat as the pain in his abdomen shot through his body. He saw another bolt fly through Nalgor’s neck, stunning him as Talgor decapitated another Bone Crusher and charged toward one of the huts that had a crossbowmen on top of it. Zonk swiftly and expertly sliced the throat of one Bone Crusher orc and stabbed another through the chest. Before either of these could hit the ground Zonk’s tusks were deep in the chest of a third who spewed thick blood from his mouth as he also fell.
Ragnok grabbed Nalgor by the neck, trying to stop the blood that was gushing between his fingers. He dragged Nalgor towards the nearest hut. Ragnok heard a loud crack that sounded like wood being broken and a hut falling down. Then immediately after a loud thud of an orc falling several feet to the ground on the other side of the hut behind which he was hiding. Ragnok tore cloth from Nalgor’s pants and tied it firmly around Nalgor’s neck hoping it would stop the bleeding. Ragnok heard two more crossbow bolts being loosed as he finished with the makeshift bandage. He peered out, clutching the bolt in his abdomen and his vision blurred. He saw Zonk and Donk finish off the last of the Bone Crusher’s on the ground. Ragnok saw Talgor grab the leg of one of the Bone Crushers on top of a hut and pull him to the ground, but as she did he loosed his bolt and it hit Zonk squarely in the side of the head and sank deeply into his temple. As Zonk fell limply to the ground Ragnok saw Bashuk climbing from under the rubble of what used to be a hut with two more bolts sticking out of her rump like porcupine needles. Ragnok saw the two remaining crossbowmen. One of them was trying to reload, and another was aiming directly at him. The bolt was loosed and Ragnok tried to evade it, but his current injury made him move too slowly. The bolt sank through his armor and into his shoulder. He saw the grey armor turning red with his blood as the light faded from his eyes and the sounds of combat started to fade.
He saw a glance of Talgor pulling the final crossbowmen from the roof and impaling him to the ground with her sword. He saw Donk, no longer a boar, holding Zonk in his arms while roaring mournfully at the sky. He saw Nalgor’s chest rise and fall as he remained on the ground. He saw a blurred face before him that he could not see well enough to identify, but he knew that it was Bashuk’s. His vision faded until it was only blackness and there was nothing left but the drumming.Update April 8 KST:
SM Entertainment has reveals NCT U’s first MV teaser for “Without You.” Check it out below!
Update April 7 KST:
SM Entertainment has revealed new details concerning the debut of NCT U. The group will hold their first official debut stage on KBS2′s “Music Bank.” NCT U will perform “The 7th Sense” and “Without You.”
The agency further revealed that NCT U will also debut in China at the same time. Their first stage in China will be on “Top Chinese Music Awards.”
Jaehyun, Mark, Ten, Taeyong, and Doyoung participated in producing “The 7th Sense” which is described as having a hip-hop groove with a heavy base sound. As for “Without You,” members Taeil, Jaehyun, and Doyoung worked to create the dance EDM song.
Update April 7 KST:
More individual teasers of NCT U’s Taeil have been released!
Update April 6 KST:
The first individual teaser for the final NCT U member, Taeil, has been revealed! Stay tuned for a video teaser.
Update April 6 KST:
The next individual member teaser video for NCT U has now been released. Check out Doyoung‘s teaser below!
Update April 5 KST:
The individual video teaser for member Jaehyun has now been uploaded!
Update April 5 KST:
After the release of Taeyong‘s teaser image, NCT‘s unit NCT U has now released his individual member video teaser. Check it out below!
Update April 5 KST:
NCT’s unit NCT U has revealed the first teaser image of the next member, Taeyong!
Update April 5 KST:
NCT‘s unit NCT U has shared the second of its individual member video teasers. Check out Ten in his video teaser below!
Update April 4 KST:
NCT U has released a video teaser for one of its members, Mark.
Original:
The first unit of NCT is set to debut.
This past January, SM Entertainment announced its plans for the debut of a new group this year, called NCT (Neo Culture Technology). This new group would be different from past idol groups, with an openness to member additions and different formations for teams. Under the brand of “NCT,” different teams would debut, based in different countries around the world. There would be various collaborations and units formed between the different groups, allowing for movement of members and new recruits into the groups. There also wouldn’t be a set member number for these groups. Lee Soo Man, the founder of SM Entertainment, revealed that the first unit was expected to debut in the spring and be active in Seoul and Japan in the first half of the year.
Today, SM Entertainment reveals its first unit for NCT, called NCT U. There will be two NCT U groups, each having different member organization. Each group will release a single on April 9 and 10, respectively. SM also reveals two members of NCT U today: Jaehyun and Mark, along with teaser images.
More teasers for NCT U will be revealed at 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. KST tonight through NCT’s official website, http://nct.smtown.com. You can view previous teasers for NCT here.
Source (1)India is learning the hard way just how much it runs on paper currency.
Ever since the government declared 500- and 1,000-rupee notes null and void for regular transactions last week, Madan, who goes by one name, said business at his tiny store in Delhi's old district selling knockoff Puma sweaters had collapsed to a level not seen since a terror attack in the city five years ago.
With so few people taking rides on his cycle rickshaw, Rajendra Ram has had to scrimp and borrow just to stay fed. He has mostly gotten by on tiny cups of sweet tea.
Anil Kumar sells balloons on the street, 10 rupees for two. Sales have cratered. Few people have extra small bills, and as a result neither does Mr. Kumar, for making change. On a recent afternoon, he found himself with just 30 rupees, or around $0.45, in his pocket.
“It makes no difference to the rich, who can get all their money changed with a phone call,” Mr. Kumar said of the currency recall. “It’s only the poor like us who suffer.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged regular folks to accept a dose of hardship for the chance to punish tax cheats and government officials fattened by bribes.
But at Delhi's Azadpur wholesale produce market, many traders and farmers said they felt unsure how much more hardship they could bear. All of the city's fruits and vegetables transit through the market before reaching grocery stores and restaurants, and much of the frenzied buying and selling that allows that to happen was occurring on the basis of uneasy IOUs.
The pushcart vendors who buy from Jitender Prasad Singh, a pumpkin trader, are running low on cash. His sales have plunged 50%.
As workers in the market weighed vegetables and negotiated prices, Ashok Verma, who helps growers sell their produce to traders, sat and read a newspaper. That is a sign, he said, of how slow business has been.
He estimates he has given out hundreds of thousands of rupees in credit to buyers. How long that can be sustained? “There’s no guarantee at all,” Mr. Verma said.
“Humans have been known to be very creative with abstract notions like money,” Credit Suisse strategist Neelkanth Mishra wrote in the Indian Express newspaper on Wednesday.
People waited outside a bank in Delhi's old district on Sunday. Photo: Raymond Zhong/The Wall Street Journal
Karamath, a 36-year-old trucker, left southern India with 21 tons of coconuts on the evening that Mr. Modi announced the cash replacement last week. He had 35,000 rupees in large bills with him—all suddenly invalid—for fuel, food and paying fines or bribes to police.
He managed to sell off some of his 500-rupee notes at a discount. After hours of delays at state toll booths that were scrambling to find change, he reached Delhi a day behind schedule and was feeling unsure when, and how, he’d get paid.
Farmer Yasin Alli was sitting in Azadpur next to a heap of turnips that he’d brought from his fields northwest of the city. He wrote off 10 acres of spring onions and radishes this week because of poor sales, he said, and his financial prospects are bleak. If his turnip and spinach sales don't pick up—he has already slashed prices—then he might plow under the rest of the spinach crop before it is ready for harvest so he can start planting the next season's wheat.
Muni Ram, a 60-year-old street vendor, walked by and asked for 10 kilograms of turnips. He drew an old 500-rupee bill from his breast pocket and pleaded. “Who else will take this, brother?”
Mr. Alli was unmoved. “You want the goods? Pay me.”
Mr. Ram said he would come back the next day and buy 20 kilograms of turnips—provided he could pay his entire bill then. Mr. Alli grudgingly agreed.Over the past few months, in discussing the attack on Planned Parenthood’s federal funding, I—along with probably just about every other feminist and pro-choice activist in the country—found myself repeating “but they already don’t get federal funding for abortion!” so many times I felt like a broken record. It has been necessary, thanks to a proliferation of misleading articles and statements on the subject, to offer that kind of clarification. At the same time, however, I’ve been increasingly concerned that in our haste to remind everyone that this particular political battle is not about funding for abortion, we’ve given the impression that it’s perfectly valid and acceptable that abortion remain ineligible for federal funding. It feels almost as if we’re saying: “oh no, no, we would never ask for taxpayer money for that! We’re talking about breast exams!” And while clarity is absolutely important, and people do need to understand exactly what’s at stake in the current budget wars and what isn’t, I would argue that it’s equally vital that we not throw abortion rights under the bus in an effort to protect other family planning and health services.
Amanda Marcotte eloquently addressed some of the misgivings I’ve been feeling here recently. But I would like to add to the dialogue some thoughts not just on abortion access in general, but specifically on the topic of federal funding for abortion. When worded that way, it’s already something of a misnomer—“federal funding for abortion” calls to mind some kind of specific U.S. abortion fund for anyone who wants it. What we’re really talking about here is whether tax dollars can be used for abortion in the same way they’re used for countless other medical procedures via Medicaid and other government-funded health and welfare programs. Since the Hyde amendment passed in 1976, such programs have only been able to provide abortion coverage under extreme and rare circumstances. And it seems to me that even a fair number of people who consider themselves to be pro-choice are willing to accept this as a reasonable compromise: of course abortion should be legal, but we shouldn’t expect people who don’t agree with it to pay for it! It is a rhetoric liberals engage in far too often: asking for personal liberty, and bending over backward to insist those liberties won’t infringe in any way on anyone else.
What this stance ignores, of course, is that nearly all use of our tax dollars is controversial in some way. Huge numbers of us oppose the wars we’re engaged in and overblown military spending in general. I have deep, ethical feelings about the tax-breaks that are given to big corporations while funding for social services and education are slashed. But it is unlikely that any conservative is ever going to say something like: “Oh, I understand what sensitive issues these are—we’re not asking to use your tax dollars for wars you ethically oppose!” The very notion is laughable. And yet that’s exactly the kind of “let’s not step on anyone’s toes” concession that liberals are willing to make with regard to the use of tax dollars for abortion.
Consider, too, the danger of applying this “we won’t fund it if it’s controversial” thinking to other medical issues. What if we passed an amendment prohibiting the use of Medicaid for the treatment of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses? What if we barred all Medicaid payment for any illness or injury that could result from risky behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, being sexually active, or even engaging in potentially physically dangerous sports or hobbies? Or, what if we eliminated all LGBTQ folks from eligibility for all social assistance because some people don’t agree with their “lifestyle” and therefore don’t want to support them in any way? There is no doubt in my mind that some extreme conservatives would think those things all sound like excellent suggestions. But there would not—I fervently hope—ever be enough public support for such regulations to make them a reality. Why should abortion be any different? Why should the ethical objection of a few be considered reasonable cause for restricting access to a safe and legal medical procedure?
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The term “pro-choice” has very little meaning if we are only defending the choice for those who can afford it. I’ll never forget a few years ago, overhearing a young man on the phone in the hallway of a community college. “She’s going to have the baby,” he said. And then, after a pause, “yeah, she was gonna get one, but it cost like five hundred bucks.” Is this really what we mean by “choice”?
It takes a certain degree of privilege to ignore what a huge barrier the Hyde amendment creates for those in or near poverty. For many who are comfortably middle-class, it seems good enough that abortion is simply legal. Having to pay out of pocket for it is a compromise many women are willing to make. But for countless others, that cost is not just an inconvenience, it’s literally the difference between whether or not abortion is actually an available option. In the years between Roe’s legalization of abortion and Hyde’s prohibition of Medicaid coverage, Medicaid paid for about one third of abortions nationwide, affirming the fact that what we’re talking about is more than just a small group of women who are impacted by the amendment. And without abortion coverage, those women are left to sell personal belongings, forgo paying other bills, or to cut back spending on basic necessities like food in order to save up the money necessary for the procedure. Many simply end up continuing their pregnancies to term. And while I support and advocate for the right of all women to choose motherhood regardless of their economic position, it also goes without saying that a woman who desires an abortion but cannot afford one is not likely to find herself in a better financial situation after being forced into motherhood.
The National Network of Abortion Funds provides an invaluable service and does its best to provide financial assistance for women unable to afford abortion. But the funds cannot possibly help everyone—nor should they have to. It’s high time that all who would proudly wear the pro-choice label stop being acquiescent with regard to the Hyde amendment. Fighting for equal access to abortion means treating that access as a right, not a luxury. Let’s keep making corrections and clarifications when we hear people talking about the debate over Planned Parenthood |
de la Renta Básica para el conjunto del Reino de España: sí, se puede y es racional.” sinpermiso. December 7. http://www.sinpermiso.info/articulos/ficheros/rbuesp.pdf.
Daniel Raventós (1958) – economist, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business. Member of the Editorial Committee of Sin Permiso, president of Spanish Basic Income Network (Red Renta Básica), member of scientific committee of ATTAC. Wrote i.a.: Basic Income. The Material Conditions of Freedom (Pluto Press 2007), ¿Qué es la Renta Básica? Preguntas (y respuestas) más frecuentes (El Viejo Topo, 2012).
The Polish translation of this interview: Daniel Raventós, Dochód podstawowy w centrum uwagi w Hiszpanii
The Spanish translation of this interview: Daniel Raventós, La renta básica en el punto de mira en el Reino de España. Entrevista10k is what you do when you don't have the time to go further. 15k still seems a bit short to you. 20k sort of piques your interest.
Alright, how about 25k? 50k? 100k?!
If those last three numbers didn't make you skip right past this description, then maybe this is the meetup for you. Every outing will take at least 3 hours, and the distances will typically be 15k+. We'll focus on single-day walks or hikes, but multi-day outdoor adventures are a possibility if there's enough interest.
To go longer distances and keep up the pace, you probably can't be an absolute beginner... but if you're ready (and feel the desire) to challenge yourself and start expanding your horizons, then check us out.
Join us if you're serious about getting your trek on!You're in for something special. We're mixing it up and this month has one lightning talk and one keynote.
Keynote: The Essential Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization
Matt Simmons
UX Optimization isn’t art — it’s science.
And without significant data, it’s guesswork at best.
To effectively do Conversion Rate Optimization, you have to find an end user’s intentions and leverage these discoveries to inform future iterations.
Split Testing is a great way to do this! The data found through testing is unique to your site, and makes an awesome guide to building websites that convert.
In his talk, you'll:
• Find out the real-world benefits of UX Optimization
• Discover what “Split Testing” and CRO really mean
• Experience real-world, practical examples
• Learn how to get started this weekend
ABOUT MATT SIMMONS
Matt is a Tech Lead on the Front End team @ Rocket Code (http://rocketcode.io) here in Columbus. He and the Rocket Code team are proud to build performance-driven solutions for ecommerce brands that fuel revenue and profit growth.
Matt has a heart for helping others grow professionally, and is insatiably curious about front end development. When he's not at work, Matt enjoys fine bourbon and cigars and living the dream with his wife and absolutely adorable one-year-old daughter.
Matt's Twitter (https://twitter.com/msimmons344)
Rocket Code's Twitter (https://twitter.com/rocketcodehq) | Website
Lightning Talk: The Power of Community Love
Beth Pan
// TODO: Abstract
ABOUT BETH PAN
#BethPan {
position: Dev Evangelist @Microsoft;
background-position-x: MIS @The Ohio State University;
background-position-y: Software Engineer @Nationwide Insurance;
background-origin: The mysterious oriental;
height: 6350px (at your current resolution);
display: interests in food, music, outdoor everything, travelling, and more food;
}
#BethPan.ThingsAboutMe {
Always up for challenges.
Love meeting people.
}
Beth's GitHub (https://github.com/beth-panx) | Twitter (https://twitter.com/beth_panx) | Email
SCHEDULE
• 6:00-6:30 – Social/Networking
• 6:30-7:15 – Presentation
• 7:15-7:30 – Q&A/Discussion
• 7:30-8:00 – Social/Networking
PARKING
Driving down for the event? We made a map for you highlighting the parking garages, lots, and on-street parking (blue lines) in the Arena District.
We recommend Garage 1 on the map.
Garage 1
Front Street Garage
285 N Front St
Columbus, OH 43215
OR, SKIP THE PARKING:
• Uber (https://www.uber.com/invite/1h3yn): Your first ride is FREE (up to $15) with code 1h3yn
• Lyft (https://www.lyft.com/invited/SEAN210825): Your first ride is FREE (up to $20) with code SEAN210825
• COTA (http://www.cota.com/GetNearby.aspx?lat=39.9697955&lng=-83.00432590000003&maxdistance=0.25): The Cbus is a free bus that stops near Nationwide Blvd
• Car2Go (http://bit.ly/car2go2cwg): Use code COL3500_spjpgrd for 20 free minutes & the registration fee is waived
Thank you #CbusTech,
The Columbus Web Group Team
=> Twitter (https://twitter.com/CBusWebGroup) | Slack (http://slack.columbuswebgroup.com/) | YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_45TB4_vvGEehnqCkj4waA)Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s)
We’ve now had a week to come to terms with the fact that St. Louis is no longer the home of the NFL’s Rams. As many football fans look elsewhere to pledge their allegiance, many St. Louisans are calling on the community to move forward in a positive way.
Arch Grants Co-Founder and Board Member Robert Guller penned his thoughts on where St. Louis should direct its focus via a press release from Arch Grants. See the full text below.
Everyone has been talking about Stan Kroenke and the departure of the Rams. While many of the reasons Kroenke stated are factually incorrect or needlessly mean-spirited, some of his underlying justification demands our attention. Frankly, the current St. Louis market is too small, and our current economy is too slow-growing to command respect from the NFL. However, hosting an NFL franchise does NOT lead to economic growth. Instead, the NFL follows growth.
Who will fix our economic engine if we don’t? I am proud of our business community. I’ve seen great companies partially fill the void when others have left. Our region doesn’t need a better sales pitch, we need a better product. Arch Grants is a proven path to that better product.
Arch Grants is a local nonprofit organization that has awarded $4.3 million in equity-free grants to talented entrepreneurs to encourage them to locate their early-stage businesses in St. Louis. These grants include a host of pro-bono support services through local Angel Vendors.
By attracting and retaining entrepreneurs, Arch Grants is directly addressing many of the most persistent economic development issues that Kroenke used to justify moving the Rams. A critical mass of entrepreneurs can be a game changer.
Since 2012, Arch Grants has funded 76 startups which have generated $22 million of new revenue and attracted $66 million more of investment capital. Nearly 90% of active companies remain in St. Louis. These entrepreneurs are talented, energetic, innovative, and brimming with unlimited potential. In turn, they hire more talent, attract more investors, and produce revenue that fuels the St. Louis economic engine.
St. Louis was prepared to spend ONE BILLION DOLLARS on a new football stadium to keep the Rams in town. Imagine what Arch Grants could do with a fraction of that money. Many of our great corporate and civic leaders have already made generous donations to Arch Grants. Now, instead of purchasing a PSL or luxury box tickets, please consider making a personal or corporate, tax-deductible donation to Arch Grants in the same amount. We don’t need the NFL to re-write St. Louis’ future. We can do it with Arch Grants, entrepreneurs and you.
Robert Guller
Arch Grants Co-Founder and Board Member
Saint Louis, MissouriDid you know that there's a spectacular graffiti festival in Texas? There’s nothing we love more than a good mural (and we’d be lying if we said we never detoured on our family road trip to pose in front of a famous one or two). And, this fall, Houston is hosting the third annual HUE Mural Festival, a delightful swirl of gorgeous colors by celebrated street artists. This year, the event runs from October 14-21 in Magnolia City. Here, GONZO247, a local street art visionary, plays our tour guide through this exciting video. Weave your way through H-town’s streets and get a taste of the incredible artwork to come. This artist got his start as a child spray painting his name on empty walls (yes, a few cop chases were involved) and now runs the video magazine Aerosol Warfare, which has been supporting Houston’s vibrant street art landscape for over 25 years. With so many cool moments to capture in person, consider this our official apology in advance for taking too many photos of the breathtaking artwork.
Video courtesy of Lance ChildersOur artisan Himalayan salt lamps allow you to bask in the light and improve your breathing and overall wellness at home, work and while traveling.
Fresh air is invigorating as oxygen rushes into our lungs and fills our cells with healthy ions. Natural environments such as the fresh air in the forest and the cool breeze from the ocean rejuvenate us, replenishing our bodies with pure oxygen, leaving us simultaneously invigorated and relaxed. It’s essential that we get enough fresh air and are connected to nature to recharge our bodies with oxygenated, ion rich air.
We can invite similar benefits by bringing natural elements such as houseplants that oxygenate indoor air into our homes. One of the most effective ways of ionizing air is by placing salt lamps indoors, thus simulating the same effect of an oxygen-rich environment such as a forest canopy or a salty ocean breeze.
Purify the air in your home and rejuvenate your senses with fresh oxygenated air beautifully. Our natural Himalayan salt lamps are carved by hand from solid blocks of pure rock crystal salt that has been excavated from pristine sea beds in the Himalayan Mountains, authentic 250 million year old Himalayan salt that we design and import from Pakistan from our family of artisans specializing in superior quality.
Each fair trade lamp is original with its own distinctive organic shape and colors ranging from apricots to dark oranges to our rare pearl white and smokey grey collections.
Customers who regularly use our light have reported significant improvement in their breathing and in the functioning of their immune system with an enhanced sense of well-being. They also love the gentle glow and beauty of our Himalayan salt lamps and Himalayan salt candle holders.
So Well is a direct designer and fair trade importer– read our quality pledge why So Well is your best choice.Admittedly, sometimes it does. For example, a 1998 report by the research company Sofres found that 1 out of 20 marriages in which only one mate was a Witness had serious problems when that one converted.
Jesus foretold that those who follow his teachings would at times suffer family strife. (Matthew 10:32-36) Historian Will Durant notes that under the Roman Empire, “Christianity was charged with breaking up the home,” and some of Jehovah’s Witnesses face the same charge today. Does this mean, though, that the Witness causes the discord?
European Court of Human Rights
When ruling on the accusation that Jehovah’s Witnesses break up families, the European Court of Human Rights said that non-Witness family members often cause conflict by refusing “to accept and to respect their religious relative’s freedom to manifest and practise his or her religion.” The Court added: “This situation is common to all mixed-belief marriages and Jehovah’s Witnesses are no exception.” Even when faced with religious intolerance, though, Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to follow the Bible’s counsel: “Return evil for evil to no one.... If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men.”—Romans 12:17, 18.To make the dish, I pitted the dates and filled them cannoli-style with mascarpone cream. Crushed pistachios add texture, flavor and color. I placed the stuffed dates on a bed of thin butter almond cookies to enhance the presentation and make them easier to handle.
I used Deglet Noor dates because the texture is firm and thick without tasting overly sweet. This makes them perfect for appetizers. For a sweeter version, you could use Medjool dates.
Mascarpone stuffed dates with pistachios is a versatile and easy no-bake dish. It makes a great dessert, appetizer or snack. On top of that, the dessert is so easy to assemble my 6-year-old little sis-in-law can do it!
Ingredients
Yields: 15 appetizers
30 Deglet Noor dates
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
¼ cup heavy whipping cream, cold
1-½ tablespoons powdered sugar, + extra for decoration
1 tablespoon date syrup
1 drop kewra extract
3 tablespoons unsalted pistachio, slightly crushed
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (or regular salt)
15 thin butter almond cookies
½ teaspoon red-colored sugar, for garnish
Directions
Slit the dates open on each end and carefully remove and discard the pits using a chopstick, creating a hole in the center of each date. In a small bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese, kewra extract, date syrup and sea salt. Using a mini whisk, beat the cream in another bowl until it forms soft peaks. Do NOT over-mix. Add powdered sugar. Pour 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to soften it. Mix well using a silicone spatula. Pour in the rest of the whipped cream; gently fold the cream into the mascarpone to get an airy mousse. Plastic-wrap the container and place in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve. Use a star-shaped decorating tip. Spoon the mascarpone cream into a pastry bag (I used a small zip-tip bag, cut one corner and fitted in the decorating tip) with the mascarpone cream. Pipe a little filling into each end of the date. Dip each end in the crushed pistachios. Pipe 2 (1-inch) "snakes" parallel to each other onto an almond thin. The cream will act as a "glue" and will bond the dates to the cookie. Place 2 dates onto the creamed snakes. Repeat until all the dates are placed. Place the cookies on a serving platter. Pipe little flowers with the rest of the cream. Dust with powder sugar and sprinkle with red-colored sugar in between each flower. Enjoy with a cup of masala chai. Bon appétit!
Tips
I used Deglet Noor dates. They're not as sweet as Medjool dates. I recommend not buying the pitted ones as they seem to have less flavor. You could also try other varieties of dates such as Amer Hajj dates (small in size with a hint of spiciness) or Empress (they have a distinctive yellow crown, a chewy texture and are a lot less sweet than the other kinds).
I added date syrup to the mascarpone cream. I bought date syrup at my local market, but you can also find it online. You can also use it in baklava and other Asian and Middle Eastern desserts.
I used Jules Destrooper brand almond thins. I buy them at a local Safeway.
You can find kewra extract at Indian stores. It's sold in small 0.7-ounce bottles.
I usually add a little salt to most desserts; it brings out all the flavors and will enhance the taste of your sweets.
If you have extra mascarpone and a little leftover coffee from the morning, you can make my mother-in-law's favorite dessert, a tiramisu parfait.
If you want to make a savory version, you could omit the powdered sugar and wrap the dates in smoked salmon or smoked turkey.
Jacqueline Pham
October 15, 2010
onaneurysmsandanalogues:
passionisbornunwantedlikeacancer: bfdreaming: notquitephil: invertedgender: calling a man a “pig” is literally dehumanising how do some people not think there’s anything wrong with that how Because chicks, fillies, birds and bitches never get dehumanised. Those vixens always get away with this kind of shit. Especially the heifers, they’re the worst. What cows. Moreover, men get called pigs for disgusting behavior, whereas women are called chicks, birds, and vixens simply for being women. BOOM Not to mention that bitch is like, literally a dog in heat and women have to hear it casuallu thrown around all day every day.
not to mention that not only women are constantly associated to animals, but we are specifically associated with animals in specific sexual context, like a female dog in heat. it consistently happens even in other languages where women are called with the specific term used for the female of some species during heat.
even when men demean us by comparison with animals, still the most important feature of our being is our sexual connotation, like they literally can give up referring to us with human terminology, but what they cannot give up is our sexualization.
(Source: toxicnebulae, via aneurysmsandanalogues)Present Acceptable and Valid Identification When You Arrive at Your GMAT™ Test Center
What are the acceptable forms of ID?
International travel passport Always required when testing outside your country of citizenship, even if you hold a government-issued ID from the country you live in. In some cases, a passport is the ONLY acceptable ID, even if you are testing in your country of citizenship. Renewal papers do not make an expired international travel passport valid.
Government-issued driver’s license
Government-issued national/state/province identity card (including European ID card)
Military ID card
Your ID must be current (not expired), legible and include:
Your name using the Roman alphabet, shown exactly as you provided when you made your test appointment, including the order and placement of the names
Date of birth that matches exactly the date provided when you made your test appointment
A recent, recognizable photograph
Your signature and date of birth
If you cannot provide one form of ID that includes all four of the above elements, you will be required to present a second ID from the list that includes the missing elements.
Learn more about the required identification, and come prepared to your test center:
Video: Presenting Proper Identification
Important:
If you arrive to the center without the appropriate identification, there are no exceptions. You will forfeit your exam fee, and you will need to pay the full fee to reschedule.
ID requirements vary by country. Check the specific requirements for your test center country
Examples of Unacceptable Forms of Identification
The following forms of identification will not be accepted at your test center:
Expired passports or driver’s licenses
Passport cards
Social security cards
Draft classification cards
Credit cards
Employee or student IDs
Letters from your university or college
IDs with physical descriptions in place of photos
Photocopies of any form of ID
Any other kind of ID that does not meet the requirements described above
If you have questions about ID requirements, contact GMAT Customer Service.
How Does Palm Vein Identification Work?
As part of the check-in process, you will also need to provide your palm vein pattern as proof of identification. The palm vein reader biometric technology ensures that each test taker has a single GMAT record, preventing people from taking the test for others. The palm vein reader is part of an ongoing effort by GMAC to maintain test integrity, to prevent people from taking the test for others, and to ensure that the exam is a fair measure of everyone’s ability.Starr Homeplace's Community Days will begin with a bang April 13.
The center's annual "Hammer-in, Banging in the Delta," is slated to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and blacksmiths from around the country will be on-hand displaying their talent as well as teaching interested visitors a chance to give blacksmithing a try.
The event began in 2001 and has become a tradition for "We welcome these Blacksmiths out each year on the second weekend in April," Museum Curator Joe Rolfe said. "We have several that have been coming for years and years."
Also on-hand will be leather crafters, a farrier and an antique tool specialist. Rolfe encourages anyone else that would like to come out and do their craft to do so.
"We just want people to come out and do their creative thing," he said.
The blacksmiths will be making a variety of wares, including a boot rescue hook. Requests are taken and items are available for purchase at a nominal fee.
"These people can make anything from a dinner bell to a bottle opener," Rolfe continued.
Lunch will consist of chicken and sausage gumbo, which will be sold for a small donation, and admission is $5 for adults and children over the age of 12.
Starr Homeplace is located at 5317 La. Hwy. 133 (Mer Rouge/Oak Ridge Rd.; US. Hwy 425) and is nine acres of property with 19 museums, each with a focus on a certain time or subject related to the rural South in the 20th century.
During the spring and early summer the Starr Homeplace is open the second Saturday of every month.Tying the Knot in the Age of Marriage 2.0
So You Want to Get Married?
You are here because you are thinking about getting married. Perhaps one of your friends did you a favor, and sent you here. If you are going to be the higher-earner spouse in the marriage, then this article is for you.
Taking the Plunge
Before you take the plunge there are a few things about marriage that you need to be aware of. The institution of marriage as we know it is no more. It has undergone drastic changes in the last 50 years. What used to be a life long commitment, unbreakable barring the most severe circumstances, has been relegislated into something entirely new thanks to the lobbying efforts of radical feminists and the divorce industry. In trying to to make divorce “fail-safe” for homemaker / lower-earner spouses, the bad ones included, they have made marriage “unsafe” for virtually everyone else.
Marriage today is a temporary union of two individuals where the exit costs are highly asymmetrical. What does that mean? It means that upon the dissolution of the marriage, one spouse generally makes off like a bandit, while the other is pushed into a life of unending poverty, abridged civil rights, and being two paychecks away from arrears, contempt, and prison.
If someone is made to suffer like that upon the divorce, you probably think that he/she deserved it. Perhaps they were a terrible spouse? Perhaps they cheated? If only this was so. Karma, you see, has nothing to do with it. That was the case during the olden days of “fault-only” divorce when the spouse who was at fault for wrecking the marriage got penalized during the divorce. With those old divorces, if the at-fault party was the higher-earning spouse, they were made to pay alimony and surrender many marital assets over to the wronged party. Similarly, if the at-fault party was the homemaker/lower-earner spouse, then they were made to forfeit any alimony and forced to accept a smaller share of the martial assets. Morality was a big factor in who made out better and who made out worse.
Enter Marriage 2.0
During the second half of the 20th century all of the ground rules governing marriage were changed. The laws were changed to such an extent that that we can no longer call it “marriage” as it was known through the millennia. We have to distinguish this mutated institution with a new name. We will call it Marriage 2.0.
Today all that stuff about the moral carrot and stick is out of the window. Basically the higher-earner spouse is always at-fault (i.e. made to hand over assets and pay alimony), and the lower-earner spouse is always the “innocent one” (i.e. gets most of the assets and a cut of the ex’s future salaries). It doesn’t matter if the lower-earner spouse was the one having an affair or is the one filing the divorce. Therein lies the problem with modern family laws. You can be the best breadwinner spouse in the world, take good care of your family, and stay true to your marriage vows, and you will still get shafted in the divorce. It’s a suckers bet for the good guy (or the good gal).
Here are some things working against you, when you are the primary breadwinner spouse within Marriage 2.0, and your spouse decides to walk out (cash out?) on you:
1. Women Filing Majority of Divorces – 80% of all divorces are now filed by wives. Publications like Cosmo love to harp on men for having a “fear of commitment”. Guys must ask themselves, why commit when it’s the other party who can’t live up to the commitment 3/4 of the time?
2. Unilateral Divorce – This is also known as no-fault divorce, with no recourse for the other spouse. There is nothing you can do legally speaking to stop a divorce.
3. Domestic Violence Fraud : Presumed guilty until proven innocent DV laws are now widely used as the “opening chess move” of many divorces. Once the husband is removed from the primary residence he never comes back, and she gets the primary residence in the asset split. Also known as the Federal VAWA Legislation, this new unconstitutional law has been fraudalently misused by divorcing spouses ever since it came out. There are no equivalent laws to protect men in abusive situations.
4. Decriminalization of Adultery – Adultery is no longer a crime. However the failure to pay alimony to an adulterous spouse is. Go figure.
5. Losing Custody of Children – Custody of the children is most often awarded to the lower-earner spouse in family courts. Basically this amounts to: Goodbye Daddy, hello ATM. When you read of cases like this October 2009 case where a little boy’s mother was arrested for prostitution and his stable/employed dad was still denied custody, you quickly understand how this loaded dice always rolls.
6. Nonenforcement of Visitation Rights – States enforce payment obligations by non-custodial parents with an iron fist, however they are hesitant to enforce the other side of the bargain, which is the visitation rights of non-custodial parents. If you are going to police one parent’s obligation to pay, why not police the other parent’s obligation to allow regular meaningful access to one’s children?
7. Children as Cashcows – The National Organization for Women (NOW) has been lobbying against Shared Parenting bills in many states. Why would NOW do that? What is more equal than shared parenting? The reason is that NOW’s brand of feminism is no longer about equality, but about a zero-sum game for resources. Children are cash-cows, and NOW will be damned if they allow Shared Parenting to stop the cash-flow.
8. No-Fault Alimony – In many states, fault is no longer a factor in awarding alimony. So there are plenty of cases of “spouse-A cheats, but spouse-B pays”. In what other area of contract law does the party breaking the contract gets paid, and the innocent party gets punished? Only in Marriage 2.0!
9. One Sided Alimony: Ok so the ex-wife got used to a certain standard of living, so we will make the ex-husband pay alimony. Fine. But how about the things the ex-husband got used to? Do men have a right to be “accustomed” to stuff too? If not, why not? Shouldn’t there be some sort of reciprocal reverse-alimony payment by the ex-wife in the form of weekly cleaning, a hot meal 7 nights a week, and “romantic companionship” services for the ex-husband? How come one spouse is obligated to provide something that the other was used to during the marriage, and the other isn’t obligated to provide anything? (see the Chris Rock clip below)
10. Lifetime Alimony – Contrary to common belief, Alimony isn’t on its way out. There was a period in the 1970’s when no-fault laws were first enacted when a few states put limitations on how/when it could be awarded. However since then there have been a concerted effort by powers that be such as the influential American Law Institute (ALI) for bringing alimony back in a big way. Here is a New York Times article covering the release of a landmark 2002 ALI report which recommended broadening and deepening alimony awards across all 50 states. Right on queue there are now reports of alimony horror stories coming out from many states where the breadwinner ex-spouses are ordered to pay lifetime alimony. There are also cases like the on in this Wall Street Journal article where long settled divorce cases are re-opened and modified under the new pro-alimony paradigms. Paul Taylor featured in the WSJ story had his ex-wife take him back to court in 2009, three decades after their original 1982 divorce when both parties had agreed to waive all past/present/future alimony. The court reversed that original 1982 divorce judgement and awarded lifetime alimony to the ex-wife. It was ordered that this new alimony be deducted out of Paul Taylor’s pension and paid monthly to a woman he hadn’t even seen in three decades. Mr Taylor is now in bankruptcy and can look forward to spending his golden years working as a Greeter in Wal-Mart.
11. Paternity Fraud – If you didn’t catch right away that your kids aren’t really your kids but instead were “sired” by some guy that your wife was having an affair with, you are out of luck in most states. What’s worse if your cheating wife divorces you, you can bring the DNA tests to court, and you will still be forced to pay 18-23 years of child support for these kids who are some other guy’s spawn. Read this case of the Toronto man forced to pay child-support for twins that even the court acknowledged are not his but ordered him to keep paying anyway. In no other area of the law do we punish the innocent victim for the conduct of two other people
Even more shocking is this New York Times article about a Pennsylvania man ordered to keep paying child support after his adulterous wife divorced him, and married the very guy she had the affair and conceived the child with. Today the bio-father, the ex-wife, and their bio-child live together under a single roof as a biologically intact family and guess who is still paying them monthly child support? Yes, the cuckold ex-husband still has to pay every month or go to jail. You can’t make this stuff up. Even cuckold porn doesn’t get this vile.
Conclusion
Marriage 2.0 is a very unequal contract where the legal power balance both within the marriage and after the divorce is heavily biased against the primary breadwinner. Given that this is today’s legal reality why would you want to sign such a one sided contract? There are simply no benefits in marriage for the primary breadwinner under these Marriage 2.0 rules. None whatsoever. Ask yourself now: “What is in it for me?”. If the above hasn’t yet convinced you to avoid this mutated institution that has become a a giant legal trap, then you owe it to yourself to keep learning more about the risks of saying “I do”.
A great place to start learning more is the Don’t Marry Blog. Also be sure to check out this colorful piece explaining why Marriage = Fraud.The Birmingham Thunderbolts were a short-lived springtime American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States.
Opening Season [ edit ]
Birmingham Bolts Helmet
The Thunderbolts played in the Eastern Division, with the Chicago Enforcers, Orlando Rage and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen. They finished the only year of XFL play – 2001 – in last place with the worst record in the league, at 2-8.
The Thunderbolts played their home games at Birmingham's legendary Legion Field. They were coached by Brooklyn-native Gerry DiNardo, a former star player at the University of Notre Dame, and previously head coach at Vanderbilt University and Louisiana State University. Following the collapse of the XFL, he went on to coach at Indiana University. One of DiNardo's assistants with the Thunderbolts was his predecessor at LSU, Curley Hallman.
The team's colors were purple, yellow, and white. Their logo was a stylized 'B' with six lightning bolts extending from it. On the teams helmets, the logo was placed at the front, instead of the customary position on each side, with only the upper three lightning bolts visible. The team was frequently referred to by fans and the media as simply the Bolts. Team merchandise almost always used the shortened Bolts moniker.
Allegedly, the league had originally planned to name the team the Blast; the XFL had named all of its teams with references to insanity and criminal activity, and the name "Birmingham Blast" likewise invoked images of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and of Eric Rudolph's 1998 bombing of a local abortion clinic, two tragic events in Birmingham history. As the league soon realized that such a name would have been in extremely poor taste, at the last minute the league changed it to "Thunderbolts," or "Bolts" for short. The team's logo is said to be the same one originally designed for the Blast. The Thunderbolts were unusual in that their nickname was benign.
While XFL players were encouraged to use nicknames instead of their last names on the backs of their jerseys, DiNardo banned Thunderbolts players from doing so.
After losing the opening game to the Memphis Maniax, the Thunderbolts posted wins over the Chicago Enforcers and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen. These would ultimately become the only victories the Thunderbolts would ever see. The Bolts would finish with a 2-8 record.
Birmingham went through all 3 quarterbacks during the season. Former Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon was signed as the starter. Former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker was signed as the backup, despite the crowds (averaging only 17,000 fans a game, second-lowest in the league) chanting his name during the home games. Barker would become the starter after Weldon injured his shoulder. Barker suffered a concussion in Chicago when he collided with Enforcers' cornerback Ray Austin while attempting a bootleg run on a broken play. He was replaced by third string QB Graham Leigh.
NBC dropped the XFL after the first (2001) season due to dismal ratings, and the league was disbanded shortly thereafter.
Identity's new life [ edit ]
Today, the logo lives on thanks to a travel softball team appropriately called the Birmingham Thunderbolts, who practice at the Shea Brothers Softball Complex in Birmingham.[2]
Season W L T Finish Playoff results 2001 2 8 0 4th Eastern --
Sunday February 4, 2001 L Memphis Maniax 22 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 20
Sunday February 11, 2001 W Birmingham Thunderbolts 19 at New York/New Jersey Hitmen 12
Sunday February 18, 2001 W Chicago Enforcers 3 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 14
Saturday February 24, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 6 at Orlando Rage 30
Saturday March 3, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 10 at San Francisco Demons 39
Sunday March 11, 2001 L Los Angeles Xtreme 35 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 26
Saturday March 17, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 12 at Las Vegas Outlaws 34
Sunday March 25, 2001 L Birmingham Thunderbolts 0 at Chicago Enforcers 13
Saturday March 31, 2001 L Orlando Rage 29 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 24
Sunday April 8, 2001 L New York/New Jersey Hitmen 22 at Birmingham Thunderbolts 0
Personnel [ edit ]
Staff [ edit ]
2001 Birmingham Thunderbolts staff Front Office Vice President/General Manager – Tim Berryman
Director of Player Personnel – Bob Gates Head Coaches Head Coach – Gerry DiNardo Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Dave Arslanian
Running Backs – Lionel James
Wide Receivers – Mark Brady
Offensive Line – Rick Rhoades Defensive Coaches Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Curley Hallman
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – Don Wnek
Linebackers – Paul Arslanian
Personal Coach John Guimond
Defensive Assistant – Woodrow Lowe, Jr.
[3]
Standings [ edit ]
Eastern Division Team W L T PCT PF PA STK Orlando Rage 8 2 0.800 207 162 L1 Chicago Enforcers 5 5 0.500 163 178 W1 New York/New Jersey Hitmen 4 6 0.400 110 145 W1 Birmingham Thunderbolts 2 8 0.200 131 217 L7
[4]
Birmingham Thunderbolts players [ edit ]
Post-XFL developments [ edit ]
After the league folded, head coach Gerry DiNardo joined the staff of Birmingham sports talk radio station WJOX 690, as did Jay Barker, who also did sports commentary on local CBS TV affiliate WIAT channel 42. Barker currently hosts "The Opening Drive" on WJOX 94.5 in Birmingham with Tony Kurre and former NFL kicker Al Del Greco.
DiNardo returned to his college football coaching roots in 2002 as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers football team. The team was sometimes jokingly nicknamed "The Fighting DiNardos" in his honor. He was fired at the end of the 2004 season. He is currently a studio analyst for the Big Ten Network |
much being a sprint car driver really matters when it comes time to drive in NASCAR. We’re all really good drivers in Cup and it really doesn’t matter what kind of background you come from, I don’t think. Talent is talent.
If I had to say the kind of things a sprint car driver may struggle at I would say it’s racing at a place like Martinsville or Richmond. I’ve gotten better at these places, but in general, any track where you have to use a lot of brakes, stop and make a u-turn, and take off again, are where my weaknesses lie.
I struggle with those kinds of places because in sprint cars and midgets it’s all about how fast you can enter the corner. At those kind of tracks it’s about how consistent can you be each lap, how consistently can you hit your marks, and how little you spin your tires on exit.
For whatever reason, even when I feel like I’m not spinning my tires, they always look worse than others when we go to short tracks. I can be really fast on a short run, but I can also get murdered on a long run.
I also think there are a lot of places and circumstances where being a sprint car driver really helps me excel. Fans might be shocked, but road course racing is one area where I really think being a dirt track guy helps. When we race on ovals we don’t have any ride height rules so our cars are just stuck to the track. You don’t really feel the car roll side to side or the suspension moving as much.
On road courses you can feel the car flexing up, and when it gets grip it will pick the front end up. So you can “feel” your traction a lot better. In oval racing, you’re kind of relying on aerodynamics and stuff like that, so road course racing is one aspect of NASCAR where I think dirt track racing helps a lot.
When we go to “drivers” tracks, where you have to be really aggressive, it helps a lot to have a sprint car racing background. Tracks like Bristol, or anywhere that you can run the wall, like at Homestead, it feels a lot like running a cushion on a big half-mile in a sprint car.
When it comes to being strict with your mind, hands and feet, or tracks that you have to hit the bottom every lap, those are the places that I feel like I personally struggle at. I can visually see other sprint car guys struggle at those places too.
THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
I hope one day I’ll be able to compete in the Indianapolis 500. The Indy 500, to me, is the biggest race in the world. It trumps the Daytona 500, or any other race in the world for that matter. I think because my dad is such a big Indycar fan that it makes me want to run it even more. I guess just the way I was raised, I always understood the importance of that race.
I haven’t bugged Chip about it as much anymore. It was more of like a joke between us before, but I think he kind of got annoyed by it, so I stopped asking about it. He did always tell me to worry about winning a Cup race first, so I’m glad I’ve gotten that out of the way.
Now that I’ve won a Cup race I’d like to do it. It’s just tough. By the time May rolls around, if you don’t have a win in Cup, then running the 500 would be really sketchy. If you had a win early in the season, and knew you were locked into the Chase, you could go to the Indy 500 and race hard, and not be scared of wrecking or getting injured. I feel like for some reason every year our Cup team hasn’t started off really well, and May is kind of the time when our team really starts to get going. It would be terrible to break your wrist or something in the 500, be out for a couple of weeks, and lose a shot at making the Chase based on points.
I think if our team could get to the point where we are truly racing with a shot at the win each and every week, and feel like we have a legitimate shot at winning at least half of the races, at some point I feel like Chip would probably let me run the 500. But until our team gets to that point, probably not.
Just to start the Indy 500 would be really special. I wouldn’t necessarily be going there to win, because that would be a lot to expect, but I think to be a part of it would be really cool.
CELEBRATION TIME
I’m not a big celebration guy, but I feel like fans like it so I’m kind of obligated to do it now. When I was growing up and racing karts, my sister’s ex-boyfriend, Pete Johnston, had crazy victory celebrations. He would do donuts so fast it looked like a helicopter was about to take off. He’d have the steering wheel out the left side and his other arm out the other side. He just did bad ass celebrations. When you’re racing karts you don’t want to copy somebody, and I would just rarely ever celebrate.
Once you get to sprint cars, other than a wing dance there’s not really a whole lot of celebrations you can do. I think when I started doing the wheel out the side was when I was racing midgets in New Zealand a few years ago. Even though people thought it was original, it wasn’t, because I stole it from Pete. But now, it’s kind of stuck as my signature celebration.
I do it most times on dirt if I feel like it’s a prestigious race to win. Nobody had done it in NASCAR, so I did it there. I caught a lot of flack for it with NASCAR. Mike Helton told me I should never do it again after I won my first Xfinity race. They felt it was dangerous, which I get, I guess. So now I rarely celebrate anymore in NASCAR.
However, when I won my first Cup race, I was like “Screw it!”. It was my first Cup win, and if I got in trouble, I got in trouble. I actually think NASCAR kind of liked it though, and felt like I did a pretty good burnout and a good celebration.
I’m not sure if I’ll keep doing it or not. Everybody keeps doing burnouts when they win now, and to me it’s played out. I like the idea of just pulling straight to victory lane. My dad always said celebrations are like rubbing your competition’s nose in it. It’s always funny to get tweets from people complaining that I didn’t celebrate, and that’s what they came for. You came to see a good race, I hope you didn’t just come for a burnout.
A RETURN TO KNOXVILLE
Getting a chance to return and compete in the Knoxville Nationals last year was huge. I love racing at Knoxville and now I don’t get to do it at all, really. Last year my schedule worked out perfect. The NASCAR off weekends just fell at the best times of the year for sprint car racing.
The second off weekend fell right before Ohio Speedweek, so I was able to run six of the eight nights. We finished on the podium I think five out of the six nights, and winning two races was great.
The next off weekend landed right during the Knoxville Nationals week, which fell just perfect for me. I got to run Oskaloosa and then the Knoxville Nationals.
Knoxville is a tough place, but it’s especially tough during the Nationals. Every team has all of their best stuff ready and there’s no other place like Knoxville. It’s just so hard to go and race a sprint car there when you don’t do it on a weekly basis.
I was happy just to make the feature. I won the B-Main and we started deep in the field, and ran all of the way up to 5th. I think the second half of the race went non-stop. I needed some cautions. I was extremely fast but I needed some help to get the field bunched back up. It didn’t work out the way I needed it to, but it was just awesome to run the Knoxville Nationals and run in the top 5. Any time you go to the toughest sprint car race in the world, and do that, it is pretty cool.
Unfortunately, this year the schedule frickin’ sucks in terms of sprint car racing. I can’t run Knoxville or Ohio Speedweek, so it’s a bummer.
OWEN
I don’t think becoming a father has affected my racing at all. If anything, I think I have more fun now at the races. It’s fun to get to take Owen to pretty much every one of my races. He’s two years old now and he LOVES racing. It’s just so much fun to watch him have a good time. I feel like I’m somewhat in my parent’s shoes, watching myself grow up, which is a neat experience.
Owen knows what a track looks like from the outside before we even get to it. If he sees a set of grandstands he starts making engine revving noises and saying “Race! Race! Race!”. He goes crazy.
He loves going to NASCAR races. There’s a lot of time to kill, and he LOVES going through the tech area with the team. This year the team is making him his own crew shirt, so the whole experience is awesome and he really loves it. I feel like I’m watching myself grow up through him.
FINALLY!
My first NASCAR win at Michigan had been a long time coming. We finished second in my fifth race during my rookie year of racing Cup in 2014. At that point, I realized that maybe I could actually win a Cup race in my first year. We had some really good finishes throughout the season. Unfortunately, we also had a lot of DNF’s and didn’t make the Chase, but we ended the year extremely fast. I felt like I legitimately had a shot at winning three or four of those races so I wasn’t too concerned going into that offseason.
As 2015 began, I felt we would get a win just because we had been really fast to close out the year before. But we didn’t start the year off very good at all in 2015. It was disappointing to start that year and struggle to run in the top 15. We went to a couple of tracks where I’m really good and I thought we had the speed to win, but we just didn’t get it done. 2015 ended up just being really frustrating because I had really high hopes of winning.
In 2016, we had a new crew chief come in; Chad Johnston. We struggled again during the first couple of months, but once he got what he wanted from the organization we picked up a lot of speed really quickly. At the first Kansas race, I ran top three all race long, and then I got crashed at the end. The next race was at Dover and we probably should have won that one if I was more aggressive. We went to the All-Star Race at Charlotte the next week and made it in by like an inch in the Showdown, which is like the B-Main. I almost won the All Star Race and a million bucks later that night, but we got beat by Joey Logano.
It was really cool to feel like we could win races and be competitive again. We stayed pretty good but kind of tapered off just a little bit as the season progressed. We got back to hitting it hard right before the Chase. Really, our main focus was to make the Chase, and we had a good shot at “pointing” our way in. At Watkins Glen, I was going to finish fourth or fifth, but AJ Allmendinger got into me in the last corner and spun me out. I lost something like 26 points in that race, which really killed our shot at making the Chase through the points standings.
We went to Bristol the next week, which is my favorite race track on the NASCAR schedule. I felt like we were the fastest car there, with our best chance to win a Cup race and make the Chase. But then we ran into bad luck like I usually do there.
For the race at Michigan, we ran the 2017 rules package. We had been really good with that package, and that’s the package we raced at the All-Star Race when we almost won. We ran it at the first Michigan race and we ran third. I was confident going into the race but you never really know how much other teams have gained on those one-off rules packages implemented
between the other races.
I remember Chad and the rest of our team were super, super confident going into that race. Aerodynamically the team had made a lot of gains. I was confident about things and we were good, really good, from the first lap that we hit the race track. It really looked like it was going to come down to Chase Elliott and myself on Sunday.
You could kind of see that it was going to play out between Chase and I all race long. I was able to beat him on a couple of clutch restarts, which is an area where I’ve struggled a lot, and still struggle to this day. It was just a big relief to get the win. Also, it was big as we were still feeling the effects of losing Bryan Clauson just a few weeks before. We were locked in the Chase for the first time too, so that was awesome. We kind of got on a roll after that, as we finished third the next week and second the week after that.
I was feeling really good going into the Chase, and then I ran into my normal NASCAR bad luck. We were running fifth late in the first Chase race in Chicago and had a tire come apart with eight laps to go and we finished 20th. At Dover, we had battery issues and went like three laps down, and that killed our shot at continuing in the Chase. But we ended our year well like we always do, with another great run at Homestead. So hopefully we can just start this year off strong and I think we can get a couple more wins.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
I’m 24, and I’ll be 25 this July. Besides winning NASCAR races and championships, my main goal in racing is to run a season with the World of Outlaws some day in my future. Fortunately, I’m in Cup at a young age. I feel like if I can run for another 12 years in Cup, I’d still be in my mid-thirties and I could still go Outlaw racing.
You never know, if I’m Jimmie Johnson in 12 years I’m probably not going to quit Cup. It’s just really tough to try and foresee your future when you’re this young, and this early into the game.
But I definitely want to race with the World of Outlaws. And hopefully, at that time the World of Outlaws are as big or bigger than they are now. And hopefully, Donny Schatz is still racing when I get there because I’d love to run a season or more with Donny. You never know how things will play out though, so it will be interesting to see where my career takes me. Stay tuned!The Everton stadium question has hung over the club since the early 1990s, when the Toffees began to upgrade the stadium in the wake of the Taylor Report, produced following the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy in 1989.
Goodison promptly became all-seater but an opportunity was missed when the new Park End stand, constructed in 1994, only had one tier and minimal corporate facilities.
Two years later then-chairman Peter Johnson revealed his vision of a Toffees superdome on the outskirts of the city, but the doubts were raised over the move when it was scrutinised and eventually shelved when Johnson was forced out in 1998.
The turn of the Millennium presented Everton with the greatest opportunity for a new ground in the form of the Kings Dock development on the banks of the (Royal Blue) River Mersey.
Sadly, despite being preferred bidders for the development Everton were forced to pull out due to a lack of funding - many have not forgiven Bill Kenwright for spurning that opportunity.
Seven years later the club once again tried to move Everton out of the city to a new ground alongside a retail park in Kirkby. A supporters vote gave blessing to the move, but suspicions of the validity of the plans gave rise to the 'Keep Everton in Our City' group, who revealed serious flaws in the project, which was later scuppered by the Government following a public enquiry.
The silence since then has been deafening and despite the real progress being made on the field Goodison - still one of the Premier League's more atmospheric arenas - also remains a millstone round the club's neck.
It has too many obstructed view seats and the corporate facilities lag behind even that of some Championship sides. Sadly it also appears that a sympathetic, gradual reconstruction of the 'Grand Old Lady' is not possible due to the massive cost it would incur.
Bespoke materials would be needed for each stand and with three sides of the ground hemmed in by tightly-packed Victorian terraced housing, space is at a premium and any attempts to free up land a logistical nightmare.
That leaves a move to a new ground within the city boundaries. This latest revelation by chief executive Robert Elstone to the EFCSA at a meeting in December reveals that the club are in talks with the council over a new ground:
Mr Elstone explained that discussions and high level planning continues with up to one and a half days per week of his time being spent on this. Operating to a high-level brief to create a stadium that would provide for the "most atmospheric home-end in world football" he explained that consultation with the Council and finding a preferred site means this is an evolving project. Nonetheless the work is sufficiently progressed that if funding was available the Club could move very quickly. Mr Elstone described the current work as a ‘phenomenally exciting scheme’ with council buy-in and providing a significant amount of regeneration in Liverpool. He also explained that this was on the agenda for the forthcoming Board Meeting.
Source EFCSHA website
Now, the cynical part of me heads straight towards the phrase "if funding was available". Lets face we would all move very quickly if we had several hundred million in our back pocket.
We can produce all the "phenomenally exciting schemes" we like but until someone comes along with cold, hard cash then Everton are stuck where they are.
The council will help all they can (I hope, even if they haven't appeared to in the past), a sponsor would contribute and the sale of Goodison should also be taken into account.
But we also have to ensure the ground is worthy of the Everton motto and not what Kirkby threatened to be - a cheap, soulless flatpack hunk of metal clamped onto a retail park in the middle of nowhere.
This revelation thrusts the stadium issue back into the public eye and Everton's head of communications Alan Myers, a real breath of fresh air since returning to the club last summer, may come under pressure to at least elaborate on what the club are doing about a new ground, seen as the key to a stable and successful long-term future for the club.TALLINN - A team of global IT experts on Tuesday urged cyber-savvy Estonia to drop electronic voting from this month's European elections, saying they had identified major security risks.
"Estonia's Internet voting system blindly trusts the election servers and the voters' computers," said US computer scientist J. Alex Halderman, a co-author of the report released Tuesday.
"Either of these would be an attractive target for state-level attackers, such as Russia."
But the Estonian electoral commission said it regularly updates the e-voting system.
"We have carried out public test votings and we have given experts a chance to attack the test system, which is similar to the real e-voting system," commission spokeswoman Kristi Kirsberg told AFP.
"We are convinced the system is safe," she said, less than two weeks before the May 25 elections to the European parliament.
Estonian Internet expert Linnar Viik added that the country's six e-votes to date have gone off without any security incidents.
"The possible attacks are under control and attacks just can't happen," the Estonian IT College lecturer told AFP.
Dubbed E-stonia, the ex-Soviet Baltic nation of just 1.3 million people has made a name for itself for being a trailblazer in technology, notably pioneered e-voting in 2005 and playing host to NATO's cyber defence centre.
Other countries including France and the United States have also experimented with voting by mouseclick.
At the last European parliament vote, in 2009, around 58,000 Estonians -- or 15 percent of turnout -- went online for the ballot.
But the six IT experts now warn that the system's operational security is lax, transparency measures are insufficient and the software design is vulnerable to cyber attacks.
They came to the conclusion after observing Estonian e-voting operations at last year's municipal elections, then carrying out a security analysis and laboratory testing.
"We never thought we'd see as many problems and vulnerabilities as we did," said report co-author Jason Kitcat, an adviser for the Open Rights Group that defends Internet freedoms.
"We feel duty-bound to make the public aware of those problems."
The report can be found at: https://estoniaevoting.org/CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano on Wednesday nullified the sale or lease of agrarian lands awarded by the government in Hacienda Luisita.
Mariano cited the 10-year ban that stopped holders of certificates of land ownership award (Cloa) from selling and leasing agrarian lands distributed through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
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His order also affected all joint venture arrangements involving Cloa lots.
He acted on the results of a monthlong Cloa validation which concluded that 4,000 of 5,212 farmer-beneficiaries had sold, leased or bound their land in joint agreements that defied the ban. The beneficiaries of 6,884 lots total 6,212 farmers.
But when asked if the Cloa holders were also liable for the sale, Mariano said he directed the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to first determine why Cloa holders acted this way.
He said DAR would have to decide if the sale, lease or joint venture contracts “were justifiable or forced by circumstances [arising from] lack of government support coupled with landowner’s resistance and maneuverings.”
Mariano described the cancellation of contracts as “mapagpasyang hakbang (decisive action)” in defense of the beneficiaries.
But entrepreneurs who leased Cloa lots questioned Mariano’s decision, saying it went against a constitutional provision that guarantees the nonimpairment of obligations of contracts.
Tarlac Rep. Noel Villanueva, who spoke on behalf of the leaseholders, said: “Secretary Mariano is an alter ego of President Duterte so the secretary’s move is an executive action. Aside from the constitutional question, lease holders want to clarify who will benefit from the crops. Is there potential unjust enrichment here?”
The agrarian lands in the sugar estate formerly owned by the clan of former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Benigno Aquino III were distributed in 2013 when the Supreme Court canceled the stocks sharing scheme began in 1989 and ordered the lands to be handed out to farmers in 2012.
The stock option scheme is allowed by CARP, and the stock shares benefiting 6,212 farm workers were the equivalent of 4,915 hectares. By 2014, each of the farmers received Cloa for 6,600 square meters of land when DAR fulfilled the Supreme Court order.
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Mariano also revoked the conversion order which allowed 500 ha of Luisita land to be bought by the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, which Mariano used to chair, began occupying and cultivating the RCBC lot on Monday.
Mariano warned that he would “throw the full force of the law” against those that would defy his order.
“The practice of ‘aryendo’ (renting sugar cane land) is illegal and a willful and deliberate obstruction in the delivery of the agrarian reform program,” he said, adding that DAR would help those who were forced to lease or sell their lots.
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MOST READPublished: 16:07, 25 January 2017 | Updated: 01:43, 26 January 2017
He's the fitness and weight loss guru of the moment, whose Lean In 15 programme promises to whip you into shape while eating more and exercising less.
However, a nutrition coach from Bristol has revealed how one of Joe Wicks' nutritious meals - Cheesy Chicken Chorizo and Spinach - contains more than double the calories and more than five times the fat of a KFC rice box.
The revelation was made in an infographic posted to the Apex Fitness Systems Facebook page and has attracted 230 likes and 350 comments.
While nutrition coach Matt, who shared the post, stressed that while they weren't promoting KFC as a healthier option, a higher calorie meal will always take more time to burn off in the gym - but fans of the Body Coach were not impressed.
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Copy link to paste in your message +4 An infographic shared on Facebook by Bristol personal trainers Apex Fitness Systems revealed that a Joe Wicks recipe has more than double the calories and five times the fat of KFC
Apex pointed out that branding the meal 'lean' might make people automatically assume that it's a good choice if they're trying to lose weight.
The Lean In 15 cookbook does not contain nutritional information for each meal, but Matt made the calculation himself based on a portion of the chicken and chorizo dish for one person.
He pointed out that while the Joe Wicks meal may be full of fresh ingredients, the higher calorie load means it will take longer to burn off through exercise.
And he said he was sharing the post to make people aware of hidden calories, not to encourage them to eat fast food.
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Copy link to paste in your message +4 Matt explained why counting calories matters if you are trying to lose weight
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Copy link to paste in your message +4 Joe Wicks is a champion of using fresh, healthy ingredients and is against calorie counting
Enthusiastic Joe Wicks makes chicken pie on new Channel 4 show v f Loaded : 0% Progress : 0% w 0:00 A Previous f Play A Skip LIVE d Mute w 00:00 Current Time 0:00 / Duration Time 0:26 t Fullscreen g Need Text Video Quality 576p 540p 360p 270p i k m h n j Foreground --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Opaque Background --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Default Monospace Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Sans-Serif Casual Script Small Caps Defaults Done Minimize u Expand t Close × Share this j n l h More m Up next New Channel 4 show lifts the lid on restaurant ch… f Cancel Related videos New Channel 4 show lifts the lid on restaurant chains New Channel 4 show Naked Attraction puts a new spin … NEW SHOW! Shipping Wars UK is on weekdays Channel 4 4pm
However, fans of the Body Coach disagreed with his point with one calling him claim 'ridiculous'.
Sam Frost pointed out that Lean In 15 recipes come with matching exercise plans to burn off the specific food.
And Marissa Marcella accused Apex of promoting their own business while 'rubbishing' Joe Wicks.
Kelly Thickett argued that the Joe Wicks meal was better as it contains low carbs and high protein and 'good fats'.
A spokesperson for Joe Wicks pointed out that the Body Coach has addressed the KFC comparison in this month's issue of Men's Fitness.
'One guy was comparing one of my Lean In 15 recipes to a KFC meal, saying they were just as bad as each other,' he said.
'Whatever you think about me that's unfair, I'm encouraging people to eat unprocessed food, drink water, learn to cook for themselves. It's not the same thing at all.'
Calorie counting is also not part of his ethos as he wants people to follow his programme and see results, rather than obsessing over nutritional counts or standing on the scales every day.
However, others were more supportive and understood the point that Apex was trying to make.
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Copy link to paste in your message +4 Matt explained how the purpose of the post was to raise awareness of hidden calories, not to suggest that KFC is a healthy choice
Pip Vybz pointed out how the post proved that if you don't know the calorie content of a meal, you can't make an informed choice.
And he added that people could end up exercising for longer and not losing as much weight because they're consuming too many calories from supposedly 'healthy' meals.
Christian Major agreed 'weight loss results from calories out exceeding calories in'.
Body Coach Joe Wicks posts YouTube video in famous TV kitchen v f Loaded : 0% Progress : 0% w 0:00 A Previous f Play A Skip LIVE d Mute w 00:00 Current Time 0:00 / Duration Time 0:20 t Fullscreen g Need Text Video Quality 576p 540p 360p 270p i k m h n j Foreground --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Opaque Background --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Default Monospace Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Sans-Serif Casual Script Small Caps Defaults Done Minimize u Expand t Close × Share this j n l h More m Up next Joe Gomez attempts to return to fitness with bo… f Cancel Related videos Joe Gomez attempts to return to fitness with box-ju… Nutritionist Joe Wicks posts 'lean in 15' healthy meal id… Joe Wicks teams up with LEON for Lean in 15 workout videos
DO CALORIES REALLY COUNT? Matt of Apex Fitness who has studied with the Mac Nutrition University told MailOnline: 'While many people may chose not to count calories, whether they lose weight or not will always be determined by energy balance. 'You must burn more calories than you consume in order for the body to burn off body fat. 'Your diet can be full of healthy food, but if you eat too much of it, you still won't lose weight. 'Does this mean you HAVE to count calories? Absolutely not. Many people lose weight and get fitter without ever counting a single calorie, and thats great. 'However, many others struggle as they are lead to believe that just simply cutting down on carbs and eating more healthy fats is the key to weight loss. 'This is fundamentally incorrect. A low carb diet will still result in weight gain if its eaten to excess. 'We want people to be made aware of the calorie content in their food, so that they can make a more informed decision about their portion size, and get better results in the long run.'.
He pointed out that it would take 40 minutes to burn off the KFC meal on the treadmill, but it would take two hours for Joe Wicks' meal.
And Apex Fitness thanked people who had understood the spirit of the post.
Matt said that he'd been bombarded with messages with people thanking him for making the point and vowing to be more aware of their portion sizes.British engineer Hertha Marks Ayrton, the first woman to present "The Origin and Growth of Ripple Marks" to the Royal Society in 1904, turns 162 years old today. Screenshot image by Google.com
WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- Today marks the 162nd birthday of Hertha Marks Ayrton, the scientist who became the first woman to present her findings to the Royal Society in 1904.
Google dedicated Wednesday's homepage Doodle to the British engineer, mathematician, physicist and inventor in honor of the conclusion which made her famous.
Designed by Lydia Nichols, the illustration shows Ayrton framed by a board sampling her discovery regarding the origin of wave markings found in the sand. Included in the explanation for the piece is the rule which made Ayrton famous in the scientific community: "When a wave washes over sand, ripples will appear."
Ayrton, born in 1854, was rewarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society for her work. She also later presented her research in front of the British Association and the Physical Society. In 1919, she helped establish the International Federation of University Women and one year later, the National Union of Scientific Workers.
She died from an insect bite in 1923.DIBELLA ENTERTAINMENT will make its long-awaited return to the historic B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in midtown Manhattan with a special holiday edition BROADWAY BOXING "Season's Beatings" card to end the year, on Thursday, December 14. The event will be headlined by junior middleweight contender PATRICK DAY defending his WBC Continental Americas title against WESLEY TUCKER and will also feature the return of former WBC world lightweight champion DEJAN ZLATICANIN.
"We're thrilled to be back at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill promoting another great evening of boxing. This will be our first show here since March 2016 and it means a great deal to our team, particularly during the holiday season, to present such a fantastic event," said LOU DIBELLA, President of DiBella Entertainment. "From top to bottom, from former world champions and today's contenders to tomorrow's stars, we've got one of the very best cards we've promoted as part of the BROADWAY BOXING series since we started 15 years ago. Close out the year with your friends, enjoy the holiday spirit and watch some great boxing."
"I am thrilled to be working with Lou and the entire DiBella Entertainment team on presenting such an amazing evening of world-class boxing and entertainment," said DENIS BENOIT, CEO of Liveco Boxing Inc. "The atmosphere at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on December 14 will be electric, and views from all angles are a knockout. With the addition of two undefeated prospects from our stable of rising stars to an already fully-stacked card, fight fans are in for a real treat!"
Tickets for the BROADWAY BOXING event, promoted by DiBella Entertainment and presented by Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House, are currently on sale and are priced at $125, $100, $75 and $55. Tables are also available for purchase for this event, with VIP tables going for $1,000 per table (5 seats at $200 per seat), Ringside tables for $500 (5 seats at $100), and $375 tables (5 seats at $75). Tickets are available for purchase by calling the DiBella Entertainment office at (212) 947-2577. B.B. King Blues Club & Grill is located at 237 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036. Doors open at 6:30pm with the first bout scheduled for 7:00pm.
The main event will see PATRICK DAY (14-2-1, 6 KOs), of Freeport, NY, defending his WBC Continental Americas title against Toledo, Ohio's WESLEY "King Wes" TUCKER (14-1, 8 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight clash.
Trained by Joe Higgins, the 25-year-old Day is riding a three-bout winning streak, including decision victories against Courtney Pennington and Virgilijus Stapulionis. Most recently, Day captured the WBC Continental Americas junior middleweight title with a dominant 10-round unanimous decision against previously undefeated Eric Walker on July 15, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, near his home in Long Island, NY.
The southpaw Tucker, a 2012 National Golden Gloves runner-up with 250 amateur bouts of experience, earned a significant victory on Showtime's ShoBox series against Edward Williams in March, but then suffered the first loss of his five-year professional career in his last bout to the undefeated Enver Halili on June 30, in Toledo, OH. Tucker, who is promoted by Salita Promotions and managed by David McWater's Split-T Management, will make his New York debut on December 14.
Former WBC world lightweight champion DEJAN "Dynamite" ZLATICANIN (22-1, 15 KOs) will return to action in a scheduled 10-rounder. The heavy-handed Zlaticanin, who was the first native of Montenegro to win a boxing world title, suffered his only defeat in his last bout against current champion Mikey Garcia on January 28, 2017, in Las Vegas.
In a sensational battle of undefeated lightweights, Albany, New York's "Ill" WILL MADERA (11-0, 5 KOs), squares off against WESLEY "El Bongocero" FERRER (12-0, 7 KOs), of Brooklyn, New York. The 26-year-old Madera, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainemnt and Liveco Boxing, will be making his fourth start of 2017. Fighting seven times in the Montreal area over a three-year period, Madera returned to the United States in his last fight, earning an eight-round unanimous decision against Gabriel Duluc on September 23, 2017, in Schenectady, New York. In addition to his boxing career, Madera, a father of six, works as a residential counselor at the Center for Disability Services in Albany. Managed by Tommy Gallagher, Ferrer will be fighting for the first time in 2017, following two knockout victories versus Luis Alberto Pelayo and Angel Figueroa in 2016.
Fast-rising heavyweight prospect GEORGE ARIAS (9-0, 5 KOs), of The Bronx, New York, will clash with upset-minded CURTIS HARPER (13-5, 9 KOs), of Jacksonville, FL. A native of the Dominican Republic, the 25-year-old Arias has shined brightly throughout his four victories in |
been revealed as hoaxes or leaks of dubious authenticity.[44]
Unreleased and cancelled games include a fairy-themed role-playing game,[45] Prospero,[46] and Stars of Blood.[47][48] Valve worked with Arkane Studios on The Crossing, which was canceled in May 2009. Arkane tried to develop Return to Ravenholm without consent by Valve, which was also canceled.[49][50][51]
Steam
Valve announced Steam, its digital distribution software platform, at the 2002 Game Developers Conference.[52][53] It launched in September 2003 and was first used to deliver patches and other updates to Valve's online games, which it later became mandatory to use.[54][55]
On August 1, 2012, Valve announced revisions to the Steam Subscriber Agreement (SSA) to prohibit class action lawsuits by users against the service provider.[56][57] By July 2014, there were over 3,400 games available on Steam, with over 150 million registered accounts by January 2018.[58][59]
Alongside these changes to the SSA, the company also declared publicly the incorporation of Valve S.a.r.l., a subsidiary based in Luxembourg.[56][57] Valve set up a physical office in Luxembourg Kirchberg. According to Valve's project manager Mike Dunkle, the location was chosen for eCommerce capabilities and infrastructure, talent acquisition, tax advantages and central geographic location – most major partners are accessible, with 50% within driving distance.[60]
Valve S.a.r.l. was used to sell games to United Kingdom–based users to avoid paying the full 20% value-added tax (VAT).[61] The tax loophole was expected to be closed on January 1, 2015.[62] In December 2015, the French consumer group UFC Que Choisir initiated a lawsuit against Valve for several of their Steam policies that conflict or run afoul of French law. One of the reasons was for using the tax loophole.[63] Valve S.a.r.l. stopped doing business on January 1, 2017, with the main company taking over EU sales again.[64] In August 2017, Valve announced that Steam had reached over 67 million monthly and 33 million daily active users on the platform.[65]
Other projects
PowerPlay
PowerPlay was a technological initiative headed by Valve and Cisco Systems to decrease the latency for online computer games.[66] Gabe Newell, the managing director of Valve, announced the project in January 2000 and after 12 months the project was quietly abandoned.
PowerPlay was described as a set of protocols and deployment standards at the router level to improve performance. It was claimed that a player with 1000 ms ping was able to play against another player on a LAN connection with no noticeable disadvantage.[67] Initially the protocol was to be released with PowerPlay 1.0 focusing on Quality of Service (QoS) and later a revision, PowerPlay 2.0 that would focus on functionality. Cisco and Valve intended to deliver a single dial-up service in Q1 2000 in the United States with a 30-day free trial with a bundled copy of Team Fortress modified to support PowerPlay.[68] Despite never deploying the dial-up plan featuring PowerPlay 1.0, Valve announced in January 2001 that the standard had indeed been finalized.[67]
The standard was to involve purchasing PowerPlay approved Cisco hardware and infrastructure that had adequate bandwidth and QoS standards that prioritize PowerPlay gaming packets at the expense of all others. Gabe Newell conceded that Internet service providers (ISPs) would bear the brunt of this expense: "The ISPs are going to need to spend a fair amount of money to be compliant with PowerPlay. But how they get that back is up to them. Some will have a tiered service, and some will just try to recoup their investment through reduced customer churn and customer acquisition."[69]
Steam Machine
Newell has been critical of the direction that Microsoft has taken with the Windows operating system in making it a closed architecture similar to Apple's products, and has stated that he believes that the changes made in Windows 8 are "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space".[70] Newell identified the open-source Linux platform as an ideal platform for Steam, noting that the only thing holding back its adoption is the lack of games.[70]
In 2012, Valve announced that they were working on a console/PC hybrid for the living room which was unofficially dubbed by media as the "Steam Box".[71][72] A precursor to such a unit is SteamOS, a freely available Linux-based operating system that builds upon the Steam client functionality that includes media services, live streaming across home networks, game sharing within families, and parental controls. SteamOS was officially announced in September 2013 as the first of several announcements related to the Steam Machine platform[73] as well as their unique game controller.[7] In May 2014, Valve announced that the company's own SteamOS-powered Steam Machine would be delayed until 2015 due to problems with the game controller.[74] In 2015, Alienware, ZOTAC, and CyberPowerPC launched their versions of the Steam Machine. By June 2016, fewer than half a million had been sold.[75]
Pipeline
In July 2013, Valve announced Pipeline, an intern project consisting of ten high school students working together to learn how to create video game content.[76] Pipeline serves to discuss and answer questions that teenagers often ask about the video game industry,[77] and see if it is possible to train a group of teenagers with minimal work experience to work for a company like Valve.[77] The latter purpose breaks Valve's tradition of employing experienced developers, as the company is not good at "teaching people straight out of school".[77]
J. J. Abrams collaboration
At the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit, Gabe Newell confirmed that he and director J. J. Abrams were collaborating to produce a Half-Life or Portal film, as well as a possible new game.[78]
HTC Vive
In March 2015, Valve and Taiwanese electronics company HTC announced a joint project to develop the Vive, a virtual reality headset with motion tracked controllers.[79] The companies are working with Google, Lions Gate, and HBO to develop content for the device.[80]
Finances
Valve does not make its finances public. In 2005, Forbes estimated that Valve had grossed $70 million that year. Ed Barton, a Screen Digest analyst, estimated Valve's 2010 revenue to be in the "high hundreds of millions of dollars". As of 2011, the company had an estimated worth of $2 to 4 billion, and according to Newell, it was the most profitable company per employee in the United States. Most of Valve's revenue comes from Steam, which controlled 50 to 70% of the market for downloaded PC games in 2011.[81]
Organizational structure
Valve's early structure was similar to other development firms; this was principally driven by the nature of physical game releases through publishers that required tasks to be completed by given deadlines, requiring a more regimented structure.[82] As the company moved to digital releases where they serve as their own publisher, the structure has become a flat organization. Valve publicly published their employee handbook in 2012,[83][84] demonstrating at that time that outside of executive management, there were no bosses, and the company used an open allocation system, allowing employees to move between departments at will.[85][86] This approach allows employees to work on whatever interests them, but requires them to take ownership of their product and mistakes they may make, according to Newell. Newell recognized that this structure works well for some but that "there are plenty of great developers for whom this is a terrible place to work".[82]
Economist Yanis Varoufakis, the former Finance Minister of Greece, worked as an economic consultant for Valve; he attempted to place Valve's organization in the context of theories of the firm and broader economic thinking.[87][88][89] Former employee Jeri Ellsworth criticized the structure as "a lot like high school" in that certain employees have more influence than others.[90]
Legal disputes
Valve Corporation v. Vivendi Universal Games
Between 2002 and 2005, Valve was involved in a complex legal dispute with its publisher, Vivendi Universal Games (under Vivendi's brand Sierra Entertainment). It officially began on August 14, 2002, when Valve sued Sierra for copyright infringement, alleging that the publisher had illegally distributed copies of their games to Internet cafes. They later added claims of breach of contract, accusing their publisher of withholding royalties and delaying the release of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero until after the holiday season.
Vivendi fought back, saying that Gabe Newell and marketing director Doug Lombardi had misrepresented Valve's position in meetings with the publisher. Vivendi later countersued, claiming that Valve's Steam content distribution system attempted to circumvent their publishing agreement. Vivendi sought intellectual property rights to Half-Life and a ruling preventing Valve from using Steam to distribute Half-Life 2.
On November 29, 2004, Judge Thomas Samuel Zilly of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled in favor of Valve. Specifically, the ruling stated that Vivendi Universal and its affiliates (including Sierra) were not authorized to distribute Valve games, either directly or indirectly, through cyber cafés to end users for pay-to-play activities pursuant to the parties' publishing agreement. In addition, Judge Zilly ruled that Valve could recover copyright damages for infringements without regard to the publishing agreement's limitation of liability clause.[91] Valve posted on the Steam website that the two companies had come to a settlement in court on April 29, 2005.[92] Electronic Arts announced on July 18, 2005, that they would be teaming up with Valve in a multi-year deal to distribute their games, replacing Vivendi Universal from then onwards.[93] As a result of the trial, the arbitrator also awarded Valve $2,391,932.
Valve Corporation v. Activision Blizzard
In April 2009, Valve sued Activision Blizzard, which acquired Sierra Entertainment after a merger with its parent company, Vivendi Universal Games. Activision had allegedly refused to honor the Valve v. Vivendi arbitration agreement. Activision had only paid Valve $1,967,796 of the $2,391,932 award, refusing to pay the remaining $424,136, claiming it had overpaid that sum in the past years.[94][95]
Dota intellectual property ownership
Defense of the Ancients (DotA) was a landmark mod first released in 2003 that created the basis of the genre of multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). It was originally developed by "Eul" within Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos via its world editor, and spawned several similar efforts, notably DotA-Allstars. While there had been several that contributed to DotA-Allstars, the project was managed primarily by Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, and later by "IceFrog". IceFrog was eventually hired by Valve in 2009, with the rights to the DotA intellectual property being sold to Valve the following year. Eul was also hired into Valve by 2010.[96] Valve then subsequently filed trademarks towards a sequel to DotA, titled Dota 2. DotA-Allstars, LLC, a group of former contributors to the DotA-Allstars project, filed an opposing trademark in August 2010 to contest Valve's claim it owned the property rights.[97]
DotA-Allstars, LLC was eventually acquired by Blizzard to start development of Blizzard All-Stars. Blizzard took over the trademark challenge. The United States Patent & Trademark Office initially ruled in Valve's favor. By this point, Riot Games had hired Guinsoo to help develop their own MOBA, League of Legends. As with IceFrog, Feak transferred his rights to the Dota property to Riot, who in turn sold those to Blizzard. Blizzard filed a lawsuit against Valve to challenge Valve's ownership, pitting the rights assigned through IceFrog to Guinsoo at odds.[98] The case Blizzard Entertainment v. Valve Corporation was settled out of court in May 2012; Valve retained the right to use Dota commercially, while Blizzard reserved the right for fans to use Dota non-commercially.[99] Blizzard changed the names of its own projects to remove the Dota term, and renamed Blizzard All-Stars as Heroes of the Storm. Valve's Dota 2 was released in 2013.[100]
In 2014, mobile developers Lilith and uCool released their games Dota Legends and Heroes Charge, respectively. Both were influenced by Dota and the sequels. In 2017, Valve and Blizzard took joint action against these companies, citing copyright issues related to the Dota names. uCool argued that the Dota games were a collective work and could not be copyrighted by anyone in particular, but the presiding judge, Charles R. Breyer, felt that due to the trio's actions as maintainers of the Dota mods, that they rightful have copyright claim to this. Separately, Lilith and uCool argued that Eul had, in a forum post dated September 2004, assigned an open-source copyright license to Dota, which would make Valve and Blizzard's copyright claims void. The case is scheduled to be heard by a jury to resolve this matter at a later date.[96]
ACCC v. Valve Corporation
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it was taking action against Valve in 2014. On March 29, 2016, Valve was found guilty of breaching Australian consumer law because:[101][102]
Valve claimed consumers were not entitled to a refund for digitally downloaded games purchased from Valve via the Steam website or Steam Client (in any circumstances);
Valve had excluded statutory guarantees and/or warranties that goods would be of acceptable quality; and
Valve had restricted or modified statutory guarantees and/or warranties of acceptable quality.
During the prosecution of this case, Valve implemented a refund policy for Steam purchases, but the case still reviewed Valve's actions prior to the onset of the lawsuit. The court overseeing the case sided with the ACCC in assigning a A$3 million (about US$2.1 million) fine against Valve in December 2016, as well as requiring Valve to inform Australian consumers of their rights when purchasing games from Steam.[103] Valve appealed the court's determination that it "engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations about consumer guarantees", as well as seeking to appeal the fine, but the Australian higher courts rejected the appeals in December 2017.[104] In January 2018, Valve filed for a "special leave" of the court's decision, appealing to the High Court of Australia.[105] The High Court dismissed this claim in April 2018, asserting that Valve still was liable under Australian law since it sold products directly to its citizens.[106]
UFC Que Choisir v. Valve Corporation
Consumer rights group UFC Que Choisir, based in France, filed a lawsuit against Valve in December 2015, claiming users should be able to resell their software.[107][108]
A.M. v. Valve Corporation
A former employee filed a $3.1 million lawsuit in May 2016 alleging mistreatment after sex reassignment surgery, and that Valve was exploiting workers.[109][110]
Skins gambling
Valve was named as a defendant in two lawsuits in June and July 2016 related to third-party gambling sites that use the Steamworks API to allow betting with the virtual currency of cosmetic weapon replacement textures, better known as "skins", from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which through these sites can be converted from or to real-world money. Both suits assert Valve aiding in underaged gambling.[111] Valve subsequently stated it has no commercial ties with these sites, and that it would demand these sites cease their use of the Steamworks API as they violate the authorized use policies.[112][113] In October 2016, the Washington State Gambling Commission required Valve to stop the use of virtual skins for gambling on Steam, stating they would face legal repercussions if they failed to co-operate.[114] On October 17, 2016, Valve sent a letter to the Washington State Gambling Commission stating that they had "no business relationship with such gambling sites", asserting that they come into existence, operate, and go out of existence without their knowledge and consent, adding that they were not aware of any such law that Steam or any of their games were violating.[115]
Anti-competitive practices
In February 2017, the European Commission began investigating Valve and five other publishers—Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Focus Home Interactive, Koch Media and ZeniMax Media—for anti-competitive practices, specifically the use of geo-blocking through the Steam storefront and Steam product keys to prevent access to software to citizens of certain countries. Such practices would be against the Digital Single Market initiative by the European Union.[116]
"Valve Time"
"Valve Time" redirects here. For timing of the opening and closing of valves, see Valve timing
"Valve Time" is an industry term used jokingly with game releases from Valve, used to acknowledge the difference between the "promised" date for released content stated by Valve and to the "actual" release date; "Valve Time" includes predominant delays but also includes some content that was released earlier than expected. Valve itself has fully acknowledged the term, including tracking known discrepancies between ideal and actual releases on their public development wiki[117] and using it in announcements about such delays.[118][119] Valve ascribes delays to their mentality of team-driven initiatives over corporate deadlines to make sure they provide a high-quality product to their customers.[120]
Valve's former business development chief Jason Holtman stated that the company sees themselves as an "oddity" in an industry that looks towards punctual delivery of products; instead, Valve "[tries] as hard as we can to make the best thing possible in the right time frame and get people content they want to consume. And if that takes longer, that's fine".[121] For that, Valve takes the concept of "Valve Time" as a compliment, and that "having customers consistently looking at our property or something you've done and saying, can you give me more" is evidence that they are making the right decisions with their game releases, according to Holtman.[121] The company does try to avoid unintentional delays of their projects,[122] and believes that the earlier occurrences of "Valve Time" delays, primarily from Half-Life development, has helped them improve their release schedules.[120]The modern day smartphone has many different features and functions, and hence, they will also need a battery that is strong enough to power those functions throughout the whole day. The flagship LG G4 is well worth looking into, and thankfully, it comes with a removable battery – which means one will have the option of throwing in a larger-capacity, third-party battery – and directly increase its battery life. Mugen knows this, and has set out with their new HLI-G4XL Li-ion battery for the LG G4, where it carries a whopping 6,200mAh capacity – which is more than double of what you get right out of the box.
Just for comparison’s sake, the LG G4 was able to last slightly north of 6 hours in battery benchmark tests run by folks, which is nothing to shout about, really, although it should not be celebrated, either. If you think that your LG G4 needs a longer battery life to go hand in hand with its features and functions, the $89.50 HLI-G4XL from Mugen does make plenty of sense, and it even comes with free worldwide shipping, now how about that for additional service? Each purchase will be accompanied by a bespoke rear cover that is currently available in either black, white, or gold shades.
Filed in. Read more about LG and LG G4.The Baird government will finally close the door on a chapter of NSW history that involved harsh laws being enacted at the height of the AIDS epidemic, driven by a fear of the unknown and public panic.
The offence of having sex without first disclosing you have a sexually transmitted disease will be removed from the Public Health Act next year.
David Cooper, director of the Kirby Institute at the University of NSW, diagnosed Australia's first case of HIV and was the director of the St Vincent's AIDS unit at the height of the epidemic.
Professor Cooper said it was "good timing" to remove section 79 of the Public Health Act. Since 2010 international studies had shown that if HIV is treated and becomes undetectable, it can't be transmitted to a partner, he said.How Small Studios can be your BIG break Tutorials Rusty Gray Writer
I love sushi. Three years ago I thought I knew what awesome sushi tasted like, because I’d never been to Japan; I was completely wrong.
It’s the same with animation. When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to be in awe of big studios like Pixar, ILM or Disney – you believe they are the only answer to your dream career. Like my Florida Sushi, I grew up hearing all about Pixar and thought that was all there was, but after two animation schools, four years of learning, and one full year of waiting for a ‘big’ studio gig I finally woke up. After a series of chance events, a small studio unveiled a much better world than I ever imagined.
I like doing everything. That’s why I came to Pixar as opposed to Disney or any other studio – it’s small. At the time I started I was, like the tenth person in the animation group, and we all had to do everything. That’s the way I like it, keeping it fresh
– Pete Docter, back when Pixar had fifty employees
Then it hit me that I didn’t need Pixar to have a dream animation career, in fact I realised that there is a huge sea of animation opportunity and life-changing experiences out there (including mind-blowing sushi). To get started in uncovering what small studios have to offer, let’s begin with rethinking what you think you know about ‘big’ animation studios:
Disney – a place so magical everyone who works there must float on clouds. Imagine all the bragging rights! These thoughts are so powerful a lot of people get lost in trying to find a poorly-defined dream that doesn’t exist or impress others through their movie credits. This is all surface level, don’t get caught up in it – you became an animator to make amazing art and to have a career that always challenges you, to never be bored of your work even when you turn 98. To make a little kid cackle in the theater or a grown man bawl. I’m not saying give up on your dreams, but do challenge your fantasy. ‘Big’ studio dream goals like Pixar or Disney are totally worth having, going for, and getting but they aren’t the only options to get what you’re truly after. Smaller studios are perfect, especially when staring out, and in a lot of cases have more advantages.
How Small Studios Enable Big Opportunities
Pixar dominated my mind for all five years of education. After school ended my applications to Pixar, Disney, and BlueSky were all met with silence – I knew I had to go somewhere else. I needed experience, to keep learning – and getting out of my parents’ house and living independently would be a nice plus too. So I opened up all possibilities to small studios anywhere in the world. Opportunity arrived where I least expected. Singapore, at a studio of about fifty international and local artists creating long pantomime skits with Looney Tunes style gags. The tests for the project were entertaining and it were supervised by a veteran animator, so I jumped on a plane, saw two sunrises from the air in thirty hours and found it was far better than anything else I could have done. Not just for my career but my life. Flash forward a year later – I was completely changed.
Small Studios Enable 1-on-1 Mentorship and Growth
The most important thing you can do as your career starts is become a better artist. Raising your game to a high professional level ensures job after job down the line, and having a mentor will accelerate your skill. When a veteran sits down time and time again to pick apart your work, you learn to spot what they look for. The lessons they have learned through years of struggle are distilled down for you in months or even weeks. This is effective learning. Smaller companies are more capable in this regard not because their veterans are necessarily better than those at Disney or ILM but because they have less on their plate; When there are approval screenings, in-house meetings and hundreds of people on staff to look after one-on-one mentoring doesn’t make sense.
Other approaches you can take are internships and apprenticeships. Studios like Disney have an Apprentice Program where you can work under the guidance of a mentor, provided you’re a recent graduate. These I’m sure are amazing for new artists and, if you have the opportunity, make the most of it! It may land you a permanent position or at the very least one hell of an experience. But there are a few downsides to this approach as well.
With big name companies like Disney or Pixar there is huge competition, probably just as much as – if not more than – regular openings. Students all over the world prepare killer art to land them, thousands of demo reels a week from people already animating at a Disney level.
Assuming your internship goes fantastically and they have room to hire you after those three-to-six months, then you may still be at the low end of a totem pole you’ll need to work your way up, among a lot of talented artists.
I wouldn’t suggest avoiding internships, but small studios can skip all of these downsides. Provided the supervisor understands the power of fostering a strong team, you’re bound to learn a lot more from them – constantly. It’s the difference between animating on Tangled with Glen Keane assisting the entire forty-plus Disney animation crew and being one of the three Animation Assistants with Glen Keane on Duet. Imagine how much more you would absorb being one of three animators next to Glen Keane. How often could you see him work, hear him talk, get his feedback?
Just listening to this master talk for a few minutes, as with the interview above, and you start thinking on a whole new level. These are the kinds of opportunities that come and go right under our noses. It doesn’t have to be someone as renowned as Glen either and frequently it wont. Simply look for someone who has more experience than you in an environment where you can interact with them constantly. In Singapore, my first supervisor, James Chiang ensured I became a better artist. He held me to a higher standard, squeezed every ounce of emotion out of a pose, saw my personal struggles, hosted after-hours breakdowns of Woody Allen movies, and took thirty minutes out of his day to draw over my animation frame by frame. That kind of repetition day to day, month to month, makes anyone excel. I reached out to James to get his opinion:
This would all have to be qualified of course, but yes, I believe that in a small studio, you have a much greater opportunity to grow and learn. However, the atmosphere must be designed to enable artists to grow – if the mindset is still that of a robotic production facility, size won’t matter. If done right however, smaller teams allow for much greater collaboration, more innovation and chances to think outside of the box. In larger teams, supervisors are often overburdened with meetings and their own production quota to allow for more personal relationships and richer development. Even as a director, I found that I could grow with a team, rather than just guide the team when the staff count is manageable. I was also able to work with younger artists personally, helping them advance their skills or when needed address unique issues because I made room for one-on-one mentorship. After all, you’re not just setting an example for learning skills for a career, but for life too – helping and giving is a concept to be learned and applied. I think for young artists starting out, they’ll get a better picture of the whole picture.
– James Chiang (Supervising Animator, Director, Character Designer, and Animation Mentor Instructor)
Small Studios Can Give Better Shots
Mentorship compounds your growth when you get challenging shots. Animations or work that pushes your ability in complexity, speed, or entertainment is what takes you to a higher level. Like bench pressing – the struggle to go from lifting 160lbs to 200lbs is what makes you stronger. The same is true for shots – you have to take the opportunity to push yourself but also have a challenge ahead.
Let’s assume you’re a new animator arriving at Pixar, where there are loyal pros who have spent literally decades earning their position, learning from their mistakes, and gaining the trust to work on the most crucial, complex shots. In your first weeks, who do you think is going to get the money shot, You or them? Great shots work down the chain of trusted employees. Out of eighty artists, the most senior people will get the pick of the litter, and by the time it reaches you there will only be table scraps. Sometimes these scraps (eye blinks, head turns) are exactly what you need starting out, but you’ll quickly outgrow them. Being part of a smaller team lets you sidestep these growing pains. You don’t have to spend years proving yourself before getting a chance. If you’re one animator of twelve instead of eighty, you instantly become more indispensable to the company. There is more work available because there are only a few of you to get it all done. This typically means longer, more complex or just more mouth-watering shots. All of these will showcase much more appeal and skill on your demo reel. Back in Singapore at One Animation, a crab fight shot I did on Oddbods was a great example of something fun, challenging and fairly long, a seriously rewarding opportunity for an entry level animator.
Recap and Whats Coming Next
To sum it all up, here are four questions to ask yourself when considering studio jobs in the industry:
Take a hard look at your ‘dream’ studio – why is it truly your dream? Are there other studio options? Who can you learn from there and will they have time to mentor you? Will you get great shots?
These questions will make you look at your future in a new light and clarify what’s truly important. In Part 2 you’ll discover even more benefits of small studios, such as how they can give you a better demo reel, enable adventure, and be more innovative. By the end you’ll have a clearer understanding of where you want to truly work and why.I’m an all-hat-no-cattle kind of rodeo fan, a city kid who one week each fall pulls on a pair of boots and a tooled belt with a big buckle.
My great-uncle Curly was part of the last large livestock drive in Alberta in 1937, but the closest I ever got to the cattle biz was in high school and university when I used to help friends who grew up on ranches brand calves each spring.
Still, I love the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) and would hate to see Edmonton lose it. It’s a great spectator event that gives the whole city a fantastic buzz during the second week of November, not to mention a big boost to our economy.
Yet as much as I enjoy attending the CFR (steer wrestling is my favourite event), if keeping the event in town means Edmontonians being held hostage by rodeo organizers, then it may be time to let another city have a crack at it.
I hope it hasn’t come to that. But on Tuesday, as the March 1 deadline for a new multi-year hosting contract passed, at least the Edmonton side sounded pretty definitive.
The local negotiating committee led by Oilers Entertainment Group, the city and Northlands was all past-tense: The rodeo “was” a great event. It “had been” fun hosting it for the past 43 years. We “would have” liked to keep it, but it “no longer makes any sense to be negotiating the rodeo.”
Door slammed.
But has it been deadbolted?
From the other side, it doesn’t sound over, yet. The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) said Wednesday it had “declined the latest CFR proposal put forward by the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) and the city of Edmonton.” Unanimously.
But the CPRA made it sound like more of a free agent negotiating tactic than a done deal. They represent a superstar (in this case an event rather than an athlete) with a year left on its contract that has decided to go out onto the open market to see what its talents are worth.
And with no trade deadline or free agency start date, the CFR isn’t like an NHL or CFL player. It doesn’t have to wait until next year to start putting out feelers.
Maybe some other city will come back with a better deal. And then again maybe one won’t. No harm on the CPRA’s part in seeing just what kind of market there is.
So the rodeo may not be lost to Edmonton completely.
The CPRA has said it would welcome a proposal from Edmonton, if our city would still like to host the CFR. Let’s hope the city and OEG put in an application.
Their last offer to the CPRA before Tuesday’s deadline sounds very generous — a 44% increase in payments to the rodeo association, plus some other attractive sweeteners. Still it’s not worth breaking the bank to keep the rodeo here.
(The irony, of course, is that the CPRA may be using the same tactic to extract more from OEG that OEG uses to extract things like a new arena from the city: Gives us more or we’re outta here.)
Vancouver is said to be Edmonton’s chief rival — as if rodeo were a good fit with the West Coast vibe.
The CPRA for its part needs to keep in mind what a fan base it has in Alberta and the prairies, and that the excitement generated here may not be transportable over the Rockies.
Edmonton is both large enough to handle an event of this size, yet not so large the event gets swallowed up.
Remember, cowboys, it’s hard parking a pickup in all those smartcar stalls out on the coast.San Francisco police have identified the police officers who shot a man in the Mission District last week.
Officers Craig Tiffe and Eric Reboli shot and killed a man identified by community members and friends as Amilcar Perez-Lopez, a 21-year-old Guatemalan, on the night of Thursday Feb. 26, according to police.
According to police, the night of the shooting, a 911 call came in at 9:44 p.m. and the reporting party told a 911 dispatcher that a male was running with a knife, heading down Folsom Street toward 25th Street. The witness told the dispatcher that the person was chasing after another male.
Police said two plainclothes officers arrived on scene at 9:46 p.m., at which point they allegedly saw a man armed with a knife. The two officers drew their firearms and ordered the suspect to drop the knife. The officers, who police said had their department issued stars visible on their clothes, fired at the suspect.
At 9:47 p.m. the reporting party told the dispatcher that consecutive shots were heard at the scene. Police said the officers fired at Perez-Lopez a total of six times and then requested an ambulance at 9:48 p.m., however Perez-Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Community members have disputed the police version of events and rejected a police claim that Perez-Lopez was trying to steal a bicycle at the time of the shooting.
Police have said the two officers were placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation by the San Francisco Police Department’s homicide detail, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and San Francisco Police Department Internal Affairs.With a busy schedule that may constantly keep us on-the-go, it's difficult to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Eating healthy while away from home Eating healthy while away from home
It's even more of a challenge to eat healthy while you are away from home, traveling for business or pleasure. The key point is to make smart decisions and not allow the travel to become an excuse for unhealthy habits. For this, one needs common sense and discipline in order to avoid the bad foods and keep ourselves healthy.
The goal of packing healthy food while traveling is:
To have convenient, non-processed foods available to you at all times during your travel.
To encourage you to eat every 3-4 hours.
To always combine a protein with a carbohydrate, so that food is absorbed slower and can help keep hunger a bay.
Start the day in a healthy way
Start the day with a healthy breakfast; it makes one more likely to eat well through the day with less snacking on junk food. Have a fresh fruit smoothie with soymilk, with protein powder added and even nutritional enhancers. It is advisable to order hot oatmeal with some raisins or nuts added to it. For egg eaters, they can order poached eggs for less fat.
Eat light foods
While traveling, remember to eat foods that are easy to digest. Soups are a wise choice. Heartier bean soups offer a good source of protein and are more filling; while lighter soups like miso provide an energy and immune system boost. Salads provide adequate amount of fiber and vegetables you need. If the option of a salad bar is available, get peas, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, beets and other colourful vegetables added for a nutrient rich meal. Select grilled chicken over fried (or crunchy).
Big meal at lunch
When possible, eat your main meal at lunch and a light meal at dinner. This is a healthier way to eat whether at home or traveling.
Drink plenty of water
Drink plenty of water to keep your system hydrated while you travel. Keep a water bottle with you so that you have easy access to drink it throughout the day.
Try to explore different eating places
Look for ethnic restaurants that will offer a healthy variety of foods. Japanese cuisine is typically low in fat and because vegetables, seafood, tofu, rice and noodles are used. In a Chinese restaurant, a mixed vegetable dish, with bean curd for the protein can be ordered. Mexican restaurants offer black bean soup, bean burritos and may offer food prepared without fat.
Italian restaurants have a range of fresh green salads with an olive-oil based dressing and also offer minestrone soup which includes vegetables. Or one can even order a pasta dish with marinara sauce and a salad. Thai restaurants are known to use lots of vegetables. In Middle Eastern cuisine, choose combinations of vegetables and healthy grains such as tabouli, couscous, and pita bread. Other healthy foods include falafel with tzatziki, pita and hummus with a couscous salad, lentil soup, spiced lentils with chapattis and legumes, a high-fiber, low-fat source of protein.
Business meeting for dinner
When eating |
the house is quiet and he’s not sure where I am, I’m likely to be snuggled up somewhere on Instagram looking at dresses.
I’d list “looking at dresses” high up there among my favourite things to do to relax (right next to playing a boardgame or watching The Walking Dead).
One of the reasons I like “looking at dresses” so much is the amazing style inspiration, but I also love seeing beautiful women of all shapes and sizes across the world feel beautiful in what they’re wearing. Another reason is that it’s a great way to discover up-and-coming plus size designers – as was the case with Airdrie – better know as Joolz of Joolz Fashion.
I followed Joolz on Instagram for quite some time, always admiring her funky style – colourful and whimsical, feminine, fearless and fun – before I one day realised so many of the outfits she wore that I loved were of her own design. Dude, how cool is that!?
In her bio on Etsy, Airdie explains that she has been designing and making her own clothes for as long as she can remember. “Mum had a sewing machine & made many of our clothes when we were kids (thanks so much for those matching outfits with my sister, Ma!), so it’s never been an unusual choice to sew for myself.”
As a plus size lady herself, she was frustrated by her limited clothing options, so started her own line. “I love dressing up, and I think fashion should be fun, not frustrating! I hope you enjoy my designs as much as I do,” she says.
I discovered that while Joolz is based in Australia, she retails on Etsy, which is basically the best news ever as it means – guess what? – you can order her stuff from just about ANYWHERE.
If you like quirky patterns like I do it’s definitely worth checking out her line of leggings (THOSE FLAMINGO ONES WILL ONE DAY BE MINE), but at my heart we all know I’m a frock girl through and through, and when I laid eyes on the V Dress in lemon and lavender I knew we were meant for eachother.
The dress is made out of of a lovely cotton. It’s light enough to be worn in summer, but it can also be worn on a colder day with a cardi (made to match by Joolz) and stockings, making it quite a versatile piece.
I totally have a thing for dips on the back, and the V neckline – front and back – that the dress is named after is incredibly classic and flattering. The pleats gather beautifully in the waist to enhance your shape, and the skirt is the perfect fullness – flowy, without making you look like a giant cupcake (although, personally, I don’t have too much of a problem looking like an oversized confectionary).
My (rude) man says that the pattern makes him think of pyjamas, but personally I like the incongruity – the dress is a little bit unexpected, and I really love that about it, it gives it an edge for me. In a dream world where I could open my closet and anything I pictured would the there before my eyes, I would love to wear this dress with a lavender belt and heels – and ooh, ooh, imagine it with little glovesies!!
The sweet little cover-up also shouldn’t go without mentioning – it adds just enough warmth to get away with the dress on a sunny winter’s day, without dominating the dress. I think it comes to the perfect length to make it extra flattering – I suspect this won’t be the only outfit it gets incorporated into 🙂
Did I forget to mention that it has pockets. GUYS, IT HAS POCKETS!
So, if you feel a little shopping spree coming on, go on and support an indie plus size designer – I know I, for one, will be keeping close tabs!“This will serve to ‘soften’ the look of the plaza in front of O’Neill,” she explained. “But at the same time, the lawn is designed to still be able to handle — with perhaps some minor adaptations — the regular slate of events and activities taking place there.”
The first few weeks of the project will be “the most intense,” said Nardone, with the removal of most of the granite, brick and concrete on the plaza. Prior to the installation of a new lawn and concrete walkway, the current plaza terraces will be regraded so that the lowest level is even with the entrance to O’Neill Library, thus eliminating the set of stairs currently in place at the library’s entrance.
But perhaps the most striking change, administrators said, will be the addition of 20-foot tulip trees along the front of O’Neill Library and 14-foot flowering pink cherry trees on the opposite side, near the east entrance to Gasson Hall.
“This will be a remarkable ‘before and after,’ and in such a short time,” said Associate Director for Campus Grounds Gina Bellavia, who was involved in the design work.
The project will require fencing off the plaza for the summer, Nardone said, meaning pedestrians will have to use alternate routes between the Middle and Lower Campus — walking around the plaza perimeter when traveling via the Higgins Stairs, the Commonwealth Avenue Garage or the stairway connecting O’Neill to Maloney Hall.
“Admittedly, there will be a disruption in that the plaza has such a high volume of traffic,” she said. “But it will just be for the summer.”
Nardone added that the new-look plaza is part of a series of related projects in the University’s Master Plan that will create an integrated combination of architecture and green space in the Middle Campus area. She cited the Stokes Hall project — which is rapidly nearing completion — and a planned landscape renovation for the Quad as other installments.
“These all are intrinsically important in and of themselves,” she said, “and at the same time, the projects will help make for a unifying vision of Boston College, one that people walking between Stokes and O’Neill will be able to appreciate.”
The team undertaking the project includes landscape architecture by Stephen Stimson Associates, the same firm working on the Stokes Hall project, and construction management by Richard White Sons of Newton. Thomas Runyon, who headed up the recent Gasson Hall renovation, will serve as in-house project manager.
For news and updates on the project, see BCInfo.In the beginning, it was described as a simple “shave and pave” – milling down the old asphalt surface of Roland Avenue in North Baltimore and replacing it with two inches of fresh pavement.
Meanwhile, across town, the resurfacing of Dundalk Avenue from Eastern Avenue to the city line was billed as a straightforward “streetscape” project.
Simple and straightforward projects managed by Baltimore’s Department of Transportation, however, have a way of getting enormously complex – and costly.
For these two streets, what was originally priced at $18 million has risen to $28 million, or 55% more, with additional overruns expected.
To pay for these ballooning costs, the city is using general funds (that’s money derived from your property taxes) and raiding federal highway aid (that’s money diverted from other badly-needed city road and bridge projects).
This week, for example, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Board of Estimates awarded a third “EWO” (extra work order) for the Roland Avenue repave.
The latest influx of $834,559 goes to M. Luis Construction, which corporately and through its CEO, Cidalia Luis-Akbar, has contributed generously to the campaign coffers of two Board of Estimates members, Mayor Rawlings-Blake and City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young.
Hardly Finished
At the same time, the board affirmed yesterday that the Dundalk Avenue project stands at $22 million (up from the original $14 million bid price) thanks to a gaggle of previously-approved EWOs (here and here).
Yesterday’s Board of Estimates agenda included this statement about the Dundalk project:
“This authorization is for a ninety (90) day time extension needed for administrative purposes only. The additional time will not be utilized by the contractor, but for the purpose of conducting the closeout process. The contract expires on October 13, 2015 with a new completion date of January 11, 2016.”
And yet earlier today, when we visited Dundalk Avenue, we found that construction work was clearly still underway. The road was barricaded at various intersections and traffic backed up.
The contractor, Civil Construction LLC, as well as a subcontractor and BGE were all busy working on parts of the unfinished northbound lanes.
In other words, contractors were fully utilizing today the new completion date that City Hall had awarded yesterday for “administrative purposes only.”
Complaining Residents
In regard to Roland Avenue, DOT project engineer Paul Goldbeck put forward a curious explanation for the cost overruns, when speaking last night at the monthly meeting of the Roland Park Civic League.
Parsing his words, he seemed to be saying residents were to blame for the repaving nightmare that has torn up the street for more than six months.
“After we put the pave in,” Goldbeck said, “people were complaining about water issues, drainage issues” caused by the new pavement that nearly reached – and sometimes exceeded – the height of the curbs.
And, yes, there was widespread flooding caused by rainwater that flowed over the diminutive curbs (DOT construction rules call for six-to-eight-inch-high curbs) instead of being directed by the curbs into storm drains.
In Goldbeck’s retelling, it was citizen complaints – not inspections by DOT during the paving process – that triggered what happened next.
“The city,” Goldbeck said, “went back to the drawing board.”
DOT’s solution to the botched repave was to keep the new layer of asphalt and pay Luis to install “six-inch-reveal” curbs and gutters across 22,000 linear feet of roadway between Cold Spring Lane and Deepdene Road.
Plus add some storm drains that somehow were forgotten during the original designwork by DOT.
No Answers
An agency spokeswoman told The Brew in September that the new curbing and related improvements would cost $900,000. As of yesterday, the Board of Estimates had approved $2,008,389 in new EWO overruns.
We asked DOT for details about these costs in a Maryland Public Information Act request made on September 15. Fifty-one days have passed and still no documentation has been forthcoming from the agency.
Last night, Goldbeck told the Civic League that “we are now in the new phase of curb and it is 85% done.” But judging from the appearance of Roland Avenue yesterday, M. Luis and the city have a way to go.
Surveying the street, we saw block after block of landscaping, ADA-accessible ramps, safety “bump-outs,”curbing and storm drain installations that were only partly completed.
Adding to the confusion, DOT is promising to install a “cycle track” along Roland Avenue in the near future.
This will require changes to roadside parking and re-complicate the process of finishing the paving job, especially around the congested retail district anchored by Eddie’s Supermarket.
From its original September deadline, the city has extended the project completion date to March 6, 2016.
That’s four months from now and leaves plenty of room for more EWOs to make their appearance before the spending board.
_____________________________
Fern Shen contributed to this story.Google unveiled a new beta cloud storage offering named Nearline today that aims squarely at the company's biggest rival in the cloud, Amazon Web Services.
Nearline is a public IaaS cloud service that allows customers to store data at a low cost with fast retrieval (in seconds). It competes most directly with AWS's Glacier "cold" storage service, which promises customers inexpensive storage in exchange for long wait times (up to hours) to access data.
+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: The myth about how Amazon's cloud started just won't die +
The move shows that Google is serious about the IaaS cloud market and that AWS, while leading the market, will face intense competition from providers like Google and Microsoft.
Tech Specs
Google engineered Nearline to be an inexpensive storage platform for data with fast response times. It's not an object-storage system that would provide storage for virtual machines, though (Google has its Cloud Storage service for that). Instead, like AWS's Glacier, Nearline will most likely be a good fit for storing data that is not accessed regularly, such as in disaster recovery and backup scenarios. Here are some of the technical specifications:
Google Nearline costs $0.01 per GB for data at rest
Average of 3 second response time for data requests
Automatic data redundancy across multiple physical locations
Integrated application program interfaces (APIs) with other Google Cloud Platform Services
What Nearline really means
Google's release of Nearline puts pressure on AWS. As the market-leading cloud platform, AWS has a variety of storage offerings, from its popular S3 storage service to its Elastic Block Storage to accompany virtual machines, to Glacier – the company's cold storage offering.
Nearline will compete almost directly with Glacier. Whereas Glacier advertises response times of "several hours," Nearline will retrieve data in seconds. It's a big move for the industry, but Gartner cloud research director Kyle Hilgendorf says it's not a fatal blow to Glacier and AWS. The company already has a huge lead it is competing from.
"Although Nearline appears to be highly competitive or more appealing than Glacier – I also do not expect to see mass migrations off of Glacier and onto Nearline. For customers that are already GCP customers – this is a great add. For AWS customers, it's probably not differentiating enough to warrant a big migration. For customers of either or neither provider and for those that have a very specific backup, archive, DR or static content hosting, Nearline could tip the scales in Google's favor. But always remember, storage rarely lives on an island in a provider and customers like to wrap many other services around the storage. So the lead that AWS has on most of their other cloud services will continue to naturally encourage those customers to use S3 and Glacier." - Kyle Hilgendorf
A little help from friends
Along with announcing the new service today, a handful of partners also jumped on the Nearline bangwagon. Companies like Veritas/Symantec, Iron Mountain, NetApp and Geminare will provide backup services based on Nearline, allowing customers to use those storage management platforms on the front end and Nearline on the back end. Geminare has a DRaaS (Diaster Recovery as a Service) offering based on Nearline out today. Google also has an interface for users to consume Nearline directly.
Google beefs up
Nearline helps to build out Google Cloud Platform's catalog of cloud services. In the storage arena alone, Google now has four options for customers: a default object storage service named Cloud Storage (compare this to AWS's S3), a SQL database and a NoSQL database, and now Nearline.
Hilgendorf says one advantage of Google's platform compared to AWS is that Google maintains consistent APIs for all storage services. In AWS, the S3 and Glacier APIs are similar, but there are differences.
That means Nearline can be used for some innovative new use cases beyond just the natural examples of disaster recovery and backup. Hilgendorf says Nearline could support a "policy-based storage" use case, where data that is infrequently accessed would be stored in Nearline. If that data suddenly begins to be accessed more frequently, then the data could automatically be transferred into Cloud Storage, using the same APIs. That is technically feasible with AWS, but transferring from Glacier to S3 could take hours and requires slightly different API calls.
Read more about Nearline in this Google blog post. Sign up for Nearline here. There is no word on when Nearline will be out of beta and into general availability.SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son explicitly called for a deal between SoftBank-owned Sprint (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) in a TV interview, and said combining the No. 3 and 4 wireless carriers would ignite a "massive price war" and more competition in the U.S. market.
Son
In an interview with PBS's Charlie Rose, Son called for the deal in public for the first time. He had previously declined to comment directly on the prospects for a deal between Deutsche Telekom-controlled T-Mobile and Sprint, in which Japan's SoftBank controls an 80 percent stake. Son's comments, released initially on Monday in excerpts of the interview, came ahead of a speech he will give this afternoon at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington.
Regulators have expressed skepticism about such a merger, preferring to keep four national wireless players. Antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice have been particularly vocal in their skepticism, while FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he would keep an open mind on any deal. However, Wheeler has also voiced support for maintaining the prevailing structure of four Tier 1 carriers. Antitrust regulators just three years ago blocked AT&T's (NYSE:T) proposed takeover of T-Mobile, which has since flourished in the market.
Son made it clear he does not yet have a formal deal in place between Sprint and T-Mobile, yet he seemed undaunted. "We would like to make the deal happen, but there are steps and details that we have to work out," Son said during the interview, according to reports. "We have to give a shot."
Son has wanted to acquire T-Mobile since he bought Sprint, an unnamed person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
Son has repeatedly argued that without greater scale, neither Sprint nor any other carrier can effectively compete with Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T. He drove that point home in the interview and made clear that if regulators at the FCC and Department of Justice were to bless a Sprint/T-Mobile deal he would usher in more competition on pricing. He also said he would be willing to sacrifice profitability to attract subscribers and increase market share.
"We need a certain scale, but once we have enough scale to have a level fight, OK," Son said during the interview. "It's a three-heavyweight fight. If I can have a real fight, I go in more massive price war, a technology war."
"I would like to have the real fight, OK? Not the pseudo fight, the real fight," Son added.
Reports have indicated that Son will not directly call for consolidation in his speech today. Instead, he will try to reframe the debate over U.S. wireless consolidation by arguing the benefits of an advanced wireless network that could widely deliver ultra-fast broadband access and improve education and mobile commerce.
SoftBank is now focused on convincing all interested parties of the merits of a merger, an unnamed senior company executive told Reuters, adding that any moves toward pushing for a deal were now on hold.
For more:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article
Related Articles:
Report: In speech, SoftBank's Son won't directly push for Sprint/T-Mobile merger
WSJ: SoftBank's Son challenges Sprint's 'loser' mentality with disruptive, aggressive style
SoftBank's Son to outline views on U.S. wireless industry in speech next week
Dish's Ergen: We won't fight a Sprint bid for T-Mobile
SoftBank's Son pushes for U.S. wireless consolidation
Sprint, SoftBank execs to reconsider T-Mobile bid, according to reportTo see how it works, consider a topic I know well: the recent history of inflation scares.
More than five years have passed since many conservatives started warning that the Federal Reserve, by taking action to contain the financial crisis and boost the economy, was setting the stage for runaway inflation. And, to be fair, that wasn’t a crazy position to take in 2009; I could have told you it was wrong (and, in fact, I did), but you could see where it was coming from.
Over time, however, as the promised inflation kept failing to arrive, there should have come a point when the inflationistas conceded their error and moved on.
In fact, however, few did. Instead, they mostly doubled down on their predictions of doom, and some moved on to conspiracy theorizing, claiming that high inflation was already happening, but was being concealed by government officials.
Why the bad behavior? Nobody likes admitting to mistakes, and all of us — even those of us who try not to — sometimes engage in motivated reasoning, selectively citing facts to support our preconceptions.
But hard as it is to admit one’s own errors, it’s much harder to admit that your entire political movement got it badly wrong. Inflation phobia has always been closely bound up with right-wing politics; to admit that this phobia was misguided would have meant conceding that one whole side of the political divide was fundamentally off base about how the economy works. So most of the inflationistas have responded to the failure of their prediction by becoming more, not less, extreme in their dogma, which will make it even harder for them ever to admit that they, and the political movement they serve, have been wrong all along.Statement on potential Champions League tie against Celtic FC
Linfield Football Club can announce that, following negotiations with all relevant parties, provisional details have been agreed for a potential Champions League second round qualifying tie against Celtic. In the event of the club progressing through the first qualifying round, we have agreed to play the home leg on Friday 14th July at Windsor Park with a 5.00 pm kick off. The potential second leg in Glasgow will be on Wednesday 19th July.
No further details about arrangements for this potential game will be announced until after the conclusion of the first round qualifying ties.
Linfield Chairman Roy McGivern commented:
“I am pleased that agreement has now been reached for us to stage a potential Champions League first leg tie against Celtic FC at Windsor Park on Friday 14th July. I would like to thank all of those involved for their efforts in resolving what was a difficult situation and we can now concentrate fully on our forthcoming games against FC Fiorita from San Marino.”
PSNI Operations Superintendent for Belfast, Norman Haslett said: “Police have been in close contact with representatives from both Linfield and Celtic Football Clubs due to the possibility of a Belfast fixture between the two clubs in July. Public safety concerns surrounding the fixture and the impact on the greater Belfast area over the Twelfth period have featured strongly in our considerations and discussions. I can confirm that all parties have now reached agreement on the arrangements for the match, should it proceed.
“The match, if it comes about, will be played in Belfast on Friday 14th July, with kick off at 5pm. I am hopeful that the game will pass off without incident and that the City of Belfast can be showcased as a great venue for European football.”SEATTLE (AP) — Teachers unions, parents and other groups are suing over Washington’s new charter school law, a measure that was enacted last spring after the state Supreme Court struck down the old law.
In the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court, the organizations say the Legislature’s effort to revive charter schools after the 2015 court decision didn’t actually fix the underlying issue. They say public dollars needed for traditional public schools are still being diverted to privately run charter schools over which voters have no control.
The groups behind the lawsuit include the Washington Education Association, the League of Women Voters, El Centro de la Raza and a variety of labor groups, including Boeing’s Machinists union and the Washington State Labor Council.
The state’s Charter School Commission did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.According to the Los Angeles Times, the average American woman weighs 162.9 pounds and wears a size 14, yet retailers treat her like an anomaly. Almost two-thirds (62%) of American women are considered overweight. Many plus-size women shop online rather than face the unpleasant experience of shopping in a store, yet when they do so they lose the ability to see, touch, or try on merchandise in advance—and often have to return whatever they buy. As Ginia Bellafante wrote in her article “Plus-Size Wars” in the New York Times Magazine, “Given the fit challenges a plus-size customer faces, the shift to a virtual space where nothing can be tried on can seem alienating to her—a directive to wear a muumuu.”
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Just as African-Americans in the South had separate “colored” building entrances, a not-so-subtle form of discrimination occurs in the design of many retail establishments that place plus-size clothing in hidden, hard-to-find locations, out of sight from the rest of us. Full-figured women can shop at plus-size chains such as Lane Bryant or big-box stores such as Kohl’s and Target. Walmart is the top seller of plus-size apparel in the United States. Yet women who seek more style and fashion at mainstream department stores often feel like second-class citizens. And many retail stores don’t even sell plus-size clothes at all, although they may have them available online. The message sent to plus-size customers: “You’re not good enough to shop here.” The message sent to plus-size customers: “You’re not good enough to shop here.” As a result, large women face a catch-22: They purchase less than they might otherwise because they don’t find enough appealing merchandise in stores, hence retailers point to poor sales figures as evidence of low demand and fail to provide the supply. JC Penny [Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images] Many blogs, websites like A Curvy Cupcake, and Instagram hashtags like #ThisIsPlus have helped plus-size women band together to show the world what a plus-size looks like and how it differs from the simplistic depiction in the fashion world, to share their experiences with each other, and to accept and celebrate their bodies as they are. By contrast, the men’s sector of plus-size clothing is called “Big & Tall,” a less derogatory term that typically covers men with waist sizes 40 or greater, or over 6’2″ tall. My student Joanne Muniz and I spent the past year studying “the plus-size displacement,” or how retail-store design affects plus-size consumers’ experiences. We discovered several previous studies focusing on “fat stigma” and “fat talk” and how these concepts affected shoppers’ self-images and level of satisfaction with their shopping experience. Yet we found relatively little information about the impact of the layout and design of the retail environment.
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So we visited several stores at our regional shopping mall, where we documented in-store signage, mannequins, target images, merchandise displays, fitting rooms, and proximity of store entrances, all of which can influence plus-size shoppers’ experience. Among our most striking observations were that at department stores, the plus-size clothing aisles were often just as cramped and crowded as those in the rest of the store, an uncomfortable situation that also led to circulation problems. In several instances, we found a conspicuous lack of mirrors and very few mannequins, and those mannequins we did find often looked about the same size as everywhere else in the store. By comparison, in a store exclusively for plus-size shoppers, we observed mannequins prominently displayed near the entrance. Warm, bright colors were used to make customers feel welcome, plus-size people were used in store images, and aisles were spacious. According to the store manager, “the approach is to make the plus-size shopper feel comfortable, cared for, and, most of all, worthy.” Lane Bryant [Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images] We developed an online survey to find out more about plus-size respondents and their typical shopping experiences, and we received 80 responses, including both women (84%) and men (16%), ranging in age from 15 to over 50. Most had a waist size from 40 to 52 inches, a shirt size from XL to 4X, and pant sizes between 16 and 52. Their responses to our questions about the layout and design of plus-size sections were striking: Only a quarter (25%) said they typically found the plus-size area accessible and unobstructed.
Only 18% said the plus-size section was welcoming. Only 18% said they could locate plus-size mannequins in the store.
Only 15% of the respondents said they could easily locate the plus-size area once they entered a store.
Only 14% said they could easily locate images of people who looked like them in the store.
Only 13% said the plus-size section was easy to navigate. Only 13% said they could see the store entrances from the plus-size section.
Only 11% said they could easily find the fitting rooms from the plus-size section.
Only 9% said the plus-size section aisles were spacious. In a nutshell, the respondents found the layout and design of plus-size sections to be inadequate for their needs.
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And their customer experiences revealed a great deal of dissatisfaction. Just over a quarter (26%) said they felt comfortable purchasing plus-size apparel in mainstream apparel stores, only 23% said they felt comfortable with the store atmosphere in the plus-size section, only 20% said they were able to find apparel variety in the plus-size section, 19% said the clothing displays in plus-size sections invited them to make purchases, 19% said sales associates motivated them to purchase apparel, 14% said sales associates were attentive, and only 10% said their overall shopping experience was agreeable. “Forcing fat people to retreat to the rear of a store speaks volumes: Store owners don’t want to wait on fat people.” When asked to elaborate on their experiences purchasing plus-size apparel, and how the location, layout, and design of the plus-size section in the store makes them feel, many stated that they felt ostracized and treated like “second-class citizens,” uncomfortable, stressed out, frustrated, and unmotivated to return. Among the worst experiences: “I felt a bit asphyxiated.” By contrast, several had their best experiences when shopping in plus-size-only stores, where they found plenty of clothing variety, as well as sales associates with a similar body type to their own, and where they could relate to the images portrayed. Still others could not even describe a “best experience” shopping for plus-size apparel in a store at all. What changes did they want to see in the design of retail environments for plus-size shoppers? They called for larger plus-size sections, more clothing variety, more plus-size mannequins, better signage, more spacious aisles, and larger fitting rooms. But the following comment said it all: “Make the plus-size section more roomy, attractive, near the entrance of your store! Forcing fat people to retreat to the rear of a store speaks volumes: Store owners don’t want to wait on fat people!” This article was adapted with permission from Defined by Design by Kathryn H. Anthony (Prometheus Books, 2017). Buy a copy here.Dead Mule Pottery
The SLC Farmer's Market is still swangin' each and every Saturday, and might we suggest you work your way to Dead Mule Pottery for some seriously hand-thrown ceramics. Austin Riddle is a Salt Lake local, and if Everett Ruess had worked the wheel instead of becoming a writer, his works probably would have wielded a look similar to this. Austin depicts mules, bison, and desert colors that lend a wise-beyond-his-years look to his obvious Utah-rooted style, but you’ll also find some southern-inspired pieces with impressive, hand-drawn portraits of jazz musicians and classic moonshine jugs worthy of a no-shirt 'n' overalls front-porch jig. Austin has been hooked on pottery since his first highschool class; today you'll find him at the U studying under COLLECTIVE favorites, Andy Nasisse & Lauren Gallaspy. He uses a hand built ‘soda kiln’ which gives his pottery unpredictable and awesome results. This is some kick-ass [boom, nailed it] pottery worth a spot on the mantle/bedside table/liquor cabinet. Go give the man some well-deserved love.
Dead Mule Pottery | SLC Farmers Market, each Saturday + TuesdayNo one can blame Great Britain for exiting the European Union after seeing what took place recently at the 2016 IFBB World Children Fitness Championship in Novi Sad, Serbia. Yes, there is an entire show dedicated to parading half-naked children (male and female) on stage for the pleasure of adults…perhaps some more than others.
Surely this is totally innocent and not intended for pedophiles to get off on. But the entire thing is morally wrong and eclipses the fit model divisions, with which the IFBB seemed too have hit rock bottom. But never say never when it comes to the international federation that will visit the gutter for a dollar.
To be clear, this contest is a part of the IFBB international amateur schedule and not either the NPC or IFBB Professional League’s.
There were seven separate divisions with one including girls as young as five or six years of age. Here is the breakdown:
*Fitness Boys (up to 12 years)
*Fitness Boys (13-15 years)
*Fitness Girls (up to 7 years)
*Fitness Girls (8-9 years)
*Fitness Girls (10-11 years)
*Fitness Girls (12-13 years)
*Fitness Girls (14-15 years)
Many of these divisions had numerous competitors, numbering in the twenties. It was not as if this was just some novelty filler class. Quite the contrary, this was a full-blown competition for grade school children to prance and pose wearing skimpy clothing in front of judges and audience members. They were placed and the top six in each division received trophies after three scoring rounds.
If someone wants to have their kids jumping around in a tu-tu, then enter them in your local gymnastics center. A stage that is used for adults showing their wares at fitness/physique competitions with an overall sexual connotation (especially with the females) is no place for little kids, especially when the object is too wear as little clothing as possible.
Any parent that disagrees with this needs to take stock of themselves and what they perceive as right and wrong. There is no doubt that having your child’s photos and videos posted online for every registered sex offender to see and potentially masturbate to is neglectful or worse.
This is the awful reality television show “Toddlers and Tiaras” on steroids, if you will.
All of the divisions included rounds for routine and ‘swimsuit’ comparisons, much like the any other federation would hold for its fitness category. Garish costumes were aplenty for boys and girls alike and the one saving grace was that the swimsuits for both sexes were not of the thong variety.
Seeing kindergarten age little girls with pigtails wearing competitor numbers while holding a bikini/figure pose and doing quarter turns to the right is douche chill-inducing. Even posting these photos for this story made us feel quite uncomfortable, to be truthful.
We have said it before and have to say it again – the IFBB is a money-hungry organization that will do anything for a buck.
The physique and fitness world is no place for children and this is not a sport like soccer and baseball where playing at the pee wee level is cute. This is disgusting and an embarrassment for the entire industry.
And this is not the first time that this show was held, either. 2016 was the SEVENTH time that the IFBB has put this spectacle on. As stated on IFBB.com, this is called an “important event” with “more and more children” who are the sport’s “future champions.” Novi Sad has had the ‘pleasure’ of hosting this event in each of the last five years, thus gaining the moniker the “world capital of children’s fitness” on the league’s official website.
MuscleSport Magazine has requested a comment from IFBB President Dr. Rafael Santoja. As of this writing, the request has not been answered.
Photos: Courtesy of East Labs.sk/Facebook“This list… is an absolute good. The list is life. All around its margins lies the gulf.”
SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)
Thursday, November 6 - 7:30PM Aero Theatre, Santa Monica, CA
GRAND PERFOMANCES: THE FILMS OF RALPH FIENNES
Rare Screening! USC Shoah Foundation Fundraiser
Proceeds from this special screening benefit USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education, dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action.
Steven Spielberg’s SCHINDLER’S LIST tells the incredible true story of the enigmatic Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who risked his career and life to employ and save 1,100 Jews in his factory during the Holocaust. A triumph of the human spirit in the face of devastation and tragedy, the film stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley, and took home seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
35mm print!
TICKETSPaint in Your Bullet Journal
*This post contains affiliate links.
So you can paint with watercolors in your bullet journal? Who would have thought! I just recently stumbled upon this beautiful painting kit for your bullet journal and I had to share it! You can view the video below and find more from here at Between the Steps.
And for under $30 you can purchase this beautiful paint set for your bullet journal here!
Under $30 on Amazon!
Bullet Journal Watercolor Painting – Why Not?
This is one of the more interesting reasons to bullet journal, as it shows that it is not all about organizing tasks but organizing your mentality as well. And if painting inside your journal helps you draw out more creative thoughts, why not? You can add special inspirational messages to keep you not only on task but happy and filled with positivity to get them done. Everyone needs a little push, and that is what you can give yourself in your bullet journal.
You can even add special inspirational messages to keep you not only on task but happy and filled with positivity to get them done. Everyone needs a little push, and that is what you can give yourself in your bullet journal.
Art as Inspiration
There are so many thigs you can use a bullet journal for but that is the power of this type of journaling; it is up to you and you alone in what its use can be. Try it out for yourself and see why so many other people are jumping on board with this process.You can even paint in it – it’s your inspiration to get things done!
You can even paint in it – it’s your inspiration to get things done!
Here is her beautiful piece of art! I had no idea you can paint in your bullet journal! Sweet!
Here is another post on awesome watercolor techniques you can use in your bullet journal
Found this beautiful spread and had to include it! Find the artist, Basia, here (blog) and here (instagram)!
45 Bullet Journal List Ideas – Download for Free!
Instantly Download the 45 Bullet Journal Lists &
Bonus 14 Gratitude List Ideas for your Bullet JournalThe official website for the television anime adaptation of Satoshi Hase and redjuice's |
risk - Harry would be actively consolidating power while Alexio waited in safety. No, Alexio knew he needed to start now. Because at some point, he would have enough power to be a threat to Harry Potter, and Alexio needed to make absolutely sure that his backstory did not simply start in 1993, with him as a newcomer who didn't speak the language. He needed to be someone who always spoke eloquently, but had chosen not to. Someone that had stories about him that easily predated his arrival.
Luckily Alexio had Vincent's example as a prototype. Be big, act stupid, speak only when absolutely necessary. Never break eye contact first, no matter how much you were afraid. Knowing he didn't need a wand in his hand helped calm his nerves. Alexio glanced over at the two, who were laughing now. They had made their decision. He turned his gaze to the television. The announcers still spoke too quickly (except for the news announcers) but they tended to have clear diction and usually never said anything complicated.
Tomas saw Alexio, sitting on the other side of the bar and watching them impassively for a few seconds before his eyes flickered over to the television and started watching the random trash it played. He and Duarte walked back over to Alexio, and Duarte slapped the big man on the back.
"Well, Alexio, it appears we will be working together. The only thing you should know is, I prefer redheads. So no making moves on any of them. Got it?" Duarte said.
Alexio just let out an amused snort, shrugging his shoulders. Tomas laughed.
"And how are you feeling tonight, little one?" Afonso Farias asked as he gently kissed his daughter's forehead. He could feel the slight fever in his lips, still there, but much reduced from the summer, when things had looked bleak. The doctors couldn't explain it, one had simply said it was a miracle but the others just quietly admitted that there was still a lot to learn about human physiology, and the body had defenses they didn't understand.
"I feel good, Father," Ana said. "Nanny read to me after lunch. We had soup for lunch," she added.
"That's good," Afonso added. He'd of course gotten a detailed update from Ana's nanny when he'd arrived home, and he knew that his daughter still slept about half the day. Her strength was returning slowly, but it was better than the alternative. It was barely sunset, and already her eyelids were drooping. "Perhaps you should get some sleep, my sweet," he said.
"You also, Father. You look very tired," she said, but her voice was already fading. Afonso nodded. He'd felt tired for the last year, strained by the experience of caring for his late wife and his recovering daughter. He watched her fall into a peaceful slumber for a few minutes, then went into the kitchen and prepared a small dinner and ate in front of the television, watching Baovista's latest match. They'd just been promoted to the second division, so they were getting thrashed. The score was still nil-nil, but it was only a matter of time. Afonso sighed as he cleaned up the dishes. No point in watching, he was tired. A small noise startled him and he turned to see a large looming figure in the kitchen point a stick and say a word. Afonso froze, muscles locked, and crashed into the floor. The man - nearly two meters tall and with curly black hair and a hardened jaw, looked unkempt, like he hadn't shaved in days, but he easily picked up Afonso and through him over his shoulder, saying nothing.
Afonso panicked, unable to move. Why am I frozen? And what did the man say? It wasn't Portuguese, it sounded vaguely like English. Or corrupted Latin, perhaps. Playing the scene back in his mind, Afonso was startled to see he was being carried up the attic ladder and started to whisper a prayer.
As he finished, the figured deposited him into a comfortable leather chair. The attic wasn't like he'd left it, full of boxes. The clutter had been replaced by a reasonable (if spartan) set of furniture. Afonso's eye's glanced around and saw a desk, bookshelf, chair, and a small mattress on the floor. The figure walked over to the small television placed in the center of his view and turned it on, pushing a VCR tape into the machine. He then simply went back down the ladder.
The tv screen flickered for a moment, and then Afonso saw... himself.
"Do not be afraid, little conqueror," he said. Little conqueror was a nickname Afonso's father had bestowed on him when he was eight. "The man who did this to you is our guest. He is a warlock, or some such. He asked us for help with learning the language and the city, and to hide him. In exchange, he is helping Ana. He cannot cure her, that is beyond his power, but you've seen he does have power. But he is helping. And he has promised that once he is fluent in Portuguese he will find someone who can cure her. Perhaps we should not believe him. But what can we do? A few hours of lessons most nights, and then we forget about him. Perhaps in a year, he will be gone. It is a fair deal."
While listening with growing confusion, Afonso could hear the man downstairs, making a plate of food for himself. By the time the tape ended, the heavy footsteps climbed back up the ladder. The man set down a rather large sandwich on his writing desk and then took out his wand and said a few words. Prepared this time, Afonso recognized the words. Finite Incantatem.
"Good evening, Professor Farias, and my apologies," the man said. He spoke slowly and carefully, as if following the carpenter's adage to measure twice and cut only once. When he finished speaking he set down his wand and picked up the sandwich, then took a bite. Afonso stood up slowly and cautiously. He started to say something, then paused. The man - the warlock, Afonso had said on the tape - stopped chewing and swallowed.
"I know what you are thinking. About the police," the man said, then took another bite, then picked up a sheet of paper and walked over and deposited it on the tray table besides the leather chair. Afonso picked it up. The handwriting's elegance didn't hide the clumsiness of the language, but clearly the man had a much better grasp of written Portuguese than spoken. Or perhaps just had more time to compose his thoughts.
Apart from the fact that you trust your words on the television, I am helping your daughter's recovery. Private tutoring is a small price to pay for that, even if it must be clumsy because you do not remember each session. And since you always ask each night, removing your memories is as much for your safety as mine, as I have powerful enemies who are hunting for me. And you know the police would laugh at you, or much worse.
As for my name, we've generally gone with Orpheus. Please critique the writing on this letter while I finish eating. Also, can you tell where I am from?
"You are English, Orpheus," Afonso said, voice steadying after a few words.
"How do you know?" asked Orpheus, before taking another bite.
"Your accent is good, but your sentence construction betrays you. And in any case, no native would consider going to the police a serious threat. At least, not from someone who wasn't wealthy." Afonso spoke slowly, but Orpheus repeated the sentence back, emphasizing a few words, which Afonso translated into English. It took several repetitions, but Orpheus grasped it. He is, actually, a surprisingly attentive student.
Orpheus nodded at the sentence, one he grasped its meaning, and chuckled at the last part before swallowing the last of the sandwich.
Afonso looked up. "That is it, isn't it? You will consider yourself fluent when I cannot guess your accent?" While Orpheus struggled with that sentence, particularly with the word fluent, Afonso walked over to the bookshelf and read the titles. An entire row of books on elementary Portuguese, and some tourist guides for Brazil and also Portugal. More interesting were the scrolls and ancient looking tomes that could have been pulled from a movie or child's fairy tale. English books with bizarre yet somehow mundane sounding names, Intermediate Transfigurations, Practical Divinations for Everyone, Runic Lore, and seven volumes of Miranda Grawshank's Standard Book of Spells. Names that implied that 'wizard' might simply be another trade, like professor, lawyer, mechanic or scientist. Beside the bookshelf a small cauldron bubbled quietly.
"Yes," Orpheus said. "You said another year to be fluent. Ana should be fine within a few months. I cannot cure her. Healing magics are not... mine. I can brew palliative formulas."
"A surprisingly complex word, palliative," Afonso said.
"Which you taught me. Now, the letter? I've written more, Correct them for mistakes. Formal language for writing, common language for speaking. Correct anything I say. We have ninety minutes left, to work. Then we both sleep."
Author's Note - The final chapter will be posted on Christmas Eve.Allegiant Travel Co. (ALGT) said it plans to purchase up to nine used A320 aircraft. The average age of the aircraft at delivery is expected to be 12 years with a configuration of 177 seats. The aircraft have been most recently operated by Iberia.
Seven aircraft are expected to be purchased in 2013 and the remaining two in 2014. With the addition of this transaction, Allegiant is now expecting 2013 total CAPEX to be between $270 million and $280 million compared to the previous guidance of $150 million to $160 million.
Allegiant expects to place the first A320 into service late in the third quarter of 2013. All nine aircraft are expected to be in service by the end of 2014. No additional MD-80 retirements are planned as a result of this deal. The company expects to finance the purchase with debt.
Andrew Levy, Allegiant President, said, "The A320 aircraft type is a perfect complement to the smaller A319 and will enable us to continue cost effective growth for years to come."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business NewsThere have been a lot of unfounded rumors and speculation about KitKat and the Nexus 5 (and even the good old Nexus 4) floating around the web in the last few days, so why don't we take a break from those and switch things up for a change? Here is the work-in-progress UI from the next major update to the Play Store app for Android, version 4.4 (just to be clear: the Play Store's version is 4.4 - I'm not talking about Android 4.4).
What's new?
The biggest change, as you can see, is the move to the "hamburger"-style slide-out navigation. The current version of the Play Store app, 4.3.11, which you can see in the 6th screenshot, has everything crammed into a single menu.
Play Store 4.4
Left, middle: Play Store 4.4; right: Play Store 4.3 with everything in a single menu
The slide-out navigation has the following tabs:
Store home
My apps, My movies & TV, etc., depending on the section you're currently in
Shop - this one doesn't appear at all times
My wishlist
Redeem
The menu, shown in the 4th screenshot, is now down to just Settings and Help - exactly how it should be.
As I mentioned, this is work-in-progress, so I'm expecting further refinements by the time Google starts pushing it to devices around the globe.
Update: Uh-oh, I think they're onto us.
Rumor time
And now, it's time for a little rumor. While the build that I've seen doesn't have other UI changes, I've heard that Google will change all the things to be even more card-like. The UI transformations will be akin to the latest Gmail update - something I'm quite excited to see myself. Once again, it's just a rumor until we see some evidence, which I'm hoping to dig up at some point.
Release timeframe
Play Store 4.4 should at the very minimum be released with KitKat, as it's already being tested on Android 4.4 devices (4.4 on 4.4, get it?). Whether we'll see it pop up earlier or not is, unfortunately, unknown to me at this point.
As for compatibility, don't fret - v4.4 is backwards compatible all the way back to Froyo.
Poll
Do you like this new direction for the Play Store? Yes
No
Don't care
I like polls with at least 4 options View Results
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APK
Sorry, this is not something I can share at this time. Bummer, I know. This version is not complete anyway, from what I can tell, so let's just give Google some time to drive it to completion.
Thanks, anon!On Friday, June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision ruling that gay marriage is legal in all states. In this sweeping decision, the Court has determined that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. The LGBT communities throughout Texas are claiming a victory in this decision that recognizes equal rights to marriage for all couples.
The issues presented to the Court were twofold. First, the Court was to determine whether a state was permitted to enact legislation prohibiting same-sex marriages. The second issue was whether a state could refuse to issue a divorce to a same-sex couple legally married in another state. In ruling that gay marriage is legal in all states, the Court effectively addressed both issues. States now must both permit same-sex marriages and they must issue a divorce to a same-sex couple that has been legally married.
The impact of this decision will most certainly affect local agencies. Clerks in the metroplex have begun to prepare for the likely increase in requests for the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Similarly, family law courts are preparing for an increase in filing for petitions for divorce by same-sex couples. This is certainly true in Texas where Courts have been reluctant to issue a divorce to a same-sex couple even if they had been legally married in another state.
The decision issued by the Supreme Court has opened the door for gay and lesbian couples to exercise the same rights previously granted only to a marriage between a man and woman. The right to marry for same-sex couples however is only the first step that many such couples will face in being granted an equal right to marry. Same-sex couples that elect to marry will now have to address issues including IRS filings, claims for personal injury, child custody determinations, and jointly filing for bankruptcy. These matters will likely take time to resolve through the courts with many same-sex couples working with attorneys to continue to work though the rights of gay and lesbian couples.
Faun Rowland is an attorney that has been practicing in the area of family law for fifteen years. In addition, she has been an adjunct professor of law at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas for approximately seven years.Big Sound Comes In Small Packages
Dave Smith’s first-ever offering for modular synthesizer users is a big one—the DSM01 Curtis Filter, the very heart and soul of the Dave Smith sound. Featured in everything from Dave’s vintage Sequential synths to his recent cutting-edge instruments such as the Prophet 12, the Curtis tone is brash, saturated, and powerful.
Plug It and Play It
The DSM01 is a compact, 8 HP Eurorack-format module. Plug it into your modular system and that classic Curtis sonic signature is instantly within a patch chord’s reach. The filter is a resonant low-pass design that can be switched between -12 dB and -24 dB operation and driven into self-oscillation in -24 dB mode. A Boost switch lets you overdrive the input stage for more aggressive coloration.
Integrated VCA
In addition to its Curtis filter, the DSM01 provides its own responsive, low-noise VCA with LED CV indicator. There are two separate outputs—one pre-amplifier and the other post-amplifier. This not only gives you added signal routing flexibility, but also frees your system’s existing VCAs for other tasks.
Give Your Modular System the Edge
If you’re a typical modular user, you’re always on the lookout for new and interesting components to enhance your system. The DSM01 is an easy and affordable way to give your system a new sonic edge—with the filter that’s brought some of the world’s most in-demand synths their classic tone and vibe.Stunning picture, deeper colors
Chromecast Ultra supports 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision, so you’ll get a crisper picture with higher resolution and more vibrant colors. At first, you'll be able to stream 4K content from Netflix, YouTube and Vudu, and we’re working to bring more 4K and HDR content on board. Later this year, Google Play Movies & TV will be rolling out 4K content. Even if your TV isn’t 4K-ready, Chromecast Ultra automatically optimizes your TV’s picture.
Faster than ever, with optional Ethernet port
Chromecast Ultra loads videos 1.8 times faster than other Chromecast devices and includes major Wi-Fi improvements to support streams from full HD to Ultra HD without a hitch. For those tricky Wi-Fi environments, we’re also adding Ethernet support for a wired connection.
Everything you love about Chromecast
Just like the original Chromecast, you can cast all of your favorite content from thousands of apps using your phone, tablet or laptop. Mirror any content from your Android device or from a browser tab on your laptop (using Chrome) to the TV. And it comes in a small size that hides nicely behind your TV, without adding clutter to your living room.
Works with Google Home
Today we also introduced Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. With Google Home, you can play music, get answers from Google, manage your everyday tasks, and control smart home devices, like Chromecast. Combined with Chromecast or Chromecast Ultra, use Google Home to control your TV — completely hands free. Simply say “Ok, Google, play the Jungle Book trailer on my TV” to watch the YouTube video on the big screen.
Chromecast Ultra will be available in November for $69 from Best Buy, the Google Store, Target, and Walmart in the U.S., as well as from international retailers in 15 more countries.
Join the waitlist on the Google Store and we’ll let you know when you can get your hands on Chromecast Ultra, so you can start enjoying some seriously crisp entertainment.Britain risks losing its competitive edge because a generation of children is no longer interested in winning on the sporting field, according to research.
Figures show the majority of children are not bothered if the competitive element is removed from football, cricket, rugby and hockey fixtures, saying playing for fun or being with friends is more important.
It emerged that mothers and fathers place a considerably greater focus on winning or losing, with some even admitting they would not watch their children play sport if there was no final result.
The disclosure, in a study by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and cricketing charity Chance to Shine, will fuel concerns that a "prizes for all" culture in schools over the last few decades has eroded children's competitive spirit.
It follows a report from Ofsted last year that found a third of primary schools were failing to provide effective PE for pupils, with children not being given proper warm ups, able athletes ignored and a failure to focus on strenuous exercise.
According to the latest study, 64 per cent of children admitted that they would be "relieved or not bothered" if the competitive element was removed from sport.
Girls were slightly more likely than boys to agree with the statement.
The findings prompted claims that competition was "frowned upon" in too many state schools.
Chris McGovern, a former head teacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "Children are instinctively competitive but there's a culture in a large number of state-maintained schools that takes this away to make sure everyone gets a fair crack.
"It's sinister and will result in many children not realising their full potential. That's not the case in our private schools which is why the Olympics squad and the cricket team are full of people who were privately-educated."
The study was released as Chance to Shine prepared to launch a national campaign designed to emphasise the importance of competitive sport, with coaches delivering assemblies and sporting sessions to children in 5,500 state schools in coming years.
Wasim Khan, the charity's chief executive, said: "It is worrying to see that so many children would be relieved to see competition removed from sport. We want to teach children the importance of playing sport competitively and fairly and for them to see the benefits that it can bring to their lives."
Derek Brewer, MCC chief executive, added: "The combination of competition and fair play is integral to the MCC Spirit of Cricket message, so to see the results of this survey is a concern."
The study was based on a survey of 1,000 children aged eight to 16 and 1,000 parents.
Children were asked how they would feel "if winning and losing was removed from sport".
Answers included the view that it would be fine "as long as I got to play", while some answered with, "it wouldn't bother me", "it would make me less anxious" and "it would make me happier".
Just under a quarter of the parents questioned admitted that they would be "less interested in their son or daughter's school sports if there was no competition involved".
The poll also suggested that more "pushy parents" are making their voices heard on the touchline.
About 86 per cent of children and 97 per cent of parents said that they felt there were some mothers and fathers that were "more concerned about winning than the children themselves".
When asked to list the "best thing about sport", some pupils responded with phrases such as "time off lessons", "fun" and "being with my pals".
The Government has pledged to restore competitive sport to the heart of the timetable following the success of the 2012 London Olympics.
Ministers have made 300m available over two years to raise standards of sport and PE in primary schools, with heads expected to spend it on specialist games teachers, running sport competitions and improving facilities.
Sports such as football, cricket, rugby and hockey also have been given more prominence in the curriculum and an Olympic-style tournament - featuring local, regional and national events - has been introduced to create more competition.I have been a neighbourhood PC for four years, in a police force savaged by cuts. I’ve just been told that I will have to reapply for my job because my patch is being combined with the next. If I keep my job, I’ve been told to prepare for less response officers and more working alone – known as single crewing.
Like every other force we anticipated a massive 40% reduction in our budget in the last round of cuts. “Luckily” it has only been 20%, but that means job have had to go. It’s hard to be motivated by crime fighting and justice any more; instead we shoot from job to job, firefighting with dwindling resources.
I’m responsible for maintaining a police presence in an area that has historically been extremely hostile towards us. I start the day by reading my daily corporate diet of faceless, all-user emails from HQ. Alone, I review the briefings that warn me of several crime sprees we seem powerless to prevent, and then I head out.
I joined the police to make a difference, but now I'm stuck in a call centre Read more
I’m constantly contacted by the control room via my radio. The response team – whose job it is to go to the 999 calls – is short-staffed again and they want me to help out. In my area there are only eight officers on response for a population close to 130,000 people.
I can’t attend the jobs because there aren’t enough vehicles, as usual. With no-one able to respond, The control sergeant manages to downgrade both jobs from immediate to urgent, giving the response team an hour to get there, rather than 15 minutes.
Some of the jobs don’t receive attention for days as there aren’t enough officers to respond.
As I walk to my patch I’m joined by a community support officer (PCSO) and we see a group of teens terrorising the town centre. They ride bikes on the pavement, assault other children and generally cause havoc to other members of the public. I spot one of the kids with whom I have a decent rapport. He’s wearing police custody flip flops as he’s just been released from custody and we’ve seized all his other shoes.
He’s a clever kid and funny too. We drag him to a sports shop and buy him a pair of trainers. I leave a message on his social worker’s voicemail, but they’re as stretched as we are.
I remember my first arrest – he was 12 and knew the caution better than I did Read more
As I patrol I can feel eyes staring at me. I’m a rare sight. Five years ago there were two neighbourhood PCs per area. Most areas have already been amalgamated and most have one PC left, with two or maybe three PCSOs per area. In the rural part of the county it’s even worse so I should count myself lucky. Literally hundreds of miles of quaint countryside have one stressed PC.
The area I police is predominantly Muslim, and I think it’s important to be able to relate to and understand the locals. But I have so little time to understand what’s causing crime there. The main way we’re encouraged to engage with the public is via social media, which, as we lose more officers, seems to have replaced actual interaction. Our force has just discovered social media and we now spew out corporate messages designed to be PR friendly and extremely tame, to conceal the fact that we’re sinking.
Back at the nick I hang up my stabbie and a colleague tells me he’s leaving after obtaining qualifications elsewhere. He’s the latest in a long list of people getting out.
I walk past the fresh young faces of the probationers coming on for the late shift. How long until they are jaded like me? It’s been a long time since I was excited or proud of my job. I wish I could provide the service the public deserves, but I can’t.
This series aims to give a voice to the staff behind the public services that are hit by mounting cuts and rising demand, and so often denigrated by the press, politicians and public. If you would like to write an article for the series, contact kirstie.brewer@theguardian.com
Talk to us on Twitter via @Guardianpublic and sign up for your free weekly Guardian Public Leaders newsletter with news and analysis sent direct to you every Thursday.“The Report depicts a United Nations that failed to respond meaningfully when faced with information about reprehensible crimes against vulnerable children,” Mr. Ban said in a statement following receipt of the Report of the External Independent Review of the United Nations Response to Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the Central African Republic, which was made public today.
The review panel, chaired by Marie Deschamps, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, was set up by the Secretary-General in June to examine the UN response to the allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of children by foreign military forces not under UN command and assess the adequacy of the procedures in place.
In the spring of 2014, allegations came to light that international troops serving as peacekeepers in CAR had sexually abused a number of young children in exchange for food or money. The alleged perpetrators were largely from a French military force known as Sangaris, which was operating under authorization of the Security Council but not under UN command.
“I express my profound regret that these children were betrayed by the very people sent to protect them,” said Mr. Ban. “Though the soldiers who committed the abuses were not under United Nations command, the Report shows that the United Nations, which uncovered the abuse, did not subsequently handle the case with the speed, care or sensitivity required.”
The Report found that three UN officials abused their authority: the then head of the human rights component of the UN mission in CAR (MINUSCA); the then Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of MINUSCA; and the then Under-Secretary-General for the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). Given the gravity of these findings, Mr. Ban said he will act quickly to determine what action might be necessary.
“To uphold the fundamental principle of accountability, and in the light of the history of allegations of sexual abuse by troops in the Central African Republic, including the current allegations, I had previously asked one of them – my Special Representative for the Central African Republic – to resign,” he stated, referring to Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye.
The Report also found that, while there were some shortcomings in the performance of several other UN officials and offices, they had not abused their authority.
“I believe that missteps by these individuals were largely a product of flawed systems. I intend to study these cases further to ensure that all individuals and offices heed the lessons of this review.”
According to its Chair, the panel found that, within the UN, responding to allegations of sexual violence is the responsibility of many but of no one in particular, resulting in a situation where documents “pass from inbox to inbox” and everyone thinks that someone else will take responsibility.
“Most importantly, the lack of coordination between policies leaves most victims unattended and vulnerable,” Ms. Deschamps told a news conference at UN Headquarters, joined by fellow panellists Yasmin Sooka, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa, and Hassan Jallow, the Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
Ms. Deschamps said the shortcomings in the policies materialized in the response of the UN to the allegations in CAR. “Instead of reporting the allegations in an urgent manner, as the egregiousness of the alleged conduct dictated, they were kept quiet. As those who followed the matter know, it took months before France was given details on the allegations.”
In addition, she noted that while a human rights officer and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) staff initially investigated the allegations, there was no follow-up to the interviews.
“Those UN staff who came across the information did not feel concerned or took the position that someone else should address or was addressing the problem. In our view, this was a serious failure. Not only did this show abuse of authority by senior officials on an individual basis, but it also highlights deficiencies at an institutional level.”
Mr. Ban said he intended to urgently review the panel’s recommendations and act without delay to ensure that systemic issues, fragmentation and other problems are fully addressed. He stressed, however, that some of these recommendations will require the involvement and approval of Member States.
He recalled that over the years, the UN has put in place a host of measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by its peacekeeping personnel, and to react robustly when violations occur.
“Still, it is clear that we must do much more, especially to better align our peacekeeping and human rights systems,” he stated. “As the report indicates, the handling of sexual exploitation and abuse is particularly complicated when, as in this case, troops are not under United Nations command.
“The United Nations does not have authority over contingents of troops that operate outside United Nations peacekeeping. This in no way diminishes the responsibility of the United Nations to speak out when other troops commit violations. Yet too often, national responses to allegations of abuse are slow, muted or non-existent. We must address this major weakness,” he continued.
“Victims do not care what colour helmet or uniform is worn by those who come to protect them. Our duty is to uphold the trust that must underpin all international engagements.”
The panel highlighted the need for conflict-related sexual violence by peacekeepers to be addressed under a harmonized human rights policy. Among its recommendations is the creation of one single coordination unit, placed under the direct oversight of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, tasked with receiving the reports, following up on the allegations and coordinating the process.
In a statement issued today, High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein voiced his support for the Secretary-General in his determination to eliminate sexual exploitation and abuse by all international peacekeeping forces, both UN and non-UN, and to resolve any systemic weaknesses that have been identified by the review panel.
“Investigations into sexual abuse must be made more systematic and effective, and those responsible for these most toxic of crimes must be punished, not least as a deterrence to others,” he said.
UNICEF said it is reviewing the panel’s report, especially references to those instances where the agency failed to implement its policy on responding to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, in order to draw practical lessons for the future.
“We, of course, deeply regret those failures, including in not adequately following up on the children’s wellbeing,” the agency said in a statement, adding that it has already instituted a new system of reporting to improve internal oversight of its response to reports of abuse, and is also instituting a new process to require more formal and systematic reporting by implementing partners on the support they are providing to child sexual abuse victims.Story highlights During the 2012 race, Mitt Romney was criticized for calling Russia the United States' top "geopolitical foe"
Romney was also haunted by an op-ed about the auto industry entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"
Now, Russia has granted temporary asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden and the City of Detroit is bankrupt
But Romney was also hurt in his 2012 White House bid by other controversies like his "47 percent" comments
If Mitt Romney were to write a bumper sticker slogan for the past month, it would probably be, "Detroit DID go bankrupt. Russia IS a geopolitical foe."
Reality isn't quite so simple as to perfectly apply recent developments on Detroit and Russia to the American debate in 2012, but neither were Romney's arguments on the car industry and on Russia. That didn't stop Democrats and pundits from using them to beat Romney down.
And it would be a good retort to Joe Biden's often-repeated 2012 bumper sticker slogan: "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!"
Biden used the phrase to simultaneously flaunt what the Obama administration accomplished in the war on terror and hit Romney for his position against the auto bailout.
Romney had different ideas than the president about the war on terror, and he also had outspoken ideas on Russia, which he told Wolf Blitzer on CNN in March of 2012 was "without question our number one geopolitical foe."
His statement drew snickers in Washington and complaints in foreign policy circles that he was stuck in the Cold War.
"You don't call Russia our No. 1 enemy -- not al Qaeda, Russia -- unless you're still stuck in a Cold War mind warp," President Barack Obama said at the Democratic National Convention last September.
JUST WATCHED Reality Check: Is Russia our biggest foe? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Reality Check: Is Russia our biggest foe? 02:07
JUST WATCHED Romney and Obama on China and Russia Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Romney and Obama on China and Russia 03:05
JUST WATCHED Romney: Alarmed by Obama open mic gaffe Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Romney: Alarmed by Obama open mic gaffe 03:41
The president probably still wouldn't call Russia this country's top foe. But now that Russia has given NSA leaker Edward Snowden a year of asylum, and the two countries can't find accord on Syria or Iran, he might choose not to put the line in his convention speech.
"Now is the time to fundamentally rethink our relationship with Putin's Russia," Sen. John McCain said upon hearing news of Snowden's asylum. "We need to deal with the Russia that is, not the Russia we might wish for. We cannot allow today's action by [Russian President Vladimir Putin] to stand without serious repercussions."
"Russia has stabbed us in the back," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat. He called on Obama to protest by demanding the upcoming G-20 summit for world economic powers be moved away from Russia.
Biden's slogan, "General Motors is alive!" drew a direct contrast between the candidates on the auto bailout that Obama engineered after initial action by President George W. Bush.
Romney's much-cited New York Times op-ed argued the car industry should be shepherded into a managed bankruptcy and not propped up with taxpayer dollars.
The headline of Romney's op-ed in November 2008 was "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." That headline followed him all the way to November of 2012 when he lost the election.
JUST WATCHED New 'Etch A Sketch moment' for Romney? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH New 'Etch A Sketch moment' for Romney? 02:11
JUST WATCHED Romney: I was very upset after 47% remark Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Romney: I was very upset after 47% remark 01:42
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Romney's argument in the opinion piece was directed at the car industry, but it foreshadowed last month's news that the Detroit the city, once the powerhouse of the American economy, was going bankrupt.
"[W]e refused to throw in the towel and do nothing," Obama said in a video message in October of 2012. "We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt, I bet on American workers, and American ingenuity and three years later that bet is paying off in a big way."
A conservative might apply the high labor costs Romney cited as part of the downfall for the auto industry to the cost of government worker pension plans that have helped put the city in trouble.
How to deal with promises made to public employees is an issue Americans will face in the coming decades in places far flung from the Motor City.
The federal government has made pretty clear there won't be any sort of bailout for the city of Detroit like there was for the auto industry that lives there.
Campaigns are full of little moments like the Detroit and Russia storylines that may have worked against Romney. They add up. More damaging for Romney than either the Detroit op-ed or the Russia as a foe storyline was his statement to fundraisers about giving up on the 47% of Americans who would not vote for him no matter what.
This week we also got the most in-depth explanation from Romney on those comments in the form of a book excerpt from Washington Post writer Dan Balz. Romney said he was misunderstoodAn |
, but a real witch would have been able to make herself invisible for long enough to escape the fattening pen, and she couldn’t do that. Ever since she could remember she’d been able to speak the spell of invisibility but if she faded for more than a ten count she paid a terrible price. The last time she’d risked it was the day her mother was taken by surprise and beaten to death in front of her. It had been one of those times when the priests had whipped Tenochtitlan’s masses into a frenzy of fear and hatred against witches and her mother was amongst those who’d been named. Tozi had been seven years old then and she’d faded just long enough – no more than a thirty count – to escape the rampaging mob and hide. It had saved her life but it had also paralysed her arms and legs for a day and a night, filled her body with raging fire and burst something in her brain so that her head felt hacked open, as though by a blunt axe, and blood poured from her ears and nose. After that, fending for herself on the streets of the great city, she’d not had the courage to try a fade for many years, not even for a five count. But since being seized along with other beggars by the temple catchers and thrown in the pen to be fattened for sacrifice she’d been working on the problem again, working on it every day. She’d even experimented with a fade from time to time, just for brief instants when it could most help her, slowly feeling her way through the deep tangled magic her mother had begun to teach her in the years before the mob. Sometimes she thought she was close to a solution but it always vanished like a wisp just as it came within her grasp. Meanwhile there were some, like Xoco and her gang, who’d become suspicious. They simply couldn’t understand why Tozi was never amongst those selected for sacrifice when the priests came for victims, why again and again it was always others who were taken and this unlikely ragged girl who remained. That was why they suspected witchcraft, and of course they were right, but why did it make them want to hurt her? If it wasn’t so tragic, their vicious stupidity would almost have been funny Tozi thought. Had the girls forgotten that just outside the sacred plaza, and presently going about the daily business of their capital city, the Mexica waited to hurt them all, very, very badly – in fact to murder them? Had they forgotten that they would all, sooner or later, be marched up the great pyramid and bent backwards over the execution stone where their hearts would be cut out with a black obsidian knife? Simultaneous with the thought, Tozi’s own heart quickened and she felt a wave of apprehension. A big part of being invisible wasn’t magic at all, but common sense. Don’t stand out. Don’t offend anyone. Don’t get yourself noticed. But now she saw she had been noticed! Despite the fade, which should have thrown off all pursuit, a girl who’d lurked in the background during Xoco’s attack had followed her. She was eighteen, this girl, or perhaps twenty, tall and lithe with glowing skin, full, sensual lips, big, dark eyes and straight black hair that fell almost to her waist. She didn’t look like a Tlascalan, and she was older than the rest of Xoco’s gang, but Tozi wasn’t taking any chances. Without a backward glance she ducked into the crowd and ran. And ran. And ran. The other girl couldn’t keep up with her – definitely not a Tlascalan then! – and Tozi very soon gave her the slip, crossing the whole width of the pen from the rear wall to the bamboo bars at the corner of the north and west wings and burrowing in amongst hundreds of women who had gathered there to stare out through the bars across the smooth paving of the plaza towards the steep northern stairway of the great pyramid. Even though the routine dawn sacrifices had already been carried out, Tozi sensed the familiar mood of ominous anticipation in the air, her flesh prickled and the pounding pain in her head grew worse. Just ten days previously the old year 13–Tochtli – Thirteen-Rabbit – had come to an end and the new year 1-Acatl – One-Reed – had begun, taking its turn again for the first time in fifty-two years as was the case for each one of the fifty-two named years that danced the circle of the great Calendar Round. There was something special about One-Reed, however – something terrifying for all devotees of the war god Hummingbird but most notably for the rulers of the Mexica themselves. As everyone knew, One-Reed years were linked inextricably to Quetzalcoatl, god of peace, Hummingbird’s great antagonist. Indeed it had long ago been prophesied that when Quetzalcoatl returned he would do so in a One-Reed year. In Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Mexica, the name Quetzalcoatl meant “Feathered Serpent”. Ancient traditions maintained that he had been the first god-king of the lands now ruled by the Mexica. Born in a One-Reed year, he had been a god of goodness who was said to have stopped up his ears with his fingers when addressed on the subject of war. The traditions described him as tall, fair-skinned, ruddy complexioned and richly bearded. The traditions also told how Hummingbird and Tezcatilpoca, that other god of violence whose name meant “Smoking Mirror”, had plotted against Quetzalcoatl and succeeded in driving him out of Mexico – and how he had been forced to flee across the eastern ocean on a raft of serpents. This, too, had happened in a One-Reed year. Before departing from the Yucatan coast Quetzalcoatl had prophesied that he would return many years in the future, once again in a One-Reed year. When that time came, he said, he would cross back over the eastern ocean, “in a boat that moved by itself without paddles”, and would appear in great power to overthrow the cults of Hummingbird and Tezcatilpoca. All those who followed them would be cast down into Mictlan, the shadowy realm of the dead, a wicked king would be overthrown and a new era would begin when the gods would once again accept sacrifices of fruits and flowers and cease their clamour for human blood. For the ten days since the inception of the current One-Reed year there had been rumours that a new cycle of sacrifices was planned, a spectacular festival of blood to appease and strengthen Hummingbird against the possible return of Quetzalcoatl. Guessing the commotion at the pyramid must be connected with this, Tozi decided Coyotl would have to wait a few more moments while she found out. Holding her hand over the pocket where the medicine tubes lay, she wormed forward through the crowd until her face was jammed against the bars. As usual the pyramid impressed itself upon her as forcefully as a blow to the face. Towering in the midst of the plaza, glowing poisonously in the sun, its four levels were painted respectively green, red, turquoise and yellow. On the summit platform, tall, narrow and dark and seeming to eat up the light that shone down on it, stood Hummingbird’s temple. Tozi gasped when she saw that Moctezuma himself, dressed in all his finery, was amongst the black-robed priests clustered round the altar in front of the temple. Less surprising was the presence of fifty, she counted them – no, fifty-two! – lean and beautiful young Tlascalan men, daubed with white paint, dressed in paper garments, who were trudging with heavy feet up the steep steps of the northern stairway. Tozi had seen many deaths in the past seven months, inflicted in many ingenious and horrible ways. Despite all her efforts to stay alive she was constantly afraid she might be snatched aside by the priests and murdered at any moment. Still she could not rid herself of the pain she felt whenever she saw others climbing the pyramid to die and she gasped as the first young man reached the top of the steps. At once a drum began to beat. Four burly priests flung the victim on his back over the killing stone and took position at each of his arms and legs, holding him down tight, stretching his chest. Then with the jerky, ungainly movements of a puppet Moctezuma loomed over him, clutching a long obsidian knife that glinted in the sun. Tozi had seen it all before but still she watched, rooted to the spot, as the Great Speaker raised the knife and plunged it to the hilt in the victim’s sternum. He cut upward, urgent but precise. When he found the heart he sliced it vigorously from its moorings, snatched it out amidst fountains of blood, and placed it, still beating, on the brazier in front of Hummingbird’s temple. There was a great hissing and sizzling and a burst of steam and smoke rose up at the top of the pyramid. Then the victim’s body was rolled off the stone and Tozi heard hacking and rending sounds as skilled butcher priests fell on it and amputated the arms and legs for later consumption. She saw the head being carried into the temple to be spitted on the skull rack. Finally the torso was sent rolling and bouncing down the pyramid steps, leaving bloody smears all the way to the plaza below where it would soon be joined in a rising heap by the unwanted remains of all the other docile young men presently climbing the northern stairway. Tozi knew from seven months of witnessing such scenes that the pile of torsos would be gathered up in wheelbarrows after nightfall and trundled off to feed the wild beasts in Moctezuma’s zoo. The Mexica were monsters, she thought. So cruel. She hated them! She would never be their docile victim! But evading them was becoming more difficult. Three searing beats of pain shook her head, and a burst of flashing lights exploded before her eyes. She clenched her teeth to stop herself crying out It wasn’t just that she’d started to be noticed by some of the other prisoners – though that was dangerous enough. The real problem was caring for Coyotl, a huge responsibility that she knew she could not hope to sustain in these conditions. The only solution was to find a way to fade for longer than a ten count without having a massive physical collapse. Then she could get them out of here. Tozi edged back and took her eyes off the pyramid, distracted for a moment by the way the morning sun poured through the bamboo prison bars creating stripes of deep shadow and stripes of intense, brilliant light, filled with swirling motes of dust. Suddenly she thought she saw the tall, beautiful woman again, gliding through the haze like a ghost. She blinked and the woman was gone. Who are you? thought Tozi. Are you a witch like me? She felt the cool, packed earth of the floor under her feet and sensed the warmth and odours of the other prisoners all around her. Then, like an evil spirit, a breeze smelling of blood blew up out of the southeast and the screams of Moctezuma’s next victim filled the air. Normally the High Priest wielded the obsidian knife and Moctezuma would not become involved except on the most important State occasions. It followed that only something very significant could explain his presence here this morning. With a shudder Tozi turned her back on the pyramid and moved swiftly through the crowd, disturbing no one, to the place where she had left Coyotl.
W AR G OD
Nights of the Witch
The epic novel of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico
By Graham Hancock
Chapter Ten
Santiago, Cuba, Thursday 18 February 1519
Despite his fifty-five years and his tough reputation, Diego de Velazquez, the conqueror and governor of Cuba, seemed on the verge of tears. A blush suffused his pale pasty skin and his jowls, grown fat and heavy of late, wobbled with every movement of his oversized head.
“Ah, Pedro,” he said, “my friend.” He put a menacing edge on the last word and thrust out his double chin with its neatly-trimmed spade beard streaked with yellow tobacco stains. “Something’s going on,” He set his lips in a line so mean and thin they became almost invisible. “I have to know where you stand on it.”
Velazquez’ notorious bad temper was popularly attributed to haemorrhoids the size of grapes. He sat in obvious discomfort on a mahogany throne behind a massive square mahogany writing table in the midst of an echoing, high-ceilinged marble audience chamber. Pedro de Alvarado had met the governor frequently, but never here and never before in the ceremonial robes he wore today. He guessed with annoyance that the events of the last two hours – the herald, the summons, the gallop from the docks to the palace, the insultingly-long wait in a sweltering heavily-guarded corridor, this huge formal room with its imposing furniture and even Velazquez’ robes of office – were all part of an elaborate set-up designed to intimidate him.
Alvarado stood opposite the governor on the other side of the table with his right hand open, long fingers resting lightly on his sword belt. He was thirty-three years old, broad-shouldered and strong but light on his feet with the easy grace of a practised fencer. His thick blond hair hung to his shoulders and an extravagant blond moustache, elaborately curled and waxed, decorated his upper lip.
Fine featured, with a firm chin, a long straight nose, bright blue eyes and a duelling scar that he found rather fetching running from his right temple to the corner of his right eye, he was a man who had broken many women’s hearts. He was also rich in a small way, having prospered in Cuba these past five years thanks to lands, mines and Indian slaves granted him by Velazquez.
“My herald told me you were loading heavy hunters on board that carrack of yours,” the governor said suddenly. “The San Jorge?” His right eye twitched, as though in sympathy with Alvarado’s scar.
“The San Sebastian.” Alvarado corrected. What game was Velazquez playing here? Did he really not remember?
“Oh yes. Of course. The San Sebastian. A fine ship which my generosity helped you buy. So my question is …” A long, silent pause. That weird twitch again.
“Since our expedition to the New Lands is purely for trade and reconnaissance, what possible use do you have for cavalry horses?”
The last words came out in a rush, as though Velazquez were embarrassed to raise the matter, and Alvarado launched smoothly into the lie he’d rehearsed with Cortes just that morning – the lie that half the fleet already knew by heart. “For self-defence,” he said. “Cordoba’s men took such a beating last year because they didn’t have the advantage of cavalry. We’re not going to be caught out the same way.”
Velazquez sat back in his throne and drummed on its arms with thick ring-encrusted fingers. “I want to believe you Pedro,” he said. “You came with me from Hispaniola and you’ve been a loyal ally to me all these years in Cuba. But I still don’t understand why you were loading the horses today or why another six were seen going on board the Santa Maria at the same time. Why load the horses now when you’re not sailing for another week?”
Alvarado spoke in his most honeyed tones, as though reassuring a lover: “What your informants saw was a routine training exercise Don Diego! Nothing more sinister than that. If the horses are to serve us we must be able to get them on and off our ships quickly without broken legs. It’s an exercise we’ll practise daily until we sail next week.”
There was another long silence during which Velazquez visibly relaxed. Finally he made a horrible attempt at a smile. “I knew you wouldn’t be involved in anything dishonourable Pedro,” he said. “That’s why I called you here. I need a man I can trust.” He rang a little bell and from a curtained doorway a native Taino Indian clad in a white tunic appeared carrying a wooden chair. He crossed the audience chamber with a peculiar bobbing motion and the slap of bare feet, placed the chair behind Alvarado and retreated. Alvarado sat down but his flesh crawled at the proximity of the indigene. These creatures were, in his opinion, barely human.
Velazquez reached beneath the table and with a grunt pulled out a bulging silk moneybag, opened its drawstrings and poured the gleaming, jingling contents in a flood onto the table. The river of gold was heavy and bright. Involuntarily Alvarado leaned forward in his chair and his eyes widened as he tried to estimate its value.
“Five thousand pesos de oro,” said Velazquez, as though reading his thoughts.
“It’s yours if you will assist me in a certain matter.”
Five thousand pesos! A small fortune! Alvarado’s love of gold was legendary. He licked his lips: “What do you want me to do?”
“You’re a close friend of Don Hernando Cortes?”
“Yes, he’s my friend. Since we were boys.”
“That’s what I hear. But is your friendship with Cortes more important to you than your loyalty to me?” Velazquez began to sweep the golden pesos back into the bag.
Alvarado’s eyes followed the money: “I don’t understand.”
“He’s planning to betray me,” stormed the governor, “though God knows I’ve loved him as if he were my own son.” Once again his face had taken on the congested look of a man about to burst into tears. “Believe me Pedro what I have learnt this past day has been like a thousand daggers through my heart.”
Alvarado feigned shock: “Cortes? Betray you? I don’t believe it… He’s told me many times he loves you like a father.”
“Words, mere words. When the fleet reaches the New Lands I have sure intelligence he will no longer act as my viceroy but will declare the expedition his own. Too late by far for anyone to stop him! So I need your help now.” Velazquez drew the strings of the moneybag closed and rested his hands proprietarily on top of it. “But first I must know… Can I trust you? Do I have your loyalty? Will you deliver your friend to me if I ask you to do so?”
“Friends come and go,” said Alvarado smoothly, “but gold is a constant companion. If you don’t trust me trust gold…”
“If you do exactly what I ask,” said Velazquez, then all this is yours.”
Alvarado sat back in the chair, his eyes fixed on the bag. “Ask me,” he said.
“Invite Cortes to join you for dinner on the San Sebastian late this evening. Shall we say around ten pm? Make some pretext, something private you want to discuss. Get him intrigued…”
“Why so late?”
“Less people around, less chance for things to go wrong.”
“What if he’s otherwise engaged?”
“Then you must move the invitation to tomorrow instead. But do all you can to persuade him to join you tonight. Dine in your quarters. Serve him wine.” Velazquez searched in his robes and brought out a little glass phial containing a clear, colourless liquid. “Pour this first into the wine you will give him. Within an hour he will be… Indisposed.”
“Dead?”
“No! I want the blackguard alive! The draft will make him puke his guts out, run a high fever, sweat like a lathered horse. You’ll send a man to fetch a doctor – Dr La Pena. You know him, yes?”
Alvarado nodded. La Pena was a turd. He wondered how much Velazquez was paying him for his part in the plot.
“He’ll come at once,” the governor continued. “Whatever time of night it is. But when he examines Cortes he’ll say he can’t treat him on board ship and he must be brought to his hospital in town… The doctor’s own carriage will take him there.”
“Cortes’ people aren’t going to like that.”
“They’ll have no choice. Their master will be ill, close to death…”
“Some of them are going to want to ride with him.”
“No matter. When the carriage is clear of the harbour a squad of my palace guard will be waiting for it at the roadside. Anyone with Cortes will be killed, he’ll be brought to me here for questioning, and you, my dear Pedro” – Velazquez patted the bag – “will be an even richer man than you are already.”
“You have thought of everything Don Diego.”
Perhaps detecting a little of the scorn buried deep in Alvarado’s tone, Velazquez frowned: “It’s underhand but necessary,” he explained. “Cortes has become powerful since I gave him command of the fleet. If I arrest him openly there’s going to be a fight…”
Alvarado hastened to agree: “He’s recruited more than five hundred men, signed them up with bribes and promises and dreams. Their loyalty is to him before anyone else…”
“That’s exactly why he’s so dangerous! That’s why this poison has to be rooted out now!”
“But I see one great weakness in your plan.”
Velazquez bristled: “Weakness? What weakness?”
“It only works if I’m the sort of man who would betray Cortes for five thousand pieces of gold.”
Velazquez was hunched forward now, an ugly scowl making him look suddenly monstrous. “And are you not such a man?” he said.
It seemed a good moment for some drama so Alvarado sprang to his feet, sent his chair crashing back and towered over the table, his right hand resting on his sword belt. “Five thousand pesos is a paltry price to betray a friend.”
“Ten thousand then.”
“Twenty thousand, not a peso less.”
Velazquez made a strangled sound: “It’s a lot of money.”
“You’ll lose a thousand times more if Cortes does what you fear.”
Alvarado could see the idea of paying out such a huge sum was almost too horrible for the old man to contemplate. For a moment he wondered if he had gone too far, asked too much. But then Velazquez reached under the table again and with great effort pulled out three more large moneybags, setting them down beside the first. “Very well,” he coughed. He seemed to have something caught in his throat. “Twenty thousand it is. Do we have a deal?”
“We have a deal,” said Alvarado. As he spoke he sensed danger and spun round to find the governor’s personal champion, bodyguard and bullyboy, a gigantic warrior named Zemudio, looming silently over him. The man was big as a barn door, bald as the full moon and stealthy as a cat. He’d been in Cuba for less than a month, joining the governor’s service direct from the Italian wars where he’d won a fearsome reputation. As yet he’d fought no bouts in the islands.
“My, my,” said Alvarado, annoyed that he had to crane his neck like a child to see Zemudio’s stubborn, oafish face. “Where did you come from?” Another of those creepy curtained doors, he thought. He looked the champion up and down. The brute wore light body-armour – knee-length breeches and a sleeveless vest, both made of padded cotton with hundreds of small steel plates riveted into the lining. He was armed with an old-fashioned falchion that was exceptionally long and heavy in the blade. Though crude, and unsuited to a gentleman, this cutlass-like weapon wielded by a strong, experienced hand could do terrible damage.
For a moment Alvarado locked stares with the champion, testing his will. Small, brown, patient eyes glared back at him, unblinking, flat as buttons, filled with stupid self-confidence.
As the aura of threat between the two men became palpable Velazquez spoke: “It’s alright Zemudio. Don Pedro and I have reached an accommodation.”
At once the huge bodyguard stepped back.
Alvarado retrieved his chair and sat down. “Why was any of that necessary?” he asked. His neck and shoulders prickled under Zemudio’s violent stare but he refused to acknowledge him.
“I couldn’t be sure you’d deal,” said the governor. “If you didn’t” – he drew his hand meaningfully across his throat.
“You’d have had me killed?”
“Of course. But all that is behind us now. You give me Cortes, I give you these twenty thousand gold pesos…”
“Who leads the expedition – when Cortes is gone?”
“Your question is to the point,” said the governor. He pulled a sheet of vellum from a thick heap on the table in front of him, dipped a quill in an ink-well and began to write in a small, spidery hand. As the quill grated across the calfskin Alvarado tried to read the words upside down but couldn’t make them out. Velazquez frowned with concentration, pushing the tip of his tongue out between his lips like a schoolboy in an examination.
When the governor was done, he read through what he had written, blotted the page and placed it in a document wallet. A motion of his finger was sufficient to bring Zemudio surging to his side. “Go at once to Narvaez. Give the wallet to him. He’ll know what to do.”
As the bodyguard placed the wallet in a leather satchel and strode from the room, Velazquez turned back to Alvarado: “I’ve chosen a man I can trust to lead the expedition,” he said. “My cousin Panfilo de Narvaez. Zemudio takes my orders to him now.”
Narvaez! A complete ass! Incompetent, vainglorious and foolish! In every way the antipodes of Cortes! But Alvarado kept these thoughts to himself and instead asked slyly: “Who will be second in command?”
“I thought perhaps you Don Pedro, if you agree.”
Alvarado didn’t hesitate: “Of course I agree. It will be an honour and my privilege to serve under a great captain like Narvaez.”
Velazquez grasped one of the fat moneybags, rose from his throne and walked round the mahogany table. Alvarado also stood and the governor passed the bag to him. “A quarter of your payment in advance,” he said. “You’ll get the rest when you’ve delivered Cortes.” He awkwardly embraced Alvarado and told him to return at once to his ship: “Send your invitation to Cortes. Make ready for tonight.” He clapped his hands and the great formal doors of the audience chamber were swung open by two iron-masked guardsmen armed with double-headed battle axes.
Alvarado didn’t return to his ship.
When he’d passed the last of the governor’s guards and made certain no one followed him, he led his white stallion Bucephalus out from the palace stables, secured his gold in a saddle bag and rode at full gallop after Zemudio.
The only way to get to Narvaez’ estate lay across dry, hilly country, partially overgrown with groves of acacia trees and intercut by a series of shallow ravines. The champion had left a trail a three-year-old could follow, so quite soon Alvarado started to get glimpses of him – that broad back, that bald head, that air, obvious even from afar, of unshakable self-confidence.
Let’s see how confident you really are, thought Alvarado. He touched his spurs gently to Bucephalus’ flanks, the great war horse thundered forward fast as a bolt from a crossbow, and the distance began to close rapidly.
Set out below is the last of the four sample chapters from War God that I am offering free to read here. (The others, presented previously, are Chapters 2, 10 and 14). My purpose is to enable you to make up your own mind, on the basis of actual content, as to whether my novel has any merit or not. This sample chapter, Chapter 12, brings together two key characters from the novel, Shikotenka, battle king of Tlascala, an independent native American state that fought Aztec (Mexica) tyranny with great courage for many years, and Guatemoc a prince of the Mexica royal family. Shikotenka has been spying on a huge Mexica army that is about to raid Tlascalan towns and villages to capture victims for human sacrifice, but Guatemoc has found his hiding place and challenged him to single combat. W AR G OD
Nights of the Witch The epic novel of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico
By Graham Hancock Chapter Twelve
Tlascala, Thursday 18 February 1519 When Shikotenka propelled himself out of the crevice he was ready for anything, his knife back in his hand and a snarl on his lips. To be sure, it had been agreed this was to be a matter of honour between knights but he still half expected to be bludgeoned into unconsciousness. He’d long since learned the bitter lesson that any treachery was possible when dealing with the Mexica. But Guatemoc hadn’t betrayed him. Draped in a shimmering cloak of turquoise cotinga feathers, the prince was strolling up the hill and singing, passably enough if somewhat out of tune, the lyrics of I Say This. The song was well chosen. As famous amongst the Mexica as it was amongst the Tlascalans, it had been composed by Shikotenka’s ancient father Shikotenka the Elder and it contained an embarrassing reference to Shikotenka himself which Guatemoc now recited: “My young son, you leader of men, a precious creature.” Guatemoc looked back over his shoulder and gave Shikotenka a mocking smile. “Behold,” he said, “the precious creature has emerged from its burrow. Creep in my tracks if you wish, oh leader of men, the long grass will hide you.” Guatemoc was a head taller than Shikotenka, broader in the shoulder, heavier through the body and about five years younger, perhaps twenty-seven to Shikotenka’s thirty-three. He wore a mahogany helmet, painted gold, in the form of an eagle’s head. The jutting beak framed his handsome face which was also eagle-like with a hooked nose and cruel mouth and bright, predatory eyes. His black hair tumbled down over his shoulders from beneath his helmet. In his right hand, held loosely, almost carelessly, was a long spear with a leaf-shaped obsidian blade. Strapped to his back, lodged inside a leather scabbard with only its handle protruding above the collar of his cloak, was his macuahuitl, the obdsidian-edged broadsword used both by Mexica and Tlascalan knights as their primary battle weapon. Shikotenka had come here to spy, not to fight, and for that reason was without his sword, but he didn’t worry unduly about the imbalance. The macuahuitl was an instrument for killing and dismembering opponents. If Guatemoc opted to use it he would be unlikely to end the fight with a live prisoner to offer to Hummingbird. Shikotenka put his knife back between his teeth again and snaked silently on his belly through the tall, feathery grass that covered much of the hillside. It was a manoeuvre he had practised in a thousand training sessions so it was an easy matter to circle past the Mexica prince and get ahead of him When Guatemoc reached the hollow, Shikotenka was already there. “I’m not going to ask you how you did that,” said Guatemoc. He stood at the edge of the grassy circle in the bottom of the hollow, ten paces from Shikotenka “Put it down to my superior military training.” “If Tlascalan military training is in any way superior then why do we Mexica so often defeat you in battle?” “I’d say it’s because you breed like rabbits and outnumber us ten to one,” said Shikotenka. “On the rare occasions when it’s a fair fight with equal numbers we Tlascalans always win.” Guatemoc smiled but there was no humour in it. “I see one Mexica and one Tlascalan here,” he said, “so let’s put your theory to the test.” He removed his helmet and placed it on the ground, set down his spear and cast off his shimmering turquoise cloak. As well as his great advantage of height Guatemoc had the broad, muscular chest, narrow waist and powerful sculpted legs of an athlete. He wore no armour, only a simple white loincloth and battle sandals. “We’re even dressed the same,” he observed. “What could be fairer than that?” “You still have your macuahuitl,” Shikotenka pointed out. “Ah yes. Of course.” Guatemoc shook off the leather shoulder straps that held the scabbard to his back and laid the weapon down on the grass. In the same smooth movement he snatched a long double-edged flint dagger from its sheath at his waist. “Knife to knife then,” he said. “Knife to knife,” said Shikotenka. He raised his own double-edged blade in a mock salute. “But will you tell me something first?” he asked. “Something I’m curious about…” “By all means…” “How did you find me? I chose that crevice carefully. I was well hidden inside it. You shouldn’t have been able to see me there…” “Do you have a sweetheart?” Guatemoc asked. “What?” said Shikotenka. He couldn’t understand the sudden change of subject. “A sweetheart. Do you have one?” “You’re talking about a woman?” “Yes. Or a man if you’re that way inclined. A sweetheart. Someone who loves you.” “Well yes. I do…” “Girl? Boy?” Shikotenka laughed: “Girl.” “And her name?” “Zilonen.” “Beautiful name. She’s the one that gave you to me…” Shikotenka perceived an insult and his blood instantly boiled but Guatemoc held up an appeasing hand: “Don’t worry, that’s not what I mean!” “What do you mean?” “I’m picturing a tender moment. After a night of passion Shikotenka and Zilonen are saying their goodbyes. Shikotenka is a daring sort of fellow and he’s off on a dangerous mission to spy on the Mexica. Zilonen says ‘wear this charm for me my love’ and gives him a silver amulet she has worn since childhood. She weaves it into Shikotenka’s hair… ‘It will keep you safe’,” she says. Shikotenka’s hand went to his long braided hair. He’d forgotten about the little amulet, but it was still there, still intact, still shiny, exactly where his wife Zilonen had placed it. He’d been a fool not to remove it immediately but he’d felt sentimental about it. Now he saw how it had put his life in danger. “It was reflecting the sunlight,” he said. “Like a signal.” “Really elementary mistake on my part,” admitted Shikotenka. “That’s how I found you,” said Guatemoc. And while he was still speaking, giving no hint or warning of his intent, without even a change of facial expression, he launched himself at Shikotenka across the ten paces that separated them, his dagger gripped point-down in his right fist, its long blade hissing through the air in a blur of criss-crossing diagonal slashes. Shikotenka was unimpressed. He’d survived enough knife fights to know that speed, strength and technique were all very well but what really counted was having the sheer malicious will to do as much harm as possible to your enemy. By all accounts Guatemoc was brave and cruel in battle but Shikotenka knew there were limits to the damage he would want to do today when his overriding concern must be to win honour by bringing in a high-ranking living captive for sacrifice. Shikotenka had no such distractions. He would not take Guatemoc prisoner. His only interest, the entire focus of his will, was to kill him now, quickly and silently, and continue with his mission. So he weaved and ducked before the furious assault, keeping his own knife hand back, blocking and parrying with his left, not yet committing himself to a counterattack, waiting for the right moment. “It must be difficult for you,” he said conversationally as they circled. Guatemoc blinked: “Difficult? What?” “To be the most accomplished warrior in Coaxoch’s army and yet see his windbag sons raised above you as regiment generals.” “They’re welcome to the job,” laughed Guatemoc. “I fight for honour not position, and I take my orders only from our Speaker.” “Oh yes, of course, your uncle! But tell me, as a brave Mexica how can you possibly endure the leadership of that stuffed tunic? Why even Coaxoch is a better man than him!” “Moctezuma is the greatest Speaker ever to lead the Mexica nation.” “Come off it Guatemoc! You don’t really believe that do you? The man’s an arse. I know he’s an arse. You know he’s an arse. Why not just admit it?” “He’s a great man.” “He’s an arse. He’s going to put you all in the shit if you don’t get rid of him soon. That’s what arses do.” “I’ll not hear your filthy insults against my Speaker!” Guatemoc feinted as though about to strike upward and predictably stabbed down aiming to disable Shikotenka with a wound to the thigh. Shikotenka danced away from the blade. “Perhaps the rumour about the Lady Achautli is true?” he suggested. He made the face of a man who has tasted something sour. “It would explain your insane loyalty.” “You dare speak of my mother!” “Not I Guatemoc, not I, but every gossip on every street corner, every merchant, every fruit-seller, every masturbating schoolboy speaks of your mother – and of your mother’s loins … |
prove to all butterflies that you can, in fact, fly twice as high, if not higher.
Don’t wear this shirt: if you’d rather wait for the movie version.
This shirt tells the world: “Stay alert, Space Librarian Cadet Boy. We’re flying through the Dan Brown sector. There could be some pretty big plot holes around.”
We call this color: Dammit, Jim, I’m A Silver T-Shirt, Not A Miracle Worker
Back to topI also hope Libya will build a democracy that will benefit all Libyans. We are fully engaged. Together with the United Nations, the European Union is organizing a workshop with our Libyan partners to speed up our support. Our concern is not confined to North Africa. The newly discovered rights apply whether you are from Syria, Yemen, or for that matter from Jordan, Bahrain and the other Arab monarchies. And with rights come responsibilities. That is why we look to the Libyan authorities to leave no stone unturned in investigating recent allegations of torture.
I have heard skepticism about whether “we” can trust these new political groups, who inspire themselves from various strands of Islamism. Some are worried and argue that it is not in the interest of Europe to support and assist the Arab Awakening. I disagree. We have a moral duty as well as a practical need to help our neighbors secure democracy and prosperity. We are not “spectators.” We have committed ourselves to engage, work and discuss with all the governments, parliaments and organizations with whom we share our commitment to democracy.
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So let me address the issue of trust directly. It goes both ways.
A question the Islamists often raise is whether “they” can trust us? I think there is an acute need for getting beyond this mutual suspicion and for getting to know each other better. Lumping all Islamists into one and the same category is misleading and unhelpful.
We realize the need for more first-hand knowledge. Each political party and movement has to be understood and appreciated according to its own merits, just as they need to be judged by their concrete actions and deeds. These are political movements that are learning and changing before our eyes and we have taken note. They are eager to learn and government responsibility and public office will now give them the opportunity to translate their commitments into concrete laws and policies. The more we do to understand them, and help them to understand us, the better.
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
That is why we need mutual trust as the basis for the engagement with the new political leadership. This can only be done through direct dialogue. We will show humility in front of this huge task.
I am delighted that the prime minister of Tunisia, Hamadi Jebali, has accepted our invitation and chosen Brussels for his first official visit abroad. This visit this week is as symbolic as it is important. It shows the new government wants a close relationship with the E.U.
With Tunisia, we held a successful joint task force in September to inject direction and joint ownership into our support for the transition. We were able to bring together the international community, E.U. institutions, multilateral financial institutions, and crucially, private sector companies with one objective: backing the transition and making sure that together we become a catalyst for quicker and more effective assistance.
Now, one year after the Tunisian people decided to take the future in their own hands, the visit of Prime Minister Jebali shows that the E.U. and Tunisia want to work together to respond to the hopes of all Tunisians.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Elections are an important part of democracy. But building deep democracy is about much more. It is about the next election, about defining the ground rules and then sticking to them. It is about delivering on one’s promises, and it is about drafting constitutions that are inclusive and protect citizens’ rights, particularly with regard to women. Governing is also about providing jobs, and about being pragmatic in the face of the many social and economic challenges.
Pulling together in broad coalitions is a promising start. The journey will not be easy. But the E.U. is committed to staying the course: navigating the bumps along the way and quietly helping the demonstrators who toppled tyrants to live their dream.
Catherine Ashton is the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.Canterbury City Council general manager'sacked'; decision could breach ICAC Act, Mayor says
Updated
A council in Sydney's south-west has voted to sack its general manager over allegations of exorbitant restaurant bills during a chaotic meeting during which police were called to intervene.
However, the Mayor of Canterbury City Council said the proposed motion to terminate the contract of general manager Jim Montague could be in breach of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Act.
Mayor Brian Robson adjourned the meeting on Tuesday night as soon as it began, saying it could not proceed until ICAC completed an investigation into allegations of misconduct and bribery levelled against two councillors by Mr Montague.
Cr Robson, Mr Montague and a number of council staff then walked out of the meeting.
But a group of six Labor and Liberal councillors reconvened the meeting and voted to terminate Mr Montague's contract, effective immediately, and installed former Rockdale Council general manager Chris Watson in his place.
Outside the meeting Cr Robson said the council had received legal advice over the proposal to sack Mr Montague.
"The advice says that if the meeting was to proceed and the general manager's contract terminated while the ICAC is considering the referral that this could potentially be seen by the ICAC as an act of reprisal against the general manager and a breach of the act," he said.
"The meeting which was subsequently held has no legal standing and Jim Montague is still the City of Canterbury's general manager."
General manager spent council funds on lunches: councillors
A slanging match between members of the packed public gallery and a number of councillors had ensued during the reinstated meeting and security guards called police to intervene.
Four officers left after about 10 minutes with one saying "as long as they keep it civilised we can't do anything".
The meeting was requested by councillors Michael Hawatt (Liberal) and Pierre Azzi (ALP) on Christmas Eve so they could move to sack Mr Montague.
It came after allegations were made that Mr Montague spent more than $42,000 of council funds on lunches over the past five years and that he had mishandled the recent employment of the council's new director of city planning.
In a statement, Mr Montague told the ABC the weekly lunches at Il Buco in Enfield were used to host visiting delegations, community members, staff and the council's overseas partners.
Mr Montague also said the information he referred to ICAC related to alleged threats and bribes he received from Cr Hawatt and Cr Azzi over the recruitment process for the vacant director of city planning position.
Cr Robson said he had full confidence in Mr Montague and that claims he misused council funds were unsubstantiated.
"There is no intention to hide any of this," he said.
"The claims that have been made in the local press need to be substantiated, they will be examined and a full independent inquiry will be made into them and a report will be made to council."
Cr Robson said he would also seek disciplinary action against the six councillors who moved against him under the Local Government Code of Conduct.
But Cr Hawatt accused the Mayor of acting illegally and said the six councillors would take disciplinary action themselves.
"What he's done tonight breached the Local Government Act," he said.
Cr Hawatt said the referral to ICAC was a stalling tactic designed to keep Mr Montague in the job.
"We have nothing to fear and we're happy that ICAC is going to step in and investigate," he said.
Topics: local-government, government-and-politics, sydney-2000
First postedCongratulations to Grant Sanders winner of our Contest, Please check our site for our monthly contests.
Google decided to do things differently this year with its hardware and as a result Google introduced the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. What makes these particular smartphones different from previous generation Google-associated hardware is that the Pixel and the Pixel XL are smartphones that are ‘made by Google’ and do not bare any association to other manufacturers or device partners. Likewise, both the Google Pixel and the Pixel XL come with a tweaked user experience in the form of the Pixel Launcher. For those thinking about picking up the Pixel or the Pixel XL, they are not exactly the most affordable smartphones with the starting price for the Pixel coming in at $649 and the starting price for the Pixel XL coming in at $769. Although, you do now have the opportunity to win either the Pixel or the Pixel XL for free, courtesy of Android Headlines
In terms of the two Pixel phones, there is actually very few differences between them. Both the Pixel and the Pixel XL come with 4GB RAM, 32GB or 128GB internal storage and a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor. Both the Pixel and the Pixel XL come touting a 12.3-megapixel rear camera as well as an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. Both smartphones also come equipped with a fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C connectivity and the latest version of the Android operating system, Android 7.1 (Nougat). In terms of those differences, the Google Pixel comes equipped with a 5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) display and a 2,770 mAh battery while the Google Pixel XL comes packing a 5.5-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) display along with a 3,450 mAh battery.
To be in with a chance of winning the Google Pixel XL, all you need to do is take part in the competition widget below. By selecting and completing one of the actions you will be automatically entered into the draw. The good news is that you can complete as many actions as you like. Each action offers a unique number of entries and each entry has the potential to be the winning one. The contest is an international contest and is therefore open to everyone. The contest will close promptly at 11:59 pm on November 17, 2016. So enter now for your chance to win a Google Pixel XL courtesy of Android Headlines.
Google Pixel XL Giveaway
Rules and DisclaimersObama begins firsthand look at Baghdad RAW STORY
Published: Monday July 21, 2008
Print This Email This (White House sought 'clarification' after Iraqi PM backed Obama Iraq plan) Barack Obama began Monday his first on-the-ground inspection of Iraq since launching his bid for the White House, with U.S. commanders ready to brief him on progress in a war he long opposed and Iraqi leaders wanting more details of his proposals for troop withdrawals. His stops in Baghdad and other areas of the country marked the second major leg of a war zone tour that opened in Afghanistan. The contrasts in tone and message were distinct. Obama sees the battle against the resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan as America's most crucial fight and supports expanding troop strength to counter a sharp rise in attacks. But Obama had stood against the Iraq invasion and now worries that an open-ended U.S. combat mission will sap military resources and focus at a time when Iraq violence has dropped to its lowest level in four years. The Illinois senator traveling in a congressional delegation with Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. arrived in the country early Monday. Their first stop was Basra, the U.S. Embassy said. Basra is the center for about 4,000 British troops involved mostly in training Iraqi forces. An Iraqi-led offensive begun in March reclaimed control of most of the city from Shiite militia believed linked to Iran. Travel plans for the Democratic presidential candidate were kept secret, but he was seen arriving for a meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the heavily protected Green Zone. Obama has made no public statements since arriving in Iraq. There was no noticeable tightening of security on Baghdad's streets and inside the Green Zone. The meetings were expected to include the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and other military chiefs outlining the significant gains in recent months against both Shiite militia and Sunni insurgents including al-Qaida in Iraq. The White House and military leaders and many residents of Baghdad trace the momentum back to last year's buildup of more than 30,000 troops in areas around Iraq's capital. Obama's challenger, Sen. John McCain, has tried to hammer Obama on his critical remarks before the so-called "surge." In an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," McCain said he hoped Obama would now "have the opportunity to see the success of the surge." "This is the same strategy that he voted against, railed against," McCain said. "He was wrong about the surge. It is succeeding and we are winning." All five surge brigades have left Iraq, but there are still about 147,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, more than in early 2007. Obama has endorsed removing U.S. combat forces over a 16-month period, but has been less precise on the size and type of U.S. military role needed in Iraq after an exit from the battlefield. Iraqi leaders are expected to press Obama for more clarity on his long-term vision. Such discussions have added importance since Iraq and U.S. negotiators appear stalled in efforts to reach a long-range pact to define future U.S. military presence and obligations. American diplomats hoped to reach a final accord by the end of the month, but it now seems the goal is a stopgap "bridge" document that would maintain the status for U.S. forces once a U.N. mandate on their presence expires at the end of the year. Such as move would leave the hard bargaining to the next president. Iraqi leaders, meanwhile, have gained a new measure of self assurance with revenue from record high oil prices and Iraqi-led successes to hobble Shiite militias believed linked to Iran. Recently, Iraqi leaders have increasing pressure for some kind of timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals. Last week, the White House agreed to work on a "general time horizon" for removing U.S. troops a significant reversal from President Bush's longheld opposition to discuss any timeframes. Obama is likely to face more questions about his pullout plans from al-Maliki. Al-Maliki was quoted last week by a German magazine appearing to endorse Obama's 16-month timetable. The Iraqi leader's aides have since said his remarks were misunderstood, and he is not taking sides in the U.S. election. The New York Times reports that "Maliki's interview prompted immediate concern from the Bush administration, which called to seek clarification from Mr. Malikis office, American officials said." The Times article continues, "Scott M. Stanzel, a White House spokesman with President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., said that embassy officials explained to the Iraqis how the interview in Der Spiegel was being interpreted, given that it came just a day after the two governments announced an agreement over American troops. 'The Iraqis were not aware and wanted to correct it,' he said." In addition, "Diplomats from the United States Embassy in Baghdad spoke to Mr. Malikis advisers on Saturday, said an American official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss what he called diplomatic communications. After that, the governments spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, issued a statement casting doubt on the magazines rendering of the interview. The statement, which was distributed to media organizations by the American military early on Sunday, said Mr. Malikis words had been'misunderstood and mistranslated,' but it failed to cite specifics." "Unfortunately, Der Spiegel was not accurate," the governments spokesman told the Times. "I have the recording of the voice of Mr. Maliki. We even listened to the translation." However, the paper notes, "the interpreter for the interview works for Mr. Malikis office, not the magazine. And in an audio recording of Mr. Malikis interview that Der Spiegel provided to The New York Times, Mr. Maliki seemed to state a clear affinity for Mr. Obamas position, bringing it up on his own in an answer to a general question on troop presence. The following is a direct translation from the Arabic of Mr. Malikis comments by The Times: 'Obamas remarks that if he takes office in 16 months he would withdraw the forces, we think that this period could increase or decrease a little, but that it could be suitable to end the presence of the forces in Iraq. Who wants to exit in a quicker way has a better assessment of the situation in Iraq.'" It was unclear whether Obama would make any public appearances or comments while in Iraq. But even a low-key visit may garner more scrutiny than any stage of his overseas trip, which is scheduled to move on to Jordan, Israel and European capitals. Iraq is one of the lighting rods in the presidential showdown with McCain. McCain has been critical of Obama's position on Iraq, saying the decision to pull out should be determined by progress, not a timetable. McCain also strongly backed the troop surge into Iraq last year. McCain's foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, said Obama "is stubbornly adhering to an unconditional withdrawal that places politics above the advice of our military commanders, the success of our troops, and the security of the American people." There is no question that Iraq is a significantly different place than during Obama's first visit in January 2006, when the country was caught in a growing Sunni insurgency and was moving toward a flood of Sunni-Shiite violence. Militant attacks and targeted killings by sectarian death squads is sharply down by many measures back to levels before the rise of the Sunni insurgency in 2004. So far this month, the U.S. military has reported nine soldier deaths in Iraq, in addition to the discovery of two bodies of soldiers abducted last year. The lowest monthly toll of the war was this May, when 19 military deaths were reported. In Afghanistan, meanwhile, U.S. military officials say the number of attacks in eastern regions, where most of the foreign troops are American, has increased by 40 percent so far in 2008 compared with the same period in 2007. But there are pockets of concern in Iraq. Bombings and slayings have been creeping higher in the northern city of Mosul, the last main urban stronghold for al-Qaida in Iraq. Insurgents also remain entrenched in the Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad and a main gateway to the city. Iraqi authorities have announced plans to send more forces into the area. Iraqi leaders also continue to stumble on some political measures supported by Washington. The nation's election commission on Sunday proposed delaying important provincial elections from this October until near the end of the year. Iraq's parliament has been unable to reach agreement on the guidelines for the voting, which would hand greater powers to regional authorities and is seen as a vital step toward national reconciliation. Obama arrived following a brief stop in Kuwait, a key U.S. ally. The delegation met Sunday with the emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and other senior officials, the Kuwait News Agency reported. In Afghanistan, Obama met with U.S. military commanders and troops and held talks with President Hamid Karzai. (with wire reports)The warning on Wednesday came following the European Parliament's subcommittee on human rights delegation visit to Turkey this week (16-18 May).
The delegation was led by Dutch ALDE member Marietje Schaake, accompanied by German Socialist MEP Arne Lietz and his Portuguese colleague Liliana Rodrigues.
Its main focus was the human rights aspects of the EU-Turkey agreement reached on 18 March to better manage migration flows, as well as the general rule of law situation in Turkey, including the conflict in the south east, freedom of expression and of the media.
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The visit took place a month following the adoption of Parliament's critical annual report on Turkey and only days after debates on visa liberalisation in the assembly.
MEPs cautioned that Parliament would play a "responsible and principled" role by only referring the visa liberalisation agreement for vote once all remaining requirements are fulfilled.
The delegation said these include amending anti-terrorism legislation and establishing data protection in line with European standards.
This is Parliament's official position and was also reiterated during the visit.
The delegation met with deputy Turkish ministers and officials of the ministry of EU affairs, interior and justice, members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), the Turkish ombudsman, as well as representatives of civil society and international agencies and journalists.
The three MEPs also visited the editors-in-chief of Cumhuriyet and the Hürriyet, two of the major independent Turkish newspapers.
Members said they ended the visit on Wednesday "recognising the critical moment for politics" in Turkey while the TGNA debated a motion to lift the immunity of certain MPs and an important upcoming AK party congress on the new leadership.
The MEPs said that all meetings took place in a "frank and open" atmosphere with all Turkish counterparts and it was agreed to work closely on issues of mutual interest with the Turkish Parliament.
On Wednesday, Marietje Schaake, who chairs the subcommittee delegation, told this website, "The deal between the EU and Turkey has put a new spotlight on the relations between the two.
For the European Parliament it is essential that core principles on respect for international law, the rule of law and human rights are upheld. "
"Whether it relates to the treatment of refugees, to the anti-terror laws or press freedom, only a values based assessment will ensure a credible and durable relationship, which serves people in Europe and Turkey".
A press conference concluding this visit was due to take place later on Wednesday in Istanbul.The 30-year-old - who plays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones - did an interview with The Wall Street Journal, in which he was asked about who he wants to see standing victorious.
Kit immediately replied: “Tyrion. Personally, I don't really tell people my theories about things, but I think it could be. It's not exactly going to be Tyrion, but I think it could be Tyrion.
“I think he's, it almost all started with Tyrion like he's not the obvious choice. The obvious choice is Daenerys, possibly Jon Snow. But Tyrion has always been, I almost view the world through Tyrion.
“Like he seems to be separate from it like he sees it for the way it is. He seems almost to see that it is a fantasy, he's the person who seems most grounded, most real. He's also got the nose for it."In Canada a policy jury or citizen jury is a body of people convened to render a decision or advice on a matter of public policy. It is similar to juries used in modern court trial except that the subject of its deliberation is a matter of public policy, rather than law. The concept of the policy jury is closely connected with deliberative democracy or participatory models of democratic governance, and is similar to a deliberative opinion poll.
In some cases, policy juries are composed of randomly selected members of a given population. Citizens participating in a policy jury engage in a comprehensive learning and deliberation processes before settling on a conclusion or set of recommendations.
Policy juries have been used in Canada. Citizens’ Assemblies on Electoral Reform convened in British Columbia in 2004[1] and Ontario in 2006[2] used policy juries to address alternative electoral systems. Three of Ontario’s Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN) have referred their Integrated Health Service Plans (IHSP) for 2010-2013 to policy juries for advice and refinement. LHINs referring their IHSPs to policy juries include the South East LHIN,[3] Central LHIN and Mississauga Halton LHIN.
See also [ edit ]IT takes all sorts to become an Instagram star these days.
The latest social media celebrity is one of the weirdest yet though - the Grim Reaper.
Swim Reaper 9 The latest Instagram star is one of the weirdest yet - the Grim Reaper
The black-cloaked character of death has been taken on by Water Safety New Zealand to warn people about the risk of drowning in the run-up to summer.
Known as the "Swim Reaper" on Instagram, the character can be seen carrying a surfboard, playing volleyball, and even acting as a lifeguard in darkly funny holiday snaps.
The campaign was set up as a way of reaching at-risk young men, aged 15 to 30.
Despite only making up 14 per cent of the population, young men account for around a third of all fatal incidents annually in New Zealand.
Swim Reaper 9 The black-cloaked character of death has been taken on by Water Safety New Zealand to warn people about the risk of drowning
What started as a small national campaign has gained worldwide attention though - with the account attracting more than 94,000 followers.
The tagline for social channel is "Swim dumb and you're done" — and it hopes to engage more young men in its message than traditional methods.
Jonty Mills, CEO of Water Safety New Zealand, said: "A lot of these drownings [of young men] are what we would describe as preventable fatalities.
"Lives would be saved if young males simply made smarter decisions around water."
9 The character is known as the 'Swim Reaper' on Instagram
Swim Reaper 9 The Swim Reaper is warning people about the risk of drowning in the run-up to summer
Swim Reaper 9 The character can be seen carrying a surfboard, playing volleyball, and even acting as a lifeguard in darkly funny holiday snaps
He continued: "However, this audience can react badly to being told what to do – it is a struggle to get positive safety messages through to them.
"Through the Swim Reaper's dark humour, he illustrates the deadly consequences of making bad decisions around water."
Swim Reaper 9 The campaign was set up by Water Safety New Zealand but has since gone global
Swim Reaper 9 Young men account for around a third of all fatal drowning incidents annually in New Zealand
Swim Reaper 9 What started as a small national campaign has gone on to attract more than 94,000 followers
Swim Reaper 9 Through the Swim Reaper's dark humour, he illustrates the deadly consequences of making bad decisions around waterA Corona woman has a new pet frog after finding the distressed animal in a large box of lettuce mix she had purchased from a local Target.Becky Garfinkel said she had made her salad, poured on the dressing and was just about halfway through eating her meal when she saw something in her salad start to move."As I'm pulling to go stab another bite, I see a frog sitting in my salad plate after I've eaten almost the entire salad. Completely freaked out - screamed. I threw up afterward because I was traumatized. I'm a vegetarian and I couldn't believe there was a frog in there," she said.The strict vegetarian quickly scooped the little frog out of the salad and rinsed off the dressing. Soon after, she said she noticed the frog was barely alive."(My husband) noticed that he was kind of not moving a lot and he rolled over. So he decides, let's do some chest compressions. With his finger - I'm not kidding you - barely pushes on the little frog and he breathes and turns around. I'm like OK. We have to keep him," she said.She said the small animal came from a box of Taylor Farms baby spring salad mix that she purchased at her local Target store on Tuscany Street in Corona.Garfinkel reached out to Target on Facebook about her find. The company responded and said it is looking into the issue and is contacting Taylor Farms. She said they also offered her a $5 gift card.Garfinkel and her husband said they once had a lizard as a pet in an aquarium, so they are now using that old aquarium as a new home for the frog, who they named "Lucky.""I will tell you right now, I have no desire to ever eat a salad again. I'm petrified of the thought of a salad," she said.She said she's lucky her new pet wasn't eaten and survived a traumatic ordeal of being stuck in a salad mix and being tossed in a salad.When it comes to shaping the next generation of innovators and thinkers in design, these are the top industrial design schools in North America.
The catch-all discipline of industrial design now embraces a multitude of creative streams beyond mere lighting and furniture, with students working on everything from crafting violins out of spider silk to developing the world-saving technologies of tomorrow.
To determine which schools best prepare these students to turn their concepts into careers, we looked at dozens of programs and asked experts in the field to tell us what they look for when recruiting.
ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, California
Programs: Bachelor of Science, Master of Science
Tuition: BSc: US$40,000; MSc: US$43,000
Enrolment: 2,000 (750 in school of industrial design)
Notable Alumni: Yves Béhar (founder of fuseproject), Nolen Niu (furniture designer)
ArtCenter may be a small school, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for with a highly respected program, a conservatory-like approach, a host of next-level maker spaces and a faculty of renowned industry practitioners. As furniture designer and alum Nolen Niu attests, “ArtCenter’s corporate projects give students real-world experience in the design process.” Last year’s crop of students, for instance, collaborated with manufacturer Bernhardt Design on a line of office furniture for millennials; the prototypes, finished to perfection, were then presented at ICFF in New York.
ArtCenter’s boot-camp attitude demands hard work of its students, which may be why the school attracts a mature and driven student body. Speaking of drive, ArtCenter also boasts an innovative transportation design department, with many alumni going on to find work at luxury car companies. Whatever their focus, many graduates attest that their studies at ArtCenter are the hardest thing they’ve ever done, but made them stand out professionally. artcenter.edu
Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction, Auburn, Alabama
Programs: Bachelor of Industrial Design, Master of Industrial Design
Tuition: US$10,700 in-state, US$29,000 out-of-state
Enrolment: 27,000 (205 in school of industrial design)
Notable Alumni: Tom Hardy (former head of IBM Design), William Spratling (silversmith)
AU is known for its emphasis on product innovations and commercial environments, and ranks high for its studio-based, industry-sponsored projects. For example, in an ongoing collaboration with Alabama State University’s graduate orthodontics and prosthetics program, third-year students design and build 3-D-printed artificial limbs and devices that give people affected by limb loss a second chance to play the cello, or do many more of the mundane activities that non-disabled people take for granted. cadc.auburn.edu
California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California
Programs: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts
Tuition: BFA: US$45,000; MFA: US$47,000
Enrolment: 2,000 (300 in school of design)
Notable Alumni: Nick Cronan (Founder of branch Creative), Roger C. Field (inventor of Foldaxe)
Founded by a German cabinetmaker in 1907, at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement, CCA remains a stronghold of the maker tradition. While this approach may seem like Luddism – antithetical to today’s tech-driven industrial design world – the philosophy has been updated to embrace all the tools the 21st century has to offer. The school’s hands-on, trans-disciplinary approach, along with its small class sizes and faculty of practising professionals, has earned it top marks from many school-ranking organizations.
CCA offers courses that delve into everything from soft goods and wearables to electronics and user interfaces – not to mention more traditional crafts, and even bike-frame design. The school’s San Francisco location only adds to the real-world milieu, as students get to rub shoulders with Silicon Valley start-ups and the venture capitalist impresarios of Menlo Park’s Sand Hill Road. cca.edu
Carleton University School of Industrial Design, Ottawa, Ontario
Programs: Bachelor of Industrial Design, Master of Design
Tuition: BID: $11,000 domestic, $28,000 international; MDes: $4,300 domestic, $8,900 international
Enrolment: 28,000 (255 in school of design)
Notable Alumni: Karim Rashid, Howard Nuk (VP of Design at Samsung), Chad Harber (designer of Fitbit one)
Carleton’s strength lies in a practical education, where students learn by doing. Instruction that places equal emphasis on process and making, creativity and technical mastery, has earned the long-standing program an excellent reputation. Just one of two Canadian industrial design schools recognized by the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), Carleton has extensive facilities – including sensor and prototyping labs – and a co-op program that promises a minimum 12-week placement.
The experts we spoke to were often impressed with graduates’ go-to-market skills, including technical proficiency, keen design process thinking and an ability to work in teams – factors that combine to make graduates sought-after employees. As Jonathan Sabine, co-founder of Toronto’s MSDS Studio, told Azure, “Carleton is still the school to go to for pure industrial design training.” A location in the capital lets students work with government research and development laboratories on a regular basis. id.carleton.ca
Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Programs: Bachelor of Design, Master of Design, Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy
Tuition: BDES: US$51,000; MDes/MA/PhD: US$39,000
Enrolment: 13,500 (215 in school of design)
Notable Alumni: Fred Bould (designer of Nest Thermostat), Carroll Gantz (designer of Dustbuster)
CMU is blessed with top-flight business and computer science faculties, and students of its School of Design benefit from these intramural resources, graduating as designers steeped in technology – be it hardware, software, interaction or systems, all of which are increasingly inseparable. While the school does offer a product design stream, its strengths lie in graphic communications for print and digital. Its program framework was recently overhauled to reflect a more A-to-Z approach, with an overarching theme – Design for Interaction – that upholds design as the solution to common problems.
Students are expected to first determine the scope and timeline of the change they’d like to effect, then choose between Design for Service (moderate change), Design for Social Innovation (significant change) and Transition Design (radical change). In this new light, according to program directors, CMU is fostering a generation of values-led designers. design.cmu.edu
Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, British Columbia
Programs: Bachelor of Design, Master of Design
Tuition: BDes: $5,000 domestic, $15,000 international; Mdes: $17,000
Enrolment: 2,000 (60 in school of design)
Notable Alumni: Jeannie Mah (ceramicist), Ron Thom (architect)
Emily Carr established its industrial design program in the 1980s; though still relatively new, it is considered among Canada’s best, with Germany’s Red Dot Institute ranking Emily Carr among their top design universities worldwide last year. Offering excellent training at the edges of the discipline, and especially in sustainable design, ECUAD’s instruction ultimately asks, “What does 21st-century industrial design need in order to regain ecological integrity?” This renegotiation is led by the school’s social innovation lab, which strives to dramatically reduce resource and energy consumption. Yet despite this emphasis on context-driven research, the school maintains that beauty is still necessary for this new tack. The university also boasts great fabrication facilities, including a 3-D printing studio and a dedicated health design lab. ecuad.ca
OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
Programs: Bachelor of Design, Master of Design
Tuition: BDes: $7,300 domestic, $22,000 international; MDes: $8,600 domestic, $20,000 international
Enrolment: 4,500 (415 in school of design)
Notable Alumni: Douglas Ball (Designer for Herman Miller), Scot Laughton (Designer for Keilhauer, Nienkämper)
Housed in Will Alsop’s iconic Sharp Centre for Design, OCAD U’s industrial design program is the best school for comprehensive systems design, addressing global issues as defined by the United Nations’ 2030 sustainable development goals. The resulting work is ambitious in its synthesis of disciplines – for example, a lunch kit that tackles the looming food crisis by doing away with meat and plastic, and integrating an app for monitoring daily nutrition.
The program asks students to imagine products and services located at the crossroads of “the artifact,” “the system” and “the experience” – which, in this day and age, often means responding to our digital shadows. The result is young industrial designers prepared to infuse their work with global and local perspectives and push boundaries in the field, which prompted design studio owner and entrepreneur Jonathan Loudon to praise the school’s ability to “instill students with a good foundation in research and lateral thinking.” ocadu.ca
Pratt Institute, New York, New York
Programs: Bachelor of Industrial Design, Master of Industrial Design
Tuition: BID: US$39,500; MID: US$46,000
Enrolment: 4,600 (280 in school of design)
Notable Alumni: Ayse Birsel (Designer for Herman Miller), Todd Bracher, George Mulhauser (Designer of Plycraft’s Mr. Chair), Charles Pollock (designer for Knoll)
In step with New York’s dog-eat-dog pace, Pratt’s industrial design program is tough to get into, tough to stay in, and, as a result, among the best in the country. Consistently, our experts lauded the program’s rigour, its ability to give students individual attention, and its emphasis on the ever-important issue of a product’s economic feasbility; as Matt Carr of Umbra explains, Pratt excels at offering its students a “good integration into the business of design.”
Final-year, capstone studios allow students to narrow their studies to a specialized field, from furniture, product |
left brain being more frequently aroused (as defined by EEG criteria) than the right hemisphere.
SOURCE: “NIGHT WATCH IN ONE BRAIN HEMISPHERE DURING SLEEP ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST-NIGHT EFFECT IN HUMANS,” BY MASAKO TAMAKI ET AL., IN CURRENT BIOLOGY, VOL. 26, NO. 9; MAY 9, 2016
During the second session in the scanner, both left and right hemispheres responded weakly and in the same manner to oddball sounds, as they did to the stereotyped beeps during both nights. If a brain network in the left cortical hemisphere acts as a night watchman for the sleeper, then an irregular event registered only by the left brain (via the right ear) should elicit a faster response than an oddball sound delivered to the right brain (via the left ear). This idea was tested in a third group of 11 volunteers: they had to lightly tap their fingers whenever they heard the sounds while asleep in the scanner. (I know, it doesn't sound like the most restful way to sleep; they were also not permitted to drink caffeine or alcohol or to take a daytime nap.) Sounds delivered to the ear projecting into the left hemisphere were much more likely to trigger an awakening during the first night than sounds to the opposite ear and hemisphere. This left-right asymmetry disappeared during the second night's sleep. Furthermore, it took the left brain less time to awaken in response to the deviant sound than the right brain.
In short, while sleeping in an unfamiliar place, the left cortical hemisphere is more vigilant and responds stronger and faster than the right one. Evolutionarily, this reaction makes a great deal of sense. It is important that a sentinel—here the left cortical default-mode network—monitors the unknown environment for threatening events while we sleep. The human brain, it turns out, is endowed with a less dramatic form of the unihemispheric sleep found in birds and some mammals. For humans, familiarity with a place breeds a deep night's sleep.
If we consider the individual we routinely share a bed with—whether spouse, partner or child—to be the most important social component of the environment, then I suspect that the left hemisphere might also be more watchful during the first night we sleep alone in our familiar bedroom. It knows something is amiss, and we'll sleep less restfully as a consequence.
In my next column, I will discuss another recent discovery: how deep sleep can intrude into our waking brain.Well the wonderful thing about Tiggers is that I now have them in my apartment of course!! I have been a lover of all things Tigger since I was a wee one. and I finally got to meet "him" in February. I mean I about pushed my son out of the way and ran off without him... Tigger is THAT cool.
I could not be more ecstatic or happy with Rebecca and her fantabulous choices in picking out my gifts.
I got the first gift (A Tigger Key chain from my amazon wish list) on Saturday in the mail and it instantly went on my key chains. This thing is the most amazing key chain I have ever owned.
The second gift are Lilo and Stitch nail decals. If I couldn't have Tigger, I would want Stitch. These things are too flippin cute, and I would have never thought to get something so nice for myself. Sitch can now hula across Colorado with me :)
The third gift I think I like best of all. Keep Calm and Bounce on. I think I will just hang it around my neck and carry it like a gigantic FlavaFlave clock. It makes me grin ear to ear.
Rebecca, I love all of your gifts. Thank you so much for bringing some childhood joy into my life and brightening my day! I hope your gifter was just as amazing as you.Photo: Flickr, CC
Photo: Flickr, CC
A few years ago, I read a pretty good book by Harvard social psychologist Dan Gilbert. It's titled Stumbling on Happiness, and it's mostly about the gap between what people think will make them happy and what actually does. It turns out that we aren't very good at all at predicting what will bring us happiness... This has implications for the environment, especially when it comes to why so many people fall into a pattern of over-consumption that leaves them not much happier (and often worse, if it leads to chronic debt and a cluttered life).
There's one concept in psychology that is particularly applicable to consumerism culture. It's called the Hedonic Treadmill. Wikipedia describes it thus:
The hedonic treadmill is the tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of happiness despite changes in fortune or the achievement of major goals. As a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness.
This doesn't mean that being poor is fun, or that becoming richer doesn't make anyone happier in the long-term. But in general, on average, increasing wealth (especially past the point where all your basic needs are met) doesn't make people nearly as happy as they would have predicted, and this goes back to our flawed prediction mechanism.
More money can make you happier if you use it to do the things that really make you happier. For example, for some people it can be to live a life that is more closely aligned with their values, or to have the freedom to spend more times with loved ones, or to reduce the number of sources of stress around them, to support artistic or scientific pursuits, etc.
Stuff, Stuff, Stuff, Stuff, Stuff
But many people spend it all on stuff, lots of stuff. They buy something and get a little happiness hit, but that fades quickly and they revert back to their happiness set point. So they buy something else to get another hit, and something else, and so on until they accumulate a bunch of stuff they don't need, and then they need a bigger house to store it all, and this means more expenses, a higher environmental footprint, and no more financial freedom than before because they have to keep working hard to pay for all that new stuff. They turn into a Fight Club cliché and the stuff they own owns them.
Getting Off the Treadmill
Society-wide, it's not a problem that can easily be fixed. During our ancestral past, physical possessions were so rare that it's probably an evolutionary adaptation to try to acquire as much of it as possible, and the way our brain gets us to do it is by telling us that it will make us happy.
But I think that if people were made more aware of this cognitive bias, that they could mitigate it. Our instinct might be to think that a shiny new toy will make us happy, but if we know that it rarely works that way, we could consciously try to do more of the things that truly make us happy instead (even if they aren't always the things we would have predicted).
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Autocentric Development was a Mistake, Let's Fix It (Video)The Sims 4 Animations – Sims will be less stupid
This article will sadly have a lot of text and not (m)any images. But please bear with it, it is worth reading because the changes the The Sims 4 team made to the animations are impressive. Also some things we want, height slider, were explained why they are simply not possible.
The presentation was given by Marion who is the Technical Animation Director for The Sims 4 and has worked on The Sims series for the last 10 years.
We have her to thank for the kittens and puppies we got in The Sims 2, she worked out how to make them and the bottle battle of two toddlers in The Sims 2.
The goal of the animation team for The Sims 4 was to make the Sims less robotic and more human. This meant more smooth, natural and believable animations. Better routing, group socials, multitasking and emotions.
Side Steps
One of the animations that got most smoothed is side-steps. In The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 Sims had to fully turn and then could walk into that other direction.
The Sims can side step/turn around in any direction, the full 360 degrees. This means that especially in tight places Sims can maneuver around much better and will not get routing fail any more. There are like 60 animations that allow the Sims the full 360 degree range, one of them is the full 180 degree turn!
Before you think ‘oh but my Sims in The Sims 3 can do this too!”, most of the time the Sims will turn and walk. It also takes them a few seconds to realize they need to move out of the way.
You will see how long it takes for my Sim to walk around, it is much smoother and faster in The Sims 4.
Walking
There is much better routing in The Sims 4. Sims will walk by each other through a corridor instead of stopping, yelling, the game telling other Sims to get out the way and then having to wait on that.
The goal is to make Sims almost never get stuck or have any routing fails.
We have all seen this situation, Sims are in a corrider with a door. Other Sim wants to get through the door and the next few Sim-hours are spent with Sims walking out of the way, now the first Sim just walks through the other Sims, that are standing in the way, with all the side step animations. I hope Maxis releases the video of this animation because it made us all gasp and squee.
Paths
In the garden if you make a path with floor tiles to your frontdoor, your Sims will follow those tiles to walk to the house instead of just over the grass with the shortest path. However if you make a long spiral of tiles your Sim will not follow those.
Social Groups
Take a moment to think of yourself in a group situation, at a party or just when you are talking to friends. You will notice you stand around in a circle talking, listening, interacting. People join the group or leave it and the circle gets remade each time.
They have done this now in The Sims 4 too! We might have had some group interactions in The Sims 3 but in the Sims 4 it just looks a lot less awkward or as Marion says “less stupid”.
At EA they have a party every other friday to celebrate it is the weekend. The animators placed a secret camera so that they were able to accurately observe human behaviour (in the wild) while socializing. The Circle thing I mentioned earlier was something they observed a lot, even when Marion (on purpose) walked to the other side of the circle the circle got back to its optimal configuration. They even took the behaviour of one of the developers talking loudly with hand movements and put it in the game. I love getting to know these little details from the developer team.
Social Groups apparently took a high level of math and a lot of work to make this work well. I will never be able to look at a social group in the same way again, I will always see the (almost) perfect circle.
And this works standing and seated and the other Sims are constantly engaged with the conversation (or my guess, bored too). There are no stony face Sims!
During a social interaction, like a scary story, the game will have points in the animation where the other Sims will react to it, intrigued for example.
At least 5 Sims will be able to be in a social group, but this is still being worked on. In Real Life bigger groups often break up to smaller groups.
Sims talking
When humans talk with each other (in a group or on the sofa) the body is not always facing (entirely) the other person, mostly the head is. In The Sims 4 the Sims are now capable of doing this. Can even talk to Sims who stand behind the sofa.
You have seen this in this screenshot:
Small detail but very powerful and probably a headache for the testing team! Every (conversation) animation has to be tested that it works like this!
Sitting
The sitting down animation is very natural while in The Sims 3 it is quite well, unnatural is the word.
What is possible with the currently technology is to have almost every animation (where relevant) standing as well as seated. A Sim can tell a scary story standing, but also seated. On a regular chair, barstool, bed(!). Sims can even have conversations on the bed while sitting on different sides (facing different directions).
Multitasking
There are several ways that the Sims can now multitask. For instance a Sim can run on a treadmill and talk to a Sim nearby at the same time. They can hold a plate and a glass at the same time, funny thing is when your Sim wants to eat from the plate the glass has to go away (in their pocket ;)) to use a fork.
All this will make it faster to take care of our Sims’ needs.
Sims can have a conversation while cooking, it is not synchronous talking/stirring because you have to be focused while stirring (or at least your Sims do). But one Sim can talk to your Sim while he/she is stirring, then they stop stirring, talk back and go back to stirring!
Emotions
It would be impossible to make a happy or sad version of every animation in the game (content explosion). So they put the emotion animation in the places where you could see it, walks for example is a very effective place for emotion animations. You will also see little emotional animations where appropriate (so not during socials or other signature animations), like a sad drinking animation.
With the painting screenshot you can see especially well how this would work in the game.
Mouth movement
The Sims now have, almost, proper jaw movements when they talk. It is not exactly lip sync but its also not static/weird movement. It is based on the voice/simlish and how loud the voice is. So when your Sim talks the mouth/jaw mimics roughly what the sound is. It is not animated manually by the animators.
Proper lip sync was considered but that would bring down performance. So this in between state is a very good compromize.
Sound
Happy Sims will actually sound happy in the game, I think the voice recording group has been very impressive with this.
Hair Animation
Hair is not animated, this is a performance concern.
There is a rumour floating around about hair growth, this was not discussed during Simscamp and I do not know to what extend this will be in the game or at all.
No Height Slider
Making Height Slider work would mean hiring all of China.
The reason there is no height slider in The Sims 4 is that they would have to pretty much multiply every animation they have in the game by the number of heights that we want. Marion explained that The Sims games have a LOT of animations compared to other games, multiplying that by even 2 or 3 heights would be a lot of work.
This is not to say they will never have height sliders in future The Sims games but that at this point it is not possible with the technology they have. Right now it would mean hiring all of China to make it work.
As mentioned before, they did manage to make new technology to work so that all animations work seated and standing. I think that is 1 step in the right direction, however I am not a technical animator and I have limited knowledge of it all 😉
Conclusion
The Sims 4 animation upgrades seem like many small details, but the overall effect is just awesome. The animations feel so much more human/realistic and “not stupid”.
What amazes me is the blend of cartoony/stylized/vibrant appearance and realistic feeling to the animation. It just feels right, they could have made everything cartoony or everything realistic, but then it would not be a ‘The Sims’ game!
Hopefully maxis will release the animations we saw in Marion’s presentation, they were amazingIf Jeff Van Gundy wants to back up his prediction that the Miami Heat will break the Chicago Bulls' record of 72 wins, there's a former Bulls star who's willing to take the bet.
Scottie Pippen, during Hall of Fame festivities Friday morning, took exception to a prediction Van Gundy made to the Miami Herald that the Heat will break the mark the Bulls set in the 1995-96 season.
"Those guys' biggest goal is to win a championship and not try to win 72 games," Pippen told reporters. "But if Jeff Van Gundy wants to take a bet, I would bet him that they won't break it."
Van Gundy recently told ESPN 1000: "I would think that everybody would think they would have a great shot at it... I just think if they're healthy, the discrepancy between their talent level and and the next level is so great, that I just don't see how they lose games. I think they're that good."
Pippen doesn't even agree that Miami is better than the Boston Celtics.
"You can put a lot of great players together, but it's about building chemistry," Pippen said. "There have been a lot of great teams put together. But that doesn't really seal the deal.
"I think that Boston is still the best team in the East. Miami has to prove themselves."
Pippen also pointed out that Van Gundy, who coached the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, couldn't break the record.
"I don't want to elaborate on what Jeff Van Gundy said," Pippen said. "Who is he to say that they're gonna break the record? He coached for numerous years in this league and he hasn't been able to break it, so we'll wait and see."Billionaire Warren Buffett, CEO and chairman of investment company Berkshire Hathaway. (Photo11: NICHOLAS KAMM AFP/Getty Images)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett says he is optimistic about America's economic future because the nation has begun to unleash the potential of women.
Buffett's views on the role of women appeared online Thursday in an editorial he wrote for Fortune magazine.
He says most of America's prosperity was created using only about 50% of its talent — men. So he's confident the country will prosper as more women excel in the workforce.
"For most of our history, women — whatever their abilities — have been relegated to the sidelines," Buffett writes. "Only in recent years have we begun to correct that problem."
Buffett, 82, discussed the topic at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's business college Thursday.
Buffett says his two sisters were encouraged to set their sights on "marrying well" as a career goal even though they are just as bright as he is.
Buffett says he saw his friend, Katharine Graham, continue to doubt herself as she led the Washington Post Co. She'd been told throughout her life that men were better at business.
Buffett is getting ready to face more than 30,000 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders this weekend. He is Berkshire's chairman and CEO.
Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries that include railroad, clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. Its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half of the company's net income.
The Omaha, Neb., company also has major investments in companies such as Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, and International Business Machines, better known as IBM.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/ZpFGp7He was incredibly sexy, and more importantly, available. But that’s not why I chose not to disclose. It was because I was angry.
You could say I tricked him into sex.
It was 3:00 a.m. and I was in the front seat of his off-duty cab. He was taking me home from the party we had met at. He was gorgeous. Eastern European, solid and muscular in a way that comes from work, not the gym.
He flirted politely, and I coyly expressed disbelief that anyone as attractive as him didn’t have a girlfriend. He works seven nights a week and never has a chance to meet girls, he told me. It was an opening and I knew it. I put my hand on his arm with a compassionate touch, but with that barrier broken, I could feel the charge run through him.
He soon pulled over into a parking lot and we started making out, our hands reaching across the front seats to explore each others bodies. When he pulled my skirt up and ran his hands along my thighs, my heart pounded.
We were in a dark lot on the west side of Chicago in the middle of the night, and I hadn’t seen any other cars on the road. If he kicks me out of the cab, I would be stranded. More sobering, with his size and strength, he could easily kill me. Race and geography had largely protected me from such danger, but I knew I was crossing a perilous line.
Up to this moment I would have sworn to you that trans women never hook up with men without disclosing, if for no other reason than we are the ones most aware of the risks we face. I certainly had never done anything like this before. So what brought me here? Yes, it was late and I was both aroused and in an altered state. And he was incredibly sexy, and more importantly, available. But that’s not why I chose not to disclose. It was because I was angry.
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Exactly one week earlier I had been on a flight to New York City. I was seated next to a father, Jim, and his teenage daughter, whom he was taking to look at colleges. He was a literal daddy. We started chatting and hit it off, quickly moving into “Are you single?” territory. By time we landed his daughter had rolled her eyes at our obvious flirtation and we had exchanged emails. Over the next week we wrote back and forth several times before I finally said, “Are you ever going to ask me out or what?” He did, for Friday night.
One of my skills that I personally find most remarkable is my ability to talk to someone for hours without ever mentioning I’m trans, despite almost all my work being heavily engaged in trans issue. The occasion that affords me the most often practice is flights, and so it was that I had never actually told Jim that I was trans.
This was my thinking at the time: He must know I’m trans, but he’s being polite in not bringing it up. I mean, I look trans, right? Whenever I looked in the mirror I just saw a palimpsest of gender, with craggy peaks of vestigial masculinity. Surely he knew just by looking at me. Also, I was wearing a “trans” button on my jacket. He must have seen that! And the final assurance, in my willfully naive brain, was that he mentioned how much he loved Joe Biden. The vice president had just spoke out on trans rights, so I was convinced that this was Jim’s way of letting me know he was down. He knows. I know he knows, and he knows I know he knows, so we’re fine.
Come Friday, I’m getting ready while joyfully singing and dancing around my apartment. This feeling, that anticipation when you’ve met someone you like, was one I didn’t think I’d ever have again after transition. Maybe being trans wasn’t going to be as bad as everyone says.
One hour before we’re to meet at the restaurant, I get an email from Jim. It read, in its entirety: “I just googled your name. I didn’t realize what you were. I have no interest in that.”
“That.”
I don’t know how to express what that feels like. To this day, I don’t know what to compare it to. The closest I’ve gotten is that it’s kind of like disclosing that you’re in recovery from some kind of addiction. Like that, being trans is one piece of information about who you are, mostly about your past, that isn’t evident upon first meeting. It’s says a lot that the best comparison I have is to a disease that destroys and takes lives.
My first instinct was to apologize to him, which embarasses me now. “I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything. I thought you knew. What don’t we just have dinner and talk about it?” I may have written back to that effect. Over the course of the night my feelings shifted to hurt, and then to anger. Clearly he does have interest in “that.”
I went to a friend’s party and distracted myself as best I could. In very unhealthy, but temporarily effective, ways. When it got late and I needed to head home, my friend mentioned this cab driver he knew, who gives him rides in exchange for drugs. My first and only question was, “Is he hot?”
In some part of my addled brain I had already decided I was going to fuck somebody tonight, and I wasn’t going to bother with these bullshit disclosures that only lead to pain.
And so I found myself in a situation that I knew to be mostly be a fiction of straight male anxiety. I was “tricking” a guy into sex. I wish I could say that I was at least telling myself the same old rationalization, that he knew but wasn’t saying anything, but I really didn’t care in that moment. Because fuck him. Fuck Jim. Fuck all the assholes who had ever made jokes about killing trans women, or made vomit noises when they saw me, or spit on me, or laughed at me, or beat up my friends, or executed poor black girls just a few miles from me. Fuck them all. It didn’t really matter if you disclosed or not, if you were passing or not, if you did everything “right” or not. There was no winning, so I may as well just have some fun.
I pushed his hand away from my crotch, muttering something about my period, and then went down on him. He couldn’t believe this was happening. I know this because he kept saying, “I can’t believe this is happening. Is this really happening?” I finally had to tell him, “Yes, this is happening. Now shut up and enjoy it.” He finished and then drove me home. I demurred when asked for me number, and I never saw him again.
I don’t feel bad about what I did. It was incredibly stupid and dangerous and, most of all, self-destructive, but nothing in the world will convince me I owed him anything. As far as he’s concerned, and will undoubtedly tell his buddies, he got a great blowjob from a hot chick he was driving home. That’s the only truth.
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In the web series I co-wrote, Her Story, a trans woman, Paige, played by Angelica Ross, chooses not to disclose to a man she’s met, James. In an earlier scene we see a man leaving her bedroom and evading Paige when she asks if he wants to grab dinner. She responds, “It’s cool,” with practiced nonchalance. She’s accustomed to straight men who want to hook up with her in private, but not be seen with her in public. On her first date with James, she’s about to disclose, resigned to the likelihood that the evening will end right there, but she’s disarmed by James’ charm and, almost on a whim, she chooses not to.
Because of this choice, she finds herself going through a process that most people can take for granted, but she had always been denied: falling in love. In a deleted scene, Paige tells her friend Violet, also a trans woman, “I just wanted to be a girl on a date.” It’s a simple line, but it’s the simplicity of such an ordinary longing that breaks my heart.
Later James finds out, through someone else, that Paige is trans and tells her, “You should have told me.” Rather than apologizing or running away, Paige counters, “Should I have?” It’s a moment I’d never seen on screen or in real life, a trans woman challenging the conventional narratives around disclosure. James, in what I think is the most important line of the series, confesses, “I have a gambling problem.” After a pause, he further admits, “I’m just trying to understand, when would have been the right time to tell you that?”
It’s an aspirational moment, but an honest one. James recognizes that we all have disclosures, and there are no simple rules about when they should come.
My encounter with Jim and the cab driver took place years ago, when I was still figuring out who I was and struggling through the trauma of transition. I’ve never since been intimate with a man who didn’t already know I was trans, but I also no longer feel it’s anything to apologize for or be ashamed of. I’m proud of who I am. I’m proud of the ways that being trans opened my eyes to all kinds of inequities. Mostly I’m proud that I share some small thing in common with powerful people I admire, like Janet Mock, Bamby Salcedo, or Gavin Grimm.
Nonetheless, I still don’t feel that anyone can tell me when and to whom I should disclose. That’s my business, and it includes considerations and complications that cis people can scarcely conceive. More often than not I think this: Until men have to disclose to me that they’re assholes, I don’t have to disclose anything at all.I'll preface this by saying that I will try my best not to get too confrontational or aggressive, and will refrain from any ad-hominem attacks on individuals. But I believe that my past few posts on gun control have not gotten the following, very important points across, and I will be fore forthright and frank, not being afraid to hurt some feelings.Gun owners are nowhere as bad as slave owners. Owning a killing device is still a bit less evil than directly enslaving another human being. If I HAD HAD HAD to chose between a nation where slavery is legal, and where guns are legal, I'd choose the gun owning nation.But gun owners are in the same position as slave owners in the 1850's and 60's. The nation is moving ever forward, and nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. And as of today, one of those ideas whose time has come is gun control, just like abolition in the 1800's.Slavery, too was protected in the original constitution. The 3/5 compromise allowed blacks to be counted as less than a whole human. But the constitution is a living document. Our founding fathers knew that future generations would add upon their work, and bring more rights to more people. With the 13th amendment passed in 1865, the right to have slaves was abolished. There was much public uproar in the South, but progress prevailed, and slavery is frowned upon in most parts of the country today.The second amendment is used to defend gun ownership (in reality, it was talking about the army, but that's a debate for a different time.) But it is just some writing on a piece of paper, just like the 3/5th compromise, which will be removed when the nation finally rises to its senses, like it did in 1865.Already, we are making much progress. Gun ownership is falling like a rock. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us...anted=all&_r=0 Most gun sales are to people who already have an arsenal in their homes. Analysis: Fewer U.S. gun owners own more guns - CNN.com With the passign of I 594 in Washington, we have found a new winning tactic of bypassing NRA bribed politicians and allowing the people themselves to vote on gun control without the influence of Koch Brother or NRA money.And our victories will continue. We will start by banning guns designed only for killing humans, such as machine guns and assault rifles. We will then move on to ensure that if anybody TRULY needs a gun, he needs to show his character and document his gun ownership, and be interviewed stringently by law enforcement beforehand. Much like they do in Ireland http://www.garda.ie/Documents/User/f...ion%5B2%5D.pdf, which is much safer than the USA by the way.I could sum this up with my own words, but I will let a public office candidate from Oak Park, Illinois, have his words heard. The title of his article says it all: "History is Not on the Side of Gun Owners" History is not on the side of gun owners | Articles | News | OakPark.comImagine a wonderful world, a planet on which there was no threat of climate breakdown, no loss of freshwater, no antibiotic resistance, no obesity crisis, no terrorism, no war. Surely, then, we would be out of major danger? Sorry. Even if everything else were miraculously fixed, we’re finished if we don’t address an issue considered so marginal and irrelevant that you can go for months without seeing it in a newspaper.
It’s literally and – it seems – metaphorically, beneath us. To judge by its absence from the media, most journalists consider it unworthy of consideration. But all human life depends on it. We knew this long ago, but somehow it has been forgotten. As a Sanskrit text written in about 1500BC noted: “Upon this handful of soil our survival depends. Husband it and it will grow our food, our fuel and our shelter and surround us with beauty. Abuse it and the soil will collapse and die, taking humanity with it.”
The issue hasn’t changed, but we have. Landowners around the world are now engaged in an orgy of soil destruction so intense that, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, the world on average has just 60 more years of growing crops. Even in Britain, which is spared the tropical downpours that so quickly strip exposed soil from the land, Farmers Weekly reports, we have “only 100 harvests left”.
Landowners around the world are now engaged in an orgy of soil destruction
To keep up with global food demand, the UN estimates, 6m hectares (14.8m acres) of new farmland will be needed every year. Instead, 12m hectares a year are lost through soil degradation. We wreck it, then move on, trashing rainforests and other precious habitats as we go. Soil is an almost magical substance, a living system that transforms the materials it encounters, making them available to plants. That handful the Vedic master showed his disciples contains more micro-organisms than all the people who have ever lived on Earth. Yet we treat it like, well, dirt.
The techniques that were supposed to feed the world threaten us with starvation. A paper just published in the journal Anthropocene analyses the undisturbed sediments in an 11th-century French lake. It reveals that the intensification of farming over the past century has increased the rate of soil erosion sixtyfold.
Another paper, by researchers in the UK, shows that soil in allotments – the small patches in towns and cities that people cultivate by hand – contains a third more organic carbon than agricultural soil and 25% more nitrogen. This is one of the reasons why allotment holders produce between four and 11 times more food per hectare than do farmers.
Whenever I mention this issue, people ask: “But surely farmers have an interest in looking after their soil?” They do, and there are many excellent cultivators who seek to keep their soil on the land. There are also some terrible farmers, often absentees, who allow contractors to rip their fields to shreds for the sake of a quick profit. Even the good ones are hampered by an economic and political system that could scarcely be better designed to frustrate them.
Why are organic farmers across Britain giving up? Read more
This is the International Year of Soils, but you wouldn’t know it. In January, the Westminster government published a new set of soil standards, marginally better than those they replaced, but wholly unmatched to the scale of the problem. There are no penalities for compromising our survival except a partial withholding of public subsidies. Yet even this pathetic guidance is considered intolerable by the National Farmers’ Union, which greeted them with bitter complaints. Sometimes the NFU seems to me to exist to champion bad practice and block any possibility of positive change.
Few sights are as gruesome as the glee with which the NFU celebrated the death last year of the European soil framework directive, the only measure with the potential to arrest our soil-erosion crisis. The NFU, supported by successive British governments, fought for eight years to destroy it, then crowed like a shedful of cockerels when it won. Looking back on this episode, we will see it as a parable of our times.
Soon after that, the business minister, Matthew Hancock, announced that he was putting “business in charge of driving reform”: trade associations would be able “to review enforcement of regulation in their sectors.” The NFU was one the first two bodies granted this privilege. Hancock explained that this “is all part of our unambiguously pro-business agenda to increase the financial security of the British people.” But it doesn’t increase our security, financial or otherwise. It undermines it.
The government’s deregulation bill, which has now almost completed its passage through parliament, will force regulators – including those charged with protecting the fabric of the land – to “have regard to the desirability of promoting economic growth”. But short-term growth at the expense of public protection compromises long-term survival. This “unambiguously pro-business agenda” is deregulating us to death.
There’s no longer even an appetite for studying the problem. Just one university – Aberdeen – now offers a degree in soil science. All the rest have been closed down.
This is what topples civilisations. War and pestilence might kill large numbers of people, but in most cases the population recovers. But lose the soil and everything goes with it.
Now, globalisation ensures that this disaster is reproduced everywhere. In its early stages, globalisation enhances resilience: people are no longer dependent on the vagaries of local production. But as it proceeds, spreading the same destructive processes to all corners of the Earth, it undermines resilience, as it threatens to bring down systems everywhere.
Short-term growth at the expense of public protection compromises long-term survival
Almost all other issues are superficial by comparison. What appear to be great crises are slight and evanescent when held up against the steady trickling away of our subsistence.
The avoidance of this issue is perhaps the greatest social silence of all. Our insulation from the forces of nature has encouraged a belief in the dematerialisation of our lives, as if we no longer subsist on food and water, but on bits and bytes. This is a belief that can be entertained only by people who have never experienced serious hardship, and who are therefore unaware of the contingency of existence.
It’s not as if we are short of solutions. While it now seems that ploughing of any kind is incompatible with the protection of the soil, there are plenty of means of farming without it. Independently, in several parts of the world, farmers have been experimenting with zero-tillage (also known as conservation agriculture), |
s’ political ambitions are entwined with the family’s narrow personal interests, even as she quotes Charles Koch dismissing the idea as “ludicrous” in a recent interview in USA Today.
She ends the book with a quote attributed to Charles as a boy. “When called upon to split a treat with others he would say with a wise-guy grin, ‘I just want my fair share — which is all of it.’ ”
Twitter: @thamburgerLawsuits Target 'Debtors' Prisons' Across the Country
Enlarge this image toggle caption William Widmer/Courtesy of ACLU William Widmer/Courtesy of ACLU
Civil rights lawyers are using a new strategy to change a common court practice that they have long argued unfairly targets the poor.
At issue is the way courts across the country sometimes issue arrest warrants for indigent people when they fall behind on paying court fees and fines owed for minor offenses like traffic tickets. Last year, an NPR investigation showed that courts in all 50 states are requiring more of these payments. Now attorneys are aggressively suing cities, police and courts, forcing reform.
Since September, six lawsuits were filed against New Orleans; Rutherford County, Tenn.; Biloxi and Jackson, Miss.; Benton County, Wash.; and Alexander City, Ala. In the past year, lawyers have also won settlements that have forced courts to change practices in Montgomery, Ala.; DeKalb County, Ga.; and St. Louis County, Mo.
Biloxi is the latest city to be sued. Nusrat Choudhury, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who filed the lawsuit, charges the city runs an illegal "debtors' prison" when it puts indigent people in jail without adequately trying to determine whether the person has the means to pay court fines and fees or without then offering adequate alternative ways to pay off a fine, like being offered the chance to do community service.
"We believe the ACLU is mistaken about the process in Biloxi," Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city, says. "The city of Biloxi treats all defendants fairly under the law."
Qumotria Kennedy, the lead plaintiff, questions that. She says she was arrested in July when she was a passenger in a car driven by a friend. The women were on their way to pick up their teenage daughters when a police officer stopped the car, saying the friend ran a stop sign.
toggle caption William Widmer/Courtesy of ACLU
The officer asked both women for identification and a check showed an outstanding arrest warrant for Kennedy. She was arrested, handcuffed and spent five nights in jail before she appeared before a judge.
She owed $1,000 on unpaid fines and fees from an earlier traffic stop, two years prior, when she was caught driving without a license or insurance. She says she wanted to pay but didn't have the money. Kennedy, a 36-year-old single mother of two, works sporadically whenever she can find cleaning jobs.
She had a part-time job at a motel but lost it when she missed work while in jail. After her release, she got occasional calls to clean the ballpark after Biloxi Shuckers games, but now the baseball season is over.
She still has outstanding court fines and worries that the city will issue another arrest warrant.
"It's scary," she says. "You have to sit there and worry, wondering over your shoulder if you're going to get picked up this day, if you're going to get picked up that day. It's a really upsetting feeling. If I can get the money, I will pay for it. But I can't give nothing that I don't have."
Enlarge this image toggle caption William Widmer/Courtesy of ACLU William Widmer/Courtesy of ACLU
City officials say they offer alternatives like community service. But Kennedy says it was not offered to her and when she found out about the option, she says, her probation officer discouraged it.
Joseph Anderson, Kennedy's boyfriend, who is also a plaintiff in the ACLU case, says he was at home when police came to his door to arrest him on a warrant for an unpaid $170 speeding ticket. Anderson, 52, is disabled from multiple heart attacks and a stroke. He cannot work and lives on a disability check.
toggle caption William Widmer/Courtesy of ACLU
He spent seven nights in jail.
"People are being arrested in their homes or at a traffic stop, told that they need to pay money," Choudhury says. "They're never informed of their right to a lawyer. They're not given a court hearing until they've been jailed for days, sometimes weeks at a time."
Choudhury says these court fines and fees set up an unequal system of justice. She says people with money pay their court fines and are done with the court system. But people who are indigent, unemployed, homeless or living on disability checks are put on payment plans. Those often come with added fees.
If they don't keep up the monthly payments, they can go to jail, putting them further into debt.
"People like Miss Kennedy," says Choudhury. "A single mom, who is struggling to find work and then loses her job — her part-time cleaning job — when she's jailed for being poor."
Also this week, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a complaint against a judge in Alabama who gave impoverished people who owed court fines a choice: Go to jail or donate blood at the bloodmobile across the street.
Choudhury says lawyers are filing more of these cases as the issue gets more attention. A key moment came in March, when the U.S. Department of Justice released a report highly critical of such court practices in Ferguson, Mo.
There are also more lawsuits because lawyers are starting to win. The ACLU settled a case in March in DeKalb County, Ga., over the jailing of Kevin Thompson, a teen who could not pay nearly $1,000 in fines and fees from a traffic case after he was caught driving without a license. The settlement led to new court procedures and more access to public defenders.
And Alec Karakatsanis, of Equal Justice Under Law, brought class-action suits that led to change in Jennings, Mo. — next door to Ferguson — and in Montgomery, where a related case was also settled by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
"We're showing that when you bring these things to the attention of the courts, they will vindicate federal constitutional rights," Karakatsanis says. "And the way that many of these local jurisdictions have been running their court systems is blatantly unconstitutional. So now we're seeing a growing awareness that these issues can and should be treated like the emergency that they are."Download raw source
MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: by 10.25.200.195 with HTTP; Fri, 26 Jun 2015 04:31:35 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <99B98B7D-4857-46EB-9A92-0E55D7A2355B@aol.com> References: <CAAEwKfw6UvAhuJnDrtS-qCLXEJ-ETa2e+VUpLdj5o8qDyDgg6g@mail.gmail.com> <99B98B7D-4857-46EB-9A92-0E55D7A2355B@aol.com> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2015 07:31:35 -0400 Delivered-To: john.podesta@gmail.com Message-ID: <CAE6FiQ_oK2HKdyUZk3YBdGkJjudKHuqTirENsy2rv36YsTkPCQ@mail.gmail.com> Subject: Fwd: HRC @ VA JJ From: John Podesta <john.podesta@gmail.com> To: jpodesta@americanprogress.org, johnpodestatemp@outlook.com Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=001a1137f2c02a8ca305196a1590 --001a1137f2c02a8ca305196a1590 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Mandy's response ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: *Mandy Grunwald* <gruncom@aol.com> Date: Thursday, June 25, 2015 Subject: HRC @ VA JJ To: Dan Schwerin <dschwerin@hillaryclinton.com> Cc: Robby Mook <re47@hillaryclinton.com>, Jennifer Palmieri < jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com>, Kristina Schake <kschake@hillaryclinton.com>, John Podesta <john.podesta@gmail.com>, Brian Fallon < bfallon@hillaryclinton.com>, Tony Carrk <tcarrk@hillaryclinton.com>, Oren Shur <oshur@hillaryclinton.com>, Marlon Marshall < mmarshall@hillaryclinton.com>, Brynne Craig <bcraig@hillaryclinton.com>, Jake Sullivan <jsullivan@hillaryclinton.com>, Maya Harris < mharris@hillaryclinton.com>, Joel Benenson <jbenenson@bsgco.com>, Jim < Jim.Margolis@gmmb.com>, John Anzalone <john@algpolling.com>, David Binder < David@db-research.com>, Christina Reynolds <creynolds@hillaryclinton.com>, Amanda Renteria <arenteria@hillaryclinton.com>, Huma Abedin < ha16@hillaryclinton.com> Dan, There's lots of good stuff here but I think our critique of the Republicans has to come from a more consistent point of view, so we make a clear argument. Our fundamental contrast is that Republicans would rip away the progress we've made on the economy by returning to failed top down economics and are out of touch/stuck in the past on social issues. So, for example on health care, I wouldn't say they "had a bad day yesterday" - which is a political lens or "they should stop creating problems and start solving them ". I'd focus on the fact they're still trying to fight the progress we've made, and repeal the Affordable Care Act...50 votes, 2 Supreme Court decisions and they still want to return to the days of.... Hope this is helpful. Thanks Mandy Mandy Grunwald Grunwald Communications 202 973-9400 > On Jun 25, 2015, at 9:28 PM, Dan Schwerin <dschwerin@hillaryclinton.com <javascript:;>> wrote: > > Team, we checked in with Gov. McAuliffe and he's hoping that tomorrow HRC will talk about 1) Health care, 2) guns, 3) all the progress they're making in VA; 4) why she's running or President. That's what I've done in the attached draft, along with a fair amount of GOP contrast. See what you think -- especially all you McAuliffe alumni out there. > Thanks > Dan > <2015-06-25 Virginia JJ 9pm.docx> --001a1137f2c02a8ca305196a1590 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Mandy's response=C2=A0<span></span><br><br>---------- Forwarded message= ----------<br>From: <b>Mandy Grunwald</b> <<a href=3D"mailto:gruncom@ao= l.com">gruncom@aol.com</a>><br>Date: Thursday, June 25, 2015<br>Subject:= HRC @ VA JJ<br>To: Dan Schwerin <<a href=3D"mailto:dschwerin@hillarycli= nton.com">dschwerin@hillaryclinton.com</a>><br>Cc: Robby Mook <<a hre= f=3D"mailto:re47@hillaryclinton.com">re47@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Jenni= fer Palmieri <<a href=3D"mailto:jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com">jpalmieri@= hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Kristina Schake <<a href=3D"mailto:kschake@h= illaryclinton.com">kschake@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, John Podesta <<a = href=3D"mailto:john.podesta@gmail.com">john.podesta@gmail.com</a>>, Bria= n Fallon <<a href=3D"mailto:bfallon@hillaryclinton.com">bfallon@hillaryc= linton.com</a>>, Tony Carrk <<a href=3D"mailto:tcarrk@hillaryclinton.= com">tcarrk@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Oren Shur <<a href=3D"mailto:osh= ur@hillaryclinton.com">oshur@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Marlon Marshall &l= t;<a href=3D"mailto:mmarshall@hillaryclinton.com">mmarshall@hillaryclinton.= com</a>>, Brynne Craig <<a href=3D"mailto:bcraig@hillaryclinton.com">= bcraig@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Jake Sullivan <<a href=3D"mailto:jsul= livan@hillaryclinton.com">jsullivan@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Maya Harris= <<a href=3D"mailto:mharris@hillaryclinton.com">mharris@hillaryclinton.c= om</a>>, Joel Benenson <<a href=3D"mailto:jbenenson@bsgco.com">jbenen= son@bsgco.com</a>>, Jim <<a href=3D"mailto:Jim.Margolis@gmmb.com">Jim=.Margolis@gmmb.com</a>>, John Anzalone <<a href=3D"mailto:john@algpol= ling.com">john@algpolling.com</a>>, David Binder <<a href=3D"mailto:D= avid@db-research.com">David@db-research.com</a>>, Christina Reynolds <= ;<a href=3D"mailto:creynolds@hillaryclinton.com">creynolds@hillaryclinton.c= om</a>>, Amanda Renteria <<a href=3D"mailto:arenteria@hillaryclinton.= com">arenteria@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Huma Abedin <<a href=3D"mailt= o:ha16@hillaryclinton.com">ha16@hillaryclinton.com</a>><br><br><br>Dan,<= br> <br> There's lots of good stuff here but I think our critique of the Republi= cans has to come from a more consistent point of view, so we make a clear a= rgument.<br> <br> Our fundamental contrast is that Republicans would rip away the progress we='ve made on the economy by returning to failed top down economics and a= re out of touch/stuck in the past on social issues.<br> <br> So, for example on health care, I wouldn't say they "had a bad day= yesterday" - which is a political lens or "they should stop crea= ting problems and start solving them ".=C2=A0 I'd focus on the fac= t they're still trying to fight the progress we've made, and repeal= the Affordable Care Act...50 votes, 2 Supreme Court decisions and they sti= ll want to return to the days of....<br> <br> Hope this is helpful.<br> <br> Thanks<br> <br> Mandy<br> <br> Mandy Grunwald<br> Grunwald Communications<br> 202 973-9400<br> <br> <br> > On Jun 25, 2015, at 9:28 PM, Dan Schwerin <<a href=3D"javascript:;"= onclick=3D"_e(event, 'cvml', 'dschwerin@hillaryclinton.com'= ;)">dschwerin@hillaryclinton.com</a>> wrote:<br> ><br> > Team, we checked in with Gov. McAuliffe and he's hoping that tomor= row HRC will talk about 1) Health care, 2) guns, 3) all the progress they&#= 39;re making in VA; 4) why she's running or President.=C2=A0 That's= what I've done in the attached draft, along with a fair amount of GOP = contrast. See what you think -- especially all you McAuliffe alumni out the= re.<br> > Thanks<br> > Dan<br> > <2015-06-25 Virginia JJ 9pm.docx><br> <br> --001a1137f2c02a8ca305196a1590--NEW YORK -- NBC was not responding to a challenge by talk-show host Lawrence O'Donnell to disclose whether Donald Trump will return next fall with "The Celebrity Apprentice."
"NBC has created a monster and it is called Donald Trump," O'Donnell said in a blistering 15-minute rant on Wednesday's edition of his show, "The Last Word," which airs on MSNBC, a sister network of NBC.
"NBC can no longer stand idly by, not for one more day," he said.
If a deal is in place for another "Apprentice" season, Trump's attention-grabbing flirtation with a presidential bid is nothing more than a publicity stunt, O'Donnell declared.
"If Donald Trump has committed to do ('Celebrity Apprentice'), he is obviously not running for president," O'Donnell said, "and all of this, every bit of it, is as fake as Donald's reality show."
NBC, which will formally announce its 2011-12 season schedule on May 16, must already know if more "Celebrity Apprentice" is in the cards, O'Donnell said. He insisted that NBC settle the question right away and avoid being part of what he called Trump's "campaign to legitimize hatred and racism."
WATCH:
NBC declined to comment Thursday.
"I wouldn't dignify Lawrence O'Donnell's ridiculous statements by even providing a response," said Michael Cohen, an executive with the Trump Organization and a Trump spokesman.
O'Donnell's latest blast at Trump, a not-infrequent target, came hours after the White House released President Barack Obama's long-form birth certificate from Hawaii, debunking persistent claims that Obama was born in Africa.
The so-called "birther" controversy has dominated the early stage of the 2012 GOP nominating contest, with Trump leading the charge. Then, on Wednesday, he boasted of having "played such a big role" in prodding Obama to release the document.
During his recent media blitz, Trump has also suggested, without providing evidence, that Obama was a mediocre student who did not deserve to be admitted to the Ivy League universities he attended.
Trump's quasi-political campaign has dovetailed with the current season of "Celebrity Apprentice," which has drawn a robust audience hovering around 8.2 million viewers in its first eight weeks.
On Wednesday, Trump repeated to reporters his intention to reveal his presidential plans after the show's season conclusion. While plugging the May 22 finale, Trump explained, "When the show is over, I will then be free to announce."
But O'Donnell disputed Trump's rationale, saying he could continue on the show even after announcing his plans, without NBC being forced to supply equal airtime to other candidates. Trump would not officially become a candidate until filing the legally required documents, O'Donnell said.TAMPA, Fla. -- The building was packed with thousands of fans dressed in red and white who occasionally started chants of “Let’s Go Red Wings!” Even an octopus or two was tossed onto the ice.
It was the kind of environment
enjoyed for 27 years. But not Thursday, when the first-year general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning watched his old club take his new team to the woodshed.
scored two goals to lead the Detroit Red Wings past the Lightning 6-2 at the St. Pete Times Forum.
The once-beleaguered Lightning have made tremendous strides under Yzerman. They were tied with Detroit for fourth overall in the NHL standings coming into the game. But it was clear at the end of the night these clubs aren’t that close.
Oddly, the Red Wings got a lift from the crowd at the start of the game and, playing on the road, sent most fans home happy.
“It felt like we were at home,” Detroit goaltender
said. “It was crazy. That’s awesome to see. We’re very thankful for our fans. They’re very passionate and emotional about the game. It was a great turnout for us down here.”
The Red Wings are accustomed to seeing a large turnout of their fans on the road, particularly in places like Tampa Bay, Florida, Phoenix, Nashville and Carolina. This was the biggest turnout many players could recall seeing.
“We got a good following, that’s for sure, the history of the team, we’ve had good success,” forward
said. “Fans follow us, and obviously, there’s a lot of snowbirds down here. We put on a good show for them.”
Said coach
: “That might have been the biggest I’ve ever seen in the all years I’ve been here on the road. We’ve had some unbelievable crowds, but tonight that was a good crowd.”
Cleary had a goal and two assists.
,
and
scored for the Red Wings.
and
each had two assists.
“We knew they were going to be up for this game,” Cleary said. “They’re having a good season. Both teams used it as a measuring stick, so it was an important win for us.”
After Tampa Bay tied the game on goals by Victor Hedman and Steve Downie 2:47 apart midway through the second period, the Red Wings answered with goals from Kronwall and Abdelkader in a span of 1:26 late in the second period to take a 4-2 lead.
Kronwall scored his team’s second power-play goal of the game at 16:34, when his shot deflected in off Hedman’s skate.
Abdelkader scored at the 18-minute mark, easily tapping in a pass from Tomas Holmstrom. It was his first goal in 41 games, dating to Nov. 17.
“We kept our composure and didn’t get away from the game plan,” Howard said.
Lightning coach Guy Boucher said his team gave everything it had, but, “We just got beat by a better team than us. This is the best team in the league, the most experienced. They’ve got all their players and this is the standard in our league.”
The Red Wings, who jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Cleary (6:40 on the power play) and Datsyuk (14:57), broke it open in the third period, as Datsyuk scored his second goal at 11:39 and and Helm scored on a breakaway at 18:09.
The Red Wings held NHL goals and points leader Steven Stamkos to one assist.
“We didn’t give him a whole lot of time and space with the puck. We stayed close to him,” Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.
Babcock liked his team’s balance -- the Red Wings used four lines, the Lightning used three. He was happy with defenseman Brad Stuart’s performance in his first game back after missing 15 games with a broken jaw.
Somebody asked Lidstrom if he felt bad for administering such a beating on Yzerman’s team.
“No, it’s a business, we’re here to win games,” Lidstrom said. “It’s somewhat awkward seeing his name associated with a different organization. It’s still a business.”
Said Babcock: “Stevie’s a guy were proud of. We’re cheering for him every night, except when he plays us.”NASA has been on the lookout for otherworldly concepts for its 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, and a company from France believes they have an appropriate design. Despite the stipulation that only American companies can participate, Fabulous is pitching a partially underground bubble home that can be printed on Martian soil. Actually, the design uses Martian soil as the raw material for the printing process, making the construction intriguingly sustainable.
The Sfero house, while round in its entirety, looks like a bubble upon the surface of Mars in its rendering. The imagery is appropriate, seeing as the concept would use water melted from permafrost as a radiation barrier between the two shells of the structure which form the outer wall. Construction would begin by drilling a central rod into the terrain, with two robotic arms to harvest both the permafrost and iron oxide particles to be used as the base for the 3D printing process.
Related: MIT study shows Mars One colony is dangerously unsustainable
The Fabulous team has identified Hawaii and the Mojave desert as prime locations to test out the concept and Mars’ Gale crater as the preferred spot for the real thing. The Sfero house would include two floors: a top floor devoted to an indoor garden and workspaces, and the lower floors for sleeping quarters, each connected by a spiral staircase. Would the Sfero bubble house be suitable for a stay on Mars, or would you hope for something more spacious?
+ Fabulous
Via Dezeen
Images via FabulousBP and Shell's results this week will be full of detail, but investors only have one question. How is the Ukraine crisis affecting business?
There may be loads of worthy developments contained in the second-quarter results statements of BP and Shell this week, but there's a chance nobody will be listening. The City only really has one question – though this is not necessarily a criticism when you study its record for dealing with two issues in tandem. Anyway, the poser is: how will the Russia crisis affect them?
If the query looks simple, the answers may not be. Along with trouble in the Middle East, tensions with Russia have pushed oil prices higher, which investors tend to like.
But then we have the creeping sanctions on Russia from the west to set alongside BP's 19.75% stake in the Russian oil giant Rosneft – which accounts for about 9% of BP's value and dividends of about £450m.
Meanwhile, Shell has huge Russian investments and is the largest firm based in the Netherlands, the home of many victims of flight MH17.
But does that all spell trouble? It's difficult to believe anybody is really sure. It's not clear if the furious rhetoric from some politicians will conclude with more moves against Russia – where allegiances can prove fluid, as oil investors know. WikiLeaks cables suggest that BP boss Bob Dudley blamed Russia's then deputy PM Igor Sechin for having to flee the country for his own protection in 2008. Sechin is now boss of Dudley's ally, Rosneft.
BAE poised to benefit from the new cold war
The infuriatingly talented Hugh Laurie once wrote a novel called The Gun Seller, a hilarious tale about a former Scots Guard, Thomas Lang.
Lang gets himself caught up in one of those sagas that could befall us all – you know, a conspiracy involving arms dealers and terrorists – but one of the underlying themes is how international incidents are great opportunities to sell weapons. Which, in a tortuous way, brings us to the UK's largest defence contractor, BAE Systems, and its results announcement this week, which comes against the backdrop of a new cold war.
There's no likely sanctions hit on the firm's sales (Mr Putin does not have an account) but the potential effect of the crisis on future profits is being hyped. As one analyst puts it: "Defence budgets have been perceived as a luxury – something you could raid to fund other spending. Now it feels like Europe needs a stronger military force". Well, maybe, and that idea does tie in neatly with Laurie's yarn, which highlights unforeseen profits. The evil helicopter being marketed by his story's baddies is defeated by Lang with another weapon. The makers of the second bit of kit enjoy a sales hike.
With Libor, it's not the fine: it's the fine words
Roll up, roll up. Any day now another fine for rigging Libor should drop from the Financial Conduct Authority (plus the usual queue of US regulators who like to receive their tribute).
Bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group is the latest target and is thought to be drafting a cheque for £200m-£300m, but – as with all of the Libor fines so far – the number is the least entertaining bit, as the fines are always accompanied by the pages of emails and electronic chats used as evidence.
When Barclays got done, we saw one from a trader lauding a pal for fixing the rate with the line: "When I retire and write a book about this business, your name will be written in golden letters." The reply: "I would prefer this not be in any book!"
Then Royal Bank of Scotland got clobbered, and we learned of a broker telling one of the bank's Libor submitters: "I'll send lunch around for everybody." And as Swiss bank UBS was whacked, we were treated to a trader's promise that "I will fucking do one humongous deal with you".
The intriguing thing about these messages is that the senders never tried to conceal them, suggesting nobody at these varied institutions thought they were doing anything wrong. Still, blame rogue individuals please – not the City's culture.National Park Service The Archeology of the Atomic Bomb
A Submerged Cultural Resources Assessment of the Sunken Fleet of Operation Crossroads at Bikini and Kwajalein Atoll Lagoons
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FOREWORD
Secretary of the Interior, Manuel Lujan, Jr.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
Daniel J. Lenihan
Project Mandate and Background
Methodology
Activities
CHAPTER TWO: Operation Crossroads
James P. Delgado
The Concept of a Naval Test Evolves
Preparing for the Tests
The Able Test
The Baker Test
Decontamination Efforts
The Legacy of Crossroads
The 1947 Scientific Resurvey
CHAPTER THREE: Ship's Histories for the Sunken Vessels
James P. Delgado
USS Saratoga
USS Arkansas
HIJMS Nagato
HIJMS Sakawa
USS Prinz Eugen
USS Anderson
USS Lamson
USS Apogon
USS Pilotfish
USS Gilliam
USS Carlisle
ARDC-13
YO-160
LCT-414, 812, 1114, 1175, and 1237
CHAPTER FOUR: Site Descriptions
James P. Delgado and Larry E. Murphy
Introduction
Reconstructing the Nuclear Detonations
Site Descriptions: Vessels Lost During the Able Test
USS Gilliam
USS Carlisle
Site Descriptions: Vessels Lost During the Baker Test
USS Arkansas
USS Saratoga
USS Pilotfish
USS Apogon
YO-160
HIJMS Nagato
LCT-1175
Site Descriptions: Vessels Lost After the Test
USS Prinz Eugen
Final Observations
CHAPTER FIVE: The Significance of the Sunken Vessels of Operation Crossroads
James P. Delgado
Monuments and Memorials to the Dawn of the Atomic Age
Insuring the Navy's Survival in the Age of the Bomb
A Demonstration of Wealth and Power
Crossroads as a Spectacle and Demonstration
Learning to Live with the Bomb
The Reality of the Bomb: Radioactive Fears
Crossroads at the Bottom of the Sea
Confronting the Atomic Age
CHAPTER SIX: Nuclear Park Potential
Daniel J. Lenihan
Precedent
Park Appeal
Park Protection
Interpretive/Educational Devices
Diving Safety/Liability
Special Diving Hazards: Explosives, Radiation
Environmental Hazards Posed by Ships
Mooring Systems
Conclusions and Recommendations
APPENDIX I: Target Vessels at Bikini and Their Disposition
APPENDIX II: Relics of Operation Crossroads
APPENDIX III: Estimates of Radiological Dose at Bikini (W. L. Robison, 1990)
APPENDIX IV: Archeological Site Record Forms for the Documented Shipwrecks
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SUBMERGED CULTURAL RESOURCES UNIT REPORT AND PUBLICATION SERIES
LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIXOverview:
Genre: Asymmetrical Multiplayer Survival Horror
Player count: 5 vs 1
Platforms: PC
Rating: M 17+
Launch: Fall 2016
Perspective: First Person
Game Synopsis:
In Last Year you’ll experience the nightmare together as you and 5 friends struggle to survive against one player that's playing as the Killer. Explore familiar territory based on classic horror movie locations including Camp Silver Lake and East Side High. You’ll play the roles of 5 stereotypical high school characters while co-operating to complete objectives and survive.
When playing as the Killer you’ll utilize game-changing Predator mechanics to help you hunt down and eliminate your victims before they have a chance to escape. Players will sneak and slash their way through a suspenseful atmosphere that keeps them on the edge of their seat as they compete to be the top Killer or best Survivors.
What is the goal of the Killer?
The Killer wins when all 5 Survivors have been eliminated.
What is the goal of the Survivors? What do they do?
As a survivor your goal is to escape from the scene in the truck. To be able to drive the truck you'll first need to complete a series of objectives, like searching for the keys and gas and fuelling it up. You can also win by killing the Killer but it is far more difficult and requires proper team work.
For survivors, completing objectives doesn't have to be done in the same way every time or in a specific order. For example, the keys to the truck are located in the office cabin but the gas is in the maintenance shed on the other side of the camp. You'll need to decide if the whole group should move together and protect each other, or split up and accomplish the tasks quicker but put yourself at greater risk of attack.
Choices...choices..choices..
If the Killer disables the camp generator then all the lights go out. Now, in that same situation, you need to find a flashlight first to help you find the keys and gas because everything is dark.
Only the Nerd can repair the generator so if you want the lights back on you have to make a choice. Do you split up and let the Nerd go fix the generator while the others search for gas and risk the nerd getting Killed by going alone? Or do you stick together and protect each other? If the Nerd gets killed then the lights will be out forever since nobody is left to fix it, so the only possible way to find your way around would be to use flashlights now. Do you send the Jock to protect him? What about the medic? If the Killer decides to target the medic and she dies then nobody is left to heal the group. You need to think carefully about when to split up and when to stick together. Protecting each other and hiding is essential.
Call for backup
If the Survivors reach a phone they can call the police. This allows the first player that died to come back as a Police Officer responding to the scene. But, if the Killer cuts the phone line then The Nerd is still the only one who can fix it. If the Nerd dies and the Killer cuts the line you'll never be able to make the call.
Five playable survivor classes:
Each survivor plays a role like assault or medic, and each role has a unique set of abilities that help the group work together and stay alive.
Amber - Scout Can spot the Killer and display his position on the map for other players to see. Can also spot supplies on the map easier than the rest including flashlights and weapons. Weak against attacks from the Killer.
Chad - Assault Offers protection to the other players and can melee attack/stun the Killer, giving the other survivors a chance to escape. Strong to withstand attacks from the Killer.
Nick - Technician Fixes phone lines, generators, picks locks, hot wires vehicles, and anything else that needs to be repaired. He has a pet rat named Rasmus that you can play as. As Rasmus you can travel through small passages to unlock doors from the other side and provide spy-cam style intel on where the Killer is. Very weak against attacks from the Killer.
Sam - Medic Heals wounded players to full health.
Troy - Support Also offers protection and can also place traps for the killer which deals damage and slows him down. Can melee attack/stun the Killer same way as Chad.
How does Predator mode work?
In movies the Killer always appears when the victims least expect it. Nowhere is safe. The same goes for Last Year. Survivors can never fully "out run" the Killer because the Killer can spawn his or her self almost anywhere they want. It works like this: Say you are a Survivor walking through the halls of the high school. If the Killer spots you from afar he can't just chase you down and attack you because Survivors run faster than the Killer can. Instead, the Killer needs to try and take you by surprise and attack you from up close. To get into the perfect attack position he's able to unspawn and go into Predator mode if he isn't within your line of sight. Once he's in predator mode he can move super fast, way faster than survivors can, but he can't attack. He can, however, watch you and study your movements.
At this point the killer can spawn back in behind a door and wait for you. (Theres a limit to how close the Killer can spawn in near survivors). As soon as you walk past, or open the door then BOOM, a sudden axe to the face.
Won't it be repetitive for the Killer to pick players off one by one?
The Killer could take a completely different approach and try to kill the whole group at once. Instead of attacking once the survivors walked past (which would essentially give him a chance to successfully kill one Survivor and cause the remaining group to flee) he could hide behind the door and wait for the whole group to enter a room. Once the group is inside the room he could lock the door behind them essentially trapping everyone inside with nowhere to go. Equipped with a chainsaw |
keeping them addicted long-term. Combustible cigarettes’ efficient method of nicotine delivery means that nicotine inhaled from a cigarette can travel through the lungs and to the brain in less than 10 seconds,3 adding to the addictive potential.
The Tobacco Control Act gave the FDA a regulatory tool called a tobacco product standard that can be used to alter the addictiveness of combustible cigarettes. Standards may be issued to set requirements related to an ingredient or constituent in a tobacco product, or related to any other aspect of product composition, construction, or other property. Establishing the right product standard could alter the addictiveness of combustible cigarettes by setting maximum nicotine levels in these products.
Section 907 of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authorizes the FDA to establish tobacco product standards that it has determined to be appropriate for the protection of the public health. The statute specifically notes that such a standard may address nicotine yields, among other characteristics. Although it prohibits the FDA from “requiring the reduction of nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero,” the agency has clear authority to otherwise reduce nicotine levels.
A nicotine-limiting standard could make cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive, helping current users of combustible cigarettes to quit and allowing most future users to avoid becoming addicted and proceeding to regular use. Disrupting that progression — from experimentation to regular use to tobacco-related disease and even death — could save millions of American lives.
The FDA will consider peer-reviewed studies in proposing a maximum nicotine level. Rigorous studies of very-low-nicotine cigarettes have evaluated the potential effects of various nicotine levels on smoking behaviors and biomarkers,4 and findings from such studies could inform decision making on a possible maximum nicotine level in tobacco filler. As on all matters of public health policy, the FDA will be led by the science in this important area.
As we pursue a product standard, the FDA will explore possible adverse effects of such measures, so that any final standard may anticipate and address potential unintended consequences. For instance, compensatory smoking — altering smoking behavior to continue obtaining enough nicotine to satisfy addiction — is a possible countervailing effect of setting a nicotine product standard. Several recent studies have assessed this potential, and some evidence suggests that compensation may be minimal; studies have shown reductions in cigarettes smoked per day and in exposure to harmful constituents.4 A recent 6-week study by Donny et al. showed that cigarettes with lower nicotine content reduced nicotine exposure and dependence, as well as the number of cigarettes smoked, as compared with cigarettes with standard nicotine levels.5 These results are encouraging, but the FDA will scrutinize all relevant science as part of a transparent, public rulemaking process.
Our assessment of expected population health benefits will also consider the potential for migration — smokers turning to tobacco products other than cigarettes, in combination or as replacements, to maintain their nicotine dependence. Finally, we intend to explore the possibility that regulation might give rise to an illicit market for higher-nicotine products; the FDA will seek input on this issue from experts as we develop our regulatory policy.
With these considerations in mind, and led by the best available evidence, the FDA will pursue a regulatory framework that focuses on nicotine and supports innovation to promote harm reduction. This framework will recognize that the core problem of nicotine lies not in the drug itself but in the risk associated with the delivery mechanism. In contrast to combustible cigarettes, nicotine delivery mechanisms such as medicinal gums, skin patches, or lozenges can be so safe and effective in helping smokers quit that they may be sold without a prescription.
To truly protect the public, the FDA’s approach must take into account the continuum of risk for nicotine-containing products. We are examining possible steps the agency could take to address the pharmacokinetic performance of FDA-approved medicinal nicotine products to help more smokers quit. Factors for consideration may include the speed with which nicotine is delivered and other possible innovations.
There are already products, such as electronic nicotine delivery systems, that could conceivably deliver nicotine without posing the dangers associated with tobacco combustion. Experts on both sides of the “harm reduction” debate have expressed strongly held views about the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes. We must continue to build on our understanding of the potential benefits for addicted cigarette smokers, in a properly regulated marketplace, of products capable of delivering nicotine without having to set tobacco on fire. The FDA’s ongoing investment in regulatory science will contribute to this understanding.
Rendering cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive, within a landscape including other, noncombustible products such as e-cigarettes, represents a promising foundation for a comprehensive approach to tobacco harm reduction. In working toward this vision, the FDA is committed to striking an appropriate balance between protecting the public and fostering innovation in less harmful nicotine delivery.
We are at a crossroads in efforts to reduce tobacco use, with the lives of tens of millions of currently addicted cigarette smokers and future generations hanging in the balance. Even as we evaluate the characteristics of various nicotine-delivery products — and watch the sometimes-divisive debate over these products’ pros and cons — the FDA is focusing squarely on nicotine as the centerpiece of a comprehensive, lifesaving tobacco regulatory strategy. In developing this strategy, we will rigorously assess the best available evidence and provide extensive opportunities for stakeholder input. As a first step, the agency is working on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to obtain information relevant to reducing the nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes and to ask key questions related to the benefits and potential unintended consequences of such a policy.
The public health benefits of implementing a nicotine-reduction policy for combustible cigarettes could be enormous: we would expect smoking-related morbidity and premature mortality to decrease considerably. Ultimately, we may be able to transform the tobacco marketplace and the delivery of nicotine to protect future generations of young people and save many millions of lives.Best-selling author and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg/Photo Courtesy of Sharon Salzberg
Sometimes in the crazy swirl of life, it feels like there’s no time to stop. But that’s just what Sharon Salzberg teaches people to do. Salzberg is a New York Times best selling author, a teacher of meditation and mindfulness and one of the co-founders of the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts. She explains how best to practice mindfulness here:
Q: OK, mindfulness seems to be all the rage right now, but why do it? Why meditate? Why be mindful? What does that do for us?
Salzberg: Mindfulness has a lot of benefits. One is simply connecting with our lives as we live them. If you drink your coffee while reading your paper, and checking your emails, with the TV on, that can lead to you feeling perpetually disconnected and unfulfilled. You may think, you need to get different coffee, or grind it differently, and that would make you feel more satisfied, instead of realizing, ‘Maybe the first step is really actually inhabiting our life and really connecting to it every once in awhile.’ Sometimes, just drink the cup of coffee and experience it fully.
Mindfulness is simply the perception of what’s fully happening in the moment not distorted by bias, playing old stories, usually that have something to do with regret, over and over and over, or anticipating future events that most likely will never happen.
Mindfulness helps relieve anxiety and can give us a real sense of connection and fulfillment, as well as insight and understanding. The idea is, by developing a different relationship with our experience, we get to see it differently. If an emotion comes up, and we start fighting it, there’s not a lot of learning going on. If we fall into it and become overwhelmed, there’s not a lot of learning going on. Mindfulness helps us develop a different, kinder relationship with ourselves, to see much more deeply into all of our experience.
Q: How does practicing mindfulness change people?
Look at how you speak to yourself when you make a mistake. Do you pile on endlessly, or do you have more resilience? When you talk to a stranger, are you just lost in all the emails you need to write, or can you actually listen more? Do you sometimes just drink that cup of coffee and feel fulfillment in the smaller things that come your way? Can you be less swayed by others’ impressions of somebody, and be more determined to see things for yourself? And figure things out, and how you feel about them, or whether you want to pursue them?
You’re just much more aware of when you’re there and when you’re not there, and how to bring yourself back to paying attention.
One guy came up to me and said, ‘I was going to stop meditating because I thought I wasn’t changing or benefiting from it. Then my kids told me, Please don’t stop. You’re not so angry, you really listen.’ Sometimes other people see changes in us before we see it in ourselves.
Q: Many people say they’ve tried and failed at meditating or being mindful. Studies have found some people would rather give themselves an electric shock than be alone with their thoughts. Why is hard to be where we are?
Salzberg: It’s actually not hard to do for a moment. It’s hard for more than a moment or two. That’s the work. But it’s not such an awesome skill that it’s unimaginable. It’s right here. The whole practice is – Don’t worry where your mind wandered. It’s coming back that’s most important.
People say they feel like failures. But you can’t fail. When we realize our mind has wandered off like a monkey, it’s in that moment we have a chance to be really different, instead of reinforcing old habits. Instead of lambasting ourselves that we didn’t meditate perfectly, we let go and start over. And if your mind wanders in the next ten seconds, you let go and start over. And let go and start over. That’s strength training. We’re practicing resilience.
Mindfulness is not about what’s happening. It’s how you relate to what’s happening. If you sit and think, ‘I’m sleepy. I’m restless. I’m angry. I’m bored. My knee hurts. Then something itched.’ That could be an excellent meditation, depending on how you were with each of those experiences. Or it could be a terrible meditation if you fall into old habits, if anger rises and you think, ‘I’m going to be angry the rest of my life.’ Or sadness arises and you think, ‘I spent $10,000 in therapy just last year, I shouldn’t feel this way anymore.’ We pile on judgment on what’s already a painful or uncomfortable feeling. That’s the ordinary habit of mind. We’re just so unfair to ourselves.
Q: Why is that our ordinary habit of mind, to always go to the negative?
Salzberg: Evolutionary psychologists tell me we have a negativity bias. We are always looking out for the threat in the jungle, the animal about to leap on us and eat us, even if that’s not at all realistic to our current state. It takes training to also look on the other side of things.
Q: When people are just starting out, what do you recommend they do?
Salzberg: The most important thing, as far as I can tell, is consistency. It’s much better to have a smaller, realistic commitment that you will actually fulfill, than thinking, ‘I’m going to sit and meditate for eight hours on Saturday.’ Usually, when someone’s starting out, I’ll say, try 10 minutes a day. I saw research that found meditating for 10 minutes a day for two months establishes new brain patterns. I have friends who suggest five minutes a day, but I respond by saying the first five minutes are the hardest. That’s when you think, ‘I’ve got to call this person, I forgot to call that person, what’s that sound?’ If you sit through that, there’s a big discharge of stress, which is a good thing. But after those five minutes, you have a chance to go deeper. Common sense says 10 to 20 minutes a day, if you can do it. But I think it’s the everydayness that is going to prove to be more important.
What you’re looking for, over time, is to measure what is changing in your life, not what happens in the 10 or 20 minute session. That may not feel so glorious. But you’ll find over time that you’re different in life, and that’s what counts. That’s why we practice – to have a better life.
Sharon Salzberg is the author of Real Happiness, and Real Happiness at Work. Learn more about her work and her teaching schedule here
If you liked this Q & A on living the Good Life on Inspired Life, you may also like these:
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We help a stressed-out single mom find time for her kids
We was ready to quit working for herself. We helped her become the boss of her timeNewsAbortion, Politics - U.S.
Update: 11/01/12 at 2:55pm EST - LifeSiteNews.com has just been informed that the trip to Ohio has been cancelled.
October 30, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Ottawa-area mom says she is “incensed” that a teacher at her daughter’s Catholic school has organized a trip to Ohio in the final days of the U.S. election to support the re-election of President Obama.
Fifty-two students from St. Peter’s and St. Matthew’s high schools in Ottawa are set to make the trek across the border this week to Boardman, Ohio, accompanied by civics teacher Scott Searle.
Ohio is considered a key swing state in the presidential election.
Calls by LifeSiteNews to St. Peter’s school were directed to the school board. A media spokesperson at the board denied that the students would be involved in supporting the Obama campaign. Instead the goal of the trip is simply to “observe” voter registration and the voting process, said Communications Officer Mardi de Kemp.
However, in a note posted to his Facebook page, Mr. Searle painted a different picture. “52 St. Peter Students are travelling to Ohio for the last week of the election!” he wrote. “Lets help the President bring it home!” He also shared a photo on his page of a sign that says: “we are re-electing the President so … volunteer, maybe?
Searle currently lists “volunteer” with “Obama for America” on his LinkedIn profile for 2012.
One student at St. Peter’s who spoke to LSN on condition of anonymity, said that Mr. Searle came to her classroom to plug the trip, and that there was no room for doubt that the goal was to support Obama.
“He made it very clear that this was to promote Obama,” she said, adding that Searle had a “pleasant banter” with her classroom teacher about how “Romney is a nutbar.”
Searle told the students that they would be calling people and going door-to-door encouraging them to vote, added the student.
CLICK ‘LIKE’ IF YOU ARE PRO-LIFE!
When presented with Searle’s role volunteering on the Obama campaign, the school board said it would not comment. “That’s really his personal business,” said spokesperson de Kemp. “What he does on his own time is really his own business.”
De Kemp said that during the trip students would be studying issues of “urbanization” and “free trade,” attending a lecture by Nathan Offerdahl, a “professor of working class studies at Youngstown State University,” and attending a rock the vote event.
Offerdahl is listed as a Masters student on the website of Youngstown University, and does not appear on the directory of faculty, although he does list “Teaching Assistant” at the university on his Linkedin profile. However, Searle’s Facebook post about taking his students to Ohio to “help the President bring it home” does have one “like” – by Nathan Offerdahl.
The mother who initially spoke to LifeSiteNews about the trip expressed her concerns that President Obama is “the most pro-abortion president we’ve had.” She also cited the fact that the Obama administration is currently being sued by numerous Catholic organizations over the HHS birth control mandate, which requires employers to provide contraception, abortifacient drugs, and sterilizations to their employees free of charge.
“To take kids on a field trip of this nature is so profoundly disrespectful of the Catholicism in the school,” she said.
Scott Searle did not immediately respond to an e-mail request seeking comment.
N.B.: Read Composing Effective Communications in Response to LifeSiteNews Reports
Contact information:
Ottawa Catholic School Board
570 West Hunt Club Road,
Nepean, Ontario,
Canada K2G 3R4
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (613) 224-2222
Fax: (613) 224-5063There will be a mild enough start to the weather today with morning clouds expected to clear to afternoon sun and a high of 8C. However tonight will turn much colder with clear skies seeing temperatures drop to -2C. This will result in a sharp ground frost and motorists are advised that roads will be icy well into Saturday morning.
Saturday
Saturday will be very cold with temperatures only reaching 5C during the day but skies will remain generally clear. Saturday night will be cloudy with temperatures dropping back towards freezing. There may be patches of black ice on roads so please, if you are driving, slow down and be aware of possible hazards.
Sunday
The colder weather will continue into Sunday which will see periods of sunshine in the afternoon. Despite this temperatures will not get above 4C. Overnight conditions will be partly cloudy and temperatures will fall to -1C with a widespread ground frost expected.
Outlook for next week
Temperatures are expected to pick up again next Monday and Tuesday with conditions becoming milder and a return to rain on Monday afternoon.How can you convert the frequency of a sound to musical notation? I wrote in an earlier post how to calculate how many half steps a frequency is above or below middle C, but it would be useful go further have code to output musical pitch notation.
In scientific pitch notation, the C near the threshold of hearing, around 16 Hz, is called C0. The C an octave higher is C1, the next C2, etc. Octaves begin with C; other notes use the octave number of the closest C below.
The lowest note on a piano is A0, a major sixth up from C0. Middle C is C4 because it’s 4 octaves above C0. The highest note on a piano is C8.
Math
A4, the A above middle C, has a frequency of 440 Hz. This is nine half steps above C4, so the pitch of C4 is 440*2-9/12. C0 is four octaves lower, so it’s 2-4 = 1/16 of the pitch of C4. (Details for this calculation and the one below are given in here.)
For a pitch P, the number of half steps from C0 to P is
h = 12 log 2 (P / C0).
Software
Here is a page that will let you convert back and forth between frequency and music notation: Music, Hertz, Barks.
If you’d like code rather than just to do one calculation, see the Python code below. It calculates the number of half steps h from C0 up to a pitch, then computes the corresponding pitch notation.
from math import log2, pow A4 = 440 C0 = A4*pow(2, -4.75) name = ["C", "C#", "D", "D#", "E", "F", "F#", "G", "G#", "A", "A#", "B"] def pitch(freq): h = round(12*log2(freq/C0)) octave = h // 12 n = h % 12 return name[n] + str(octave)
The pitch for A4 is its own variable in case you’d like to modify the code for a different tuning. While 440 is common, it used to be lower in the past, and you’ll sometimes see higher values like 444 today.
If you’d like to port this code to a language that doesn’t have a log2 function, you can use log(x)/log(2) for log2(x).
Powers of 2
When scientific pitch notation was first introduced, C0 was defined to be exactly 16 Hz, whereas now it works out to around 16.35. The advantage of the original system is that all C’s have frequency a power of 2, i.e. Cn has frequency 2n+4 Hz. The formula above for the number of half steps a pitch is above C0 simplifies to
h = 12 log 2 P – 48.
If C0 has frequency 16 Hz, the A above middle C has frequency 28.75 = 430.54, a little flat compared to A 440. But using the A 440 standard, C0 = 16 Hz is a convenient and fairly accurate approximation.
Related postsMany Democrats and Republicans breathed a sigh of relief when, last month, Congress finally passed and President Trump signed the budget bill for the current 2017 fiscal year.
But a broader, more historic view of funding for our nation’s crucial human needs programs is considerably less rosy. And as we prepare for the 2018 fiscal year budget negotiations, the signs are downright ominous.
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My organization, the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN), compared funding for 167 human needs programs from 2010 through 2017. We chose 2010 as our initial benchmark because that is the year before the Budget Control Act passed Congress and was signed into law by President Obama. That law called for tight caps on spending, plus deeper automatic cuts if Congress could not curtail spending on its own.
Of the 167 programs we tracked, 135 programs, or more than 80 percent, have experienced cuts between 2010 and 2017. 85 programs were cut by 15 percent or more; 53 programs (nearly one-third of all programs tracked) were cut by at least 25 percent. Fewer than one in five programs actually received funding increases when adjusted for inflation.
What do the programs examined by CHN do and why are they important? They help prepare low-income people for work, fund low-income housing and education from pre-k to college, provide healthcare and nutrition aid for women, infants and toddlers. They offer services for people with HIV and AIDS, prevent and treat childhood lead poisoning, provide substance abuse and mental health treatment, as well as services for children, seniors, people with disabilities, refugees, and children and youth in the child welfare and criminal justice systems.
Many of these programs have two things in common. First, they are anti-poverty engines, helping people get jobs, helping children grow and thrive, ensuring that people can afford housing and can heat or cool their homes, and offering special help for the homeless, runaway youth, and people with disabilities.
Second, leaders of both parties have recognized these anti-poverty efforts as important, bipartisan priorities. Examples:
Both Democrats and Republicans support preventing youth crime. Yet we’ve cut juvenile justice funding 46.5 percent since 2010. We have an affordable housing crisis in our country. But we’ve cut the Public Housing Capital Fund 30.9 percent and Public Housing Operating funds are down 18 percent. Other programs receiving substantial reductions include the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (down 27.7 percent); adult and youth training (down nearly 16 percent); the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP, cut 39.6 percent); and Adult Education State Grants (cut 17.2 percent).
We can fight poverty by investing in these programs. But budget decisions over the past seven years – in some cases, agreed to by both political parties – have left many programs that serve human needs starved for funding.
As bad as that news is, it could soon get worse, for two reasons. First, $3 billion in additional cuts to domestic and international programs are scheduled to go into effect under the Budget Control Act – sometimes called the sequester – in fiscal year 2018, which begins Oct. 1. Second and even worse: President Trump has proposed cuts of $54 billion below the sequester cap. Needless to say, such cuts would constitute an unprecedented disinvestment in anti-poverty services.
In negotiating the fiscal year 2018 budget, Congress has three choices and two of them are bad. First, it can simply accept the sequester cuts of $3 billion. This would constitute further erosion of our nation’s efforts to eradicate poverty. Second, it could go further, agreeing to Trump’s Draconian cuts, or agreeing to pass some level of funding between the already very harmful sequester cuts, and the incomprehensible $54 billion.
But there is a third and better choice. It can recognize that access to basic living standards and jobs is not a Democratic issue nor a Republican issue, but rather a bipartisan issue. We all benefit when our economy benefits. And our economy benefits when we invest in people through healthcare, education, housing and rebuilding communities. Instead of making these investments, the Trump administration makes cuts, while proposing over $5.5 trillion in tax cuts, overwhelmingly targeted to millionaires and profitable corporations.
The best choice is really not that complicated. Which is why the Coalition on Human Needs and many of our allies, representing faith groups, human service providers, labor and civil rights organizations and others have signed a letter urging Congress to pass a budget that helps people secure basic living standards and invests in fighting poverty.
Weinstein is executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN). CHN is an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies which address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations. For more information please visit www.chn.org.
The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.President Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort offered to provide "private briefings" on the 2016 race to a Russian billionaire with close ties to the Kremlin, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Less than two weeks before Trump cinched the Republican presidential nomination, Manafort offered the briefings to an intermediary, asking that the message be relayed to Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin and with whom Manafort had worked in the past.
“If he needs private briefings we can accommodate,” Manafort reportedly wrote in an email sent July 7, 2016.
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There is no evidence in the emails, which have been turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller and congressional investigators, that Deripaska received the offer or that any briefings took place.
A spokeswoman for Deripaska told the Post that the email exchanges were scheming by “consultants in the notorious ‘beltway bandit’ industry.”
Mueller and multiple congressional committees are probing whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia as part of Moscow's efforts to swing the election.
A spokesman for Manafort, Jason Maloni, denied that any briefings ever took place and said the offer was for what would have been "routine" meetings on the state of the campaign.
The revelation casts even more scrutiny onto Manafort, now believed to be a central focus of Mueller's investigation. Manafort first drew attention over his work for a Kremlin-backed political candidate in Ukraine, and in August, federal investigators raided his home in Alexandria, Va.
Maloni has also been summoned to answer questions before a grand jury.
Mueller's team has threatened Manafort with an indictment, according to The New York Times, and people close to Manafort reportedly believe Mueller is attempting to "flip" the former campaign chairman so that he will provide information on his former Trump associates.
Deripaska is one of Russia's richest men and is believed to be one of the oligarchs to whom Putin turns most frequently.
In 2008, a business parter of Manafort's helped arrange a meeting between Deripaska and then-presidential candidate Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainGOP lobbyists worry Trump lags in K Street fundraising Mark Kelly kicks off Senate bid: ‘A mission to lift up hardworking Arizonans’ Gabbard hits back at Meghan McCain after fight over Assad MORE (R-Ariz.). Both Manafort and Deripaska have confirmed the Russian businessman paid Manafort as an investment consultant.
But by 2014, that business relationship had eroded. In 2014, Deripaska accused Manafort of taking nearly $19 million intended for investments and then failing to either return the money or account for how the funds had been used.
There is no sign that the suit, filed in a Cayman Islands Court, has been closed, according to the Post.
The documents now under review by Mueller and investigators number in the tens of thousands and also include emails that show Manafort waved off concerns by longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks that Manafort was not putting the candidate's best interests first.
In one April 2016 email, he instructs her to disregard questions from the Post about his relationship to Deripaska and a separate Ukrainian businessman, according to people familiar with the email.
Manafort also told Hicks in a June email that he had never had any ties to the Russian government.
Hicks is now the White House communications director.Powerful people often bend the rules. But here’s a twist: If someone breaks rules, are they then perceived as powerful?
Scientists had 40 volunteers read various scenarios. One was about a person who, without asking, helped himself to a cup of coffee from another person’s pot. In another, a bookkeeper consciously ignored a financial error. The subjects also read about scrupulous coffee drinkers and bookkeepers. The subjects were then surveyed, and they rated the rule-breakers as being more in-control and leaderlike than the conscientious types. The research is in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
In another test, being publicly rude also seemed to engender a perceived sense of power. A hundred twenty-six subjects watched one of two videos. One of a man sitting in a sidewalk café and acting courteously, the other of the same man stretching his legs out on a chair next to him, tossing his cigarette ashes wherever, and barking orders at the cafe staff. Subjects thought the crude man was more likely to be a decision-maker and get his way than the same man behaving himself.
So next time you think someone is important, remember: They may simply be a jerk.
—Christie NicholsonPawn Sacrifice
Edward Zwick is at TIFF to premiere his chess drama Pawn Sacrifice, but over the weekend he spoke to young filmmakers from around the world at Films of City Frames. The Saturday morning event unveiled short films produced by New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, London’s National Film and Television School, Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Paris’ Groupe Esra and the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts. The films featured the new line of sunglasses of sponsor Giorgio Armani, who presented the event with Rai Cinema and Luxottica in association with TIFF.
Best known for the films Glory, Blood Diamond and the TV series, Thirtysomething, the 61-year-old Zwick hosted a post-screening panel and fielded questions from an appreciative audience of budding filmmakers. His greatest piece of advice? Read books. “Film,” he explained, “has become referential to other films. It’s very tempting to make an imitation of something you know works or like, and so your exploration becomes redundant.”
When viewing films by newcomers, Zwick looks for a unqiue voice that reflects the filmmaker’s personality. “Ask yourself about yourself and your point of view,” he urged. “Books first and experience second — travel, relationships, politics and all the things of engagement with the world.”
Zwick grew up in an age when watching movies was a rare, ephemeral experience. You were lucky to catch a movie on TV after it played the theaters. With so much content offered on so many platforms, Zwick counselled that today “good is not good enough. You have to distinguish yourself” with that unique voice.
The Chicago native dealt with a difficult childhood by escaping through cinematic storytelling: “Stories is how all of us organize the chaos of life. We take what is scary and random and put it into some digestible order.” He likened filmmaking to “ministering” that harkens back to prehistoric times, when the ancient storytellers would weave tales to explain strange phenomena like a total eclipse. “They were trying to hold a mirror up to our experience that we could then look at. It’s always been a journey outward that is also a journey inward.”
He stressed “the journey inward,” whether it meant expressing a painful love affair or tragic death. “Those things that you find the most personal — the most shameful, the most secret — end up being the things that everyone else relates to. It’s about confronting your own shame and willing to be brave. That bravery you find is what unites you with everyone regardless of language, culture or age.”
Surprisingly, Zwick notes that whenever someone comes up to him and says they want to be a filmmaker, he discourages them. “Only if they hear that discouragement and say, ‘Screw you. I’m going to do this,’ do they possibly have a chance of continuing.” Zwick adds that he even he, an Oscar and Emmy winner, encounters rejection everyday. “This scene doesn’t work when I write it. This actor doesn’t like it when he reads it. The studio refuses to give money to me when I ask for it. It’s a struggle, and you have to accept struggle and failure, and bring that into your process and become very hardened. At the same time, you’re trying to learn from it.”
He confessed that he himself was a lousy film student, making films that were embarassing. Internal critical voices inhibited him and only later did the help of creative partners lead to his breakthrough. “There is no continuing mentoral system after you leave school,” he explained. “To remain each other’s teachers in collaboration was the greatest gift I ever had, and I’m not sure I ever would have broken through.”
Though school is useful, Zwick concluded that filmmaking can be learned, but not necessarily taught: “The only way it can be learned is in the doing of it.”This story was written independently by our editorial staff prior to Mic's partnership with GE.
Source: Getty
Zero.
You've heard the phrase "drinking kills brain cells." What you may not know is that the statement is completely false. While pure alcohol will definitely kill cells — hence its modern use as a disinfectant — the kind you can drink at a bar has almost no effect on the number of nerve cells in your brain.
Even frequent drinking has little to no effect on the overall number or density of neurons in your noggin. To be sure, the team of researchers who made that discovery in the 1990s sliced up the brains of alcoholics and non-alcoholics and counted up all their neurons. On average, both groups had the exact same number of brain cells.
This short video from SciShow does a great job of explaining:
Here's what actually happens to your brain on alcohol: While the whiskey shots you took aren't killing your brain cells, they are causing other problems. To carry out any action, from picking up that shot glass to leaving the bar, our brain cells need to talk to one another. But copious amounts of liquor (or beer or wine) eats away at the tree-like branches at the end of neurons that carry messages from one cell to another. The reason you might have trouble walking in a straight line, then, isn't because your cells are dying in droves, but because they aren't able to communicate with one another as well as they might when you're sober.
But there's good news: Fortunately, we have billions of brain cells, so even with a few impaired neurons, the others pick up the slack, allowing us to manage all right even after a few drinks. Plus, most of the damage we do to our cells during a night of partying isn't permanent. Simply taking a break from alcohol gives the cells a chance to repair themselves. Even amongst long-time alcoholics, researchers have found, getting off the wagon appears to reverse most of the damage.
So why is this pervasive myth still around? Even if it doesn't kill your brain cells, excessive drinking can wreck havoc on the brain. And the damage happens regardless of whether you're a daily drinker or a weekend binger. A recent study in the journal Neuroscience even found that people who drank daily had up to 40% less nerve cell development in the region of the brain crucial for learning and memory.
Paradoxically, frequent drinking may also inhibit the brain connections we rely on to process social cues. In a small study, scientists recently discovered that excessive alcohol appeared to block two regions the brain uses to interpret emotions, making it difficult for heavy drinkers to respond to emotional cues from friends or others in their immediate environment.
Long-term drinking can also cause Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a B vitamin deficiency that leads to confusion, blurred vision and coordination and memory problems. Scientists estimate that more than 80% of alcoholics have this syndrome which, if left untreated, can cause coma or even death.
The takeaway: Contrary to what your friends might have told you, your drinking habit isn't murdering your brain cells. But too much unchecked boozing can still cause pretty severe damage, so remember to take it easy.
If there's one rule that applies perfectly to this scenario, it's "everything in moderation." And if you suspect you've taken your partying too far, it's good to know that most of the damage is reversible.The Baltimore County Council voted Monday to increase the minimum fine for illegal dumping trash on roads and alleys.
The bill sets a minimum penalty of $500, with a maximum of $1,000. It also allows a judge to set jail time of up to six months for a person found guilty of dumping.
Existing law set the maximum fine of $1,000, but had no minimum fine. With no minimum fine, there was little to deter someone from pulling off the road and dumping their trash, said County Councilman Todd Crandell, the bill's lead sponsor.
Crandell, a Dundalk Republican, persuaded all six of the other council members to cosponsor his bill, which was his first successful bill since taking office in December.
"Each of our districts has faced the problem of illegal dumping," he said.
Crandell's bill was amended to take out wording that banned dumping trash "adjacent to" roads, bridges, alleys and drains. While that wording was intended to cover people who dump near road shoulders, there was a concern the language could be used to fine a homeowner who lives near an alley but keeps a compost pile or other debris at their property line that would otherwise be legal.
If the bill is signed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, it will take effect on April 20.
pwood@baltsun.com
twitter.com/pwoodreporterI’ll begin |
et la patrie commune les menèrent loin ; le musicien ne quittait plus le marbrier. Le jour même du concert, l’heure arrivée, ils étaient ensemble, mais où? c’est ce qu’il fallait savoir. On battit tous les cabarets de la ville, tous les cafés. Enfin on le déterra avec son ami, dans un bouge indescriptible, et parfaitement ivre, l’autre aussi. Suivent des scènes analogues, à la Kean et la Frédérick. Enfin il consent à aller jouer ; mais le voilà pris d’une idée subite : « Tu joueras avec moi, » dit-il à son ami. Celui-ci refuse ; il avait un violon, mais il en jouait comme le plus épouvantable ménétrier. « Tu joueras, ou bien je ne joue pas. »
Il n’y a pas de sermons ni de bonnes raisons qui tiennent ; il fallut céder. Les voilà sur l’estrade, devant la fine bourgeoisie de l’endroit. « Apportez du vin, » dit l’Espagnol. Le faiseur de sépultures, qui était connu de tout le monde, mais nullement comme musicien, était trop ivre pour être honteux. Le vin apporté, l’on n’a plus la patience de déboucher les bouteilles. Mes vilains garnements les guillotinent à coups de couteau, comme les gens mal élevés. Jugez quel bel effet sur la province en toilette! Les dames se retirent, et devant ces deux ivrognes qui avaient l’air à moitié fou, beaucoup de gens se sauvent scandalisés.
Mais bien en prit à ceux chez qui la pudeur n’éteignit pas la curiosité et qui eurent le courage de rester. « Commence, » dit le guitariste au marbrier. Il est impossible d’exprimer quel genre de sons sortit du violon ivre ; Bacchus en délire taillant de la pierre avec une scie. Que joua-t-il, ou qu’essaya-t-il de jouer? Peu importe, le premier air venu. Tout à coup une mélodie énergique et suave, capricieuse et une à la fois, enveloppe, étouffe, éteint, dissimule le tapage criard, La guitare chante si haut, que le violon ne s’entend plus. Et cependant c’est bien l’air, l’air aviné qu’avait entamé le marbrier.
La guitare s’exprime avec une sonorité énorme ; elle jase, elle chante, elle déclame avec une verve effrayante, et une sûreté, une pureté inouïes de diction. La guitare improvisait une variation sur le thème du violon d’aveugle. Elle se laissait guider par lui, et elle habillait splendidement et maternellement la grêle nudité de ses sons. Mon lecteur comprendra que ceci est indescriptible ; un témoin vrai et sérieux m’a raconté la chose, Le public, à la fin, était plus ivre que lui. L’Espagnol fut fêté, complimenté, salué par un enthousiasme immense. Mais sans doute le caractère des gens du pays lui déplut ; car ce fut la seule fois qu’il consentit à jouer.
Et maintenant où est-il? Quel soleil a contemplé ses derniers rêves? Quel sol a reçu sa dépouille cosmopolite? Quel fossé a abrité son agonie? Où sont les parfums enivrants des fleurs disparues? Où sont les couleurs féeriques des anciens soleils couchants?
III
Je ne vous ai rien appris sans doute, de bien nouveau. Le vin est connu de tous ; il est aimé de tous. Quand il y aura un vrai médecin philosophe, chose qui ne se voit guère, il pourra faire une puissante étude sur le vin, une sorte de psychologie double dont le vin et l’homme composent les deux termes. Il expliquera comment et pourquoi certaines boissons contiennent la faculté d’augmenter outre mesure la personnalité de l’être pensant, et de créer, pour ainsi dire, une troisième personne, opération mystique, où l’homme naturel et le vin, le dieu animal et le dieu végétal, jouent le rôle du Père et du Fils dans la Trinité ; ils engendrent un Saint-Esprit, qui est l’homme supérieur, lequel procède également des deux.
Il y a des gens chez qui le dégourdissement du vin est si puissant, que leurs jambes deviennent plus fermes et l’oreille excessivement fine. J’ai connu un individu dont la vue affaiblie retrouvait dans l’ivresse toute sa force perçante primitive, Le vin changeait la taupe en aigle.
Un vieil auteur inconnu a dit : « Rien n’égale la joie de l’homme qui boit, si ce n’est la joie du vin d’être bu. » En effet, le vin joue un rôle intime dans la vie de l’humanité, si intime, que je ne serais pas étonné que, séduits par une idée panthéistique, quelques esprits raisonnables lui attribuassent une espèce de personnalité. Le vin et l’homme me font l’effet de deux lutteurs amis sans cesse combattant, sans cesse réconciliés. Le vaincu embrasse toujours le vainqueur.
Il y a des ivrognes méchants ; ce sont des gens naturellement méchants. L’homme mauvais devient exécrable, comme le bon devient excellent.
Je vais parler tout à l’heure d’une substance mise à la mode depuis quelques années, espèce de drogue délicieuse pour une certaine catégorie de dilettantistes, dont les effets sont bien autrement foudroyants et puissants que ceux du vin. J’en décrirai avec soin tous les effets, puis reprenant la peinture des différentes efficacités du vin, je comparerai ces deux moyens artificiels, par lesquels l’homme, exaspérant sa personnalité, crée, pour ainsi dire, en lui une sorte de divinité.
Je montrerai les inconvénients du haschisch, dont le moindre, malgré les trésors de bienveillance inconnus qu’il fait germer en apparence dans le cœur, ou plutôt dans le cerveau de l’homme, dont le moindre défaut, dis-je, est d’être antisocial, tandis que le vin est profondément humain, et j’oserais presque dire homme d’action.
LE HASCHISCH[2] IVLE HASCHISCH
Quand on fait la moisson du chanvre, il se passe quelquefois d’étranges phénomènes dans la personne des travailleurs mâles et femelles. On dirait qu’il s’élève de la moisson je ne sais quel esprit vertigineux qui circule autour des jambes et monte malicieusement jusqu’au cerveau. La tête du moissonneur est pleine de tourbillons, d’autres fois elle est chargée de rêverie. Les membres s’affaissent et refusent le service. Du reste, il m’est arrivé à moi, enfant, jouant et me roulant dans des amas de luzerne, des phénomènes analogues.
On a essayé de faire du haschisch avec du chanvre de France. Tous les essais, jusqu’à présent, ont été mauvais, et les enragés qui veulent à tout prix se procurer des jouissances féeriques ont continué à se servir du haschisch qui avait traversé la Méditerranée, c’est-à-dire fait avec du chanvre indien ou égyptien. La composition du haschisch est faite d’une décoction de chanvre indien, de beurre et d’une petite quantité d’opium.
Voici une confiture verte, singulièrement odorante, tellement odorante qu’elle soulève une certaine répulsion, comme le ferait, du reste, toute odeur fine, portée à son maximum de force et pour ainsi dire de densité. Prenez-en gros comme une noix, remplissez-en une petite cuiller, et vous possédez le bonheur ; le bonheur absolu avec toutes ses ivresses, toutes ses folies de jeunesse, et aussi ses béatitudes infinies. Le bonheur est là, sous la forme d’un petit morceau de confiture ; prenez-en sans crainte, on n’en meurt pas ; les organes physiques n’en reçoivent aucune atteinte grave. Peut-être votre volonté en sera-t-elle amoindrie, ceci est une autre affaire.
Généralement, pour donner au haschisch toute sa force et tout son développement, il faut le délayer dans du café noir très-chaud, et le prendre à jeun ; le dîner est rejeté vers dix heures ou minuit ; une soupe très-légère seule est permise. Une infraction à cette règle si simple produirait ou des vomissements, le dîner se querellant avec la drogue, ou l’inefficacité du haschisch. Beaucoup d’ignorants ou d’imbéciles qui se conduisent ainsi accusent le haschisch d’impuissance.
À peine la petite drogue absorbée, opération qui, du reste, demande une certaine résolution, car, ainsi que je l’ai dit, la mixture est tellement odorante qu’elle cause à quelques personnes des velléités de nausées, vous vous trouvez immédiatement placé dans un état anxieux. Vous avez entendu vaguement parler des effets merveilleux du haschisch, votre imagination s’est fait une idée particulière, un idéal d’ivresse, et il vous tarde de savoir si la réalité, si le résultat, sera adéquat à votre préconception. Le temps qui s’écoule entre l’absorption du breuvage et les premiers symptômes varie suivant les tempéraments et aussi suivant l’habitude. Les personnes qui ont la connaissance et la pratique du haschisch sentent quelquefois, au bout d’une demi-heure, les premiers symptômes de l’invasion.
J’ai oublié de dire que le haschisch causant dans l’homme une exaspération de sa personnalité et en même temps un sentiment très-vif des circonstances et des milieux, il était convenable de ne se soumettre à son action que dans des milieux et des circonstances favorables. Toute joie, tout bien-être étant surabondant, toute douleur, toute angoisse est immensément profonde. Ne faites pas vous-même une pareille expérience, si vous avez à accomplir quelque affaire désagréable, si votre esprit se trouve porté au spleen, si vous avez un billet à payer. Je l’ai dit, le haschisch est impropre à l’action. Il ne console pas comme le vin ; il ne fait que développer outre mesure la personnalité humaine dans les circonstances actuelles où elle est placée. Autant qu’il se peut, il faut un bel appartement ou un beau paysage, un esprit libre et dégagé, et quelques complices dont le talent intellectuel se rapproche du vôtre ; un peu de musique aussi s’il est possible.
La plupart du temps, les novices, à leur première initiation, se plaignent de la lenteur des effets. Ils les attendent avec anxiété, et comme cela ne va pas assez vite à leur gré, ils font des fanfaronnades d’incrédulité qui réjouissent beaucoup ceux qui connaissent les choses et la manière dont le haschisch se gouverne. Ce n’est pas une des choses le moins comiques que de voir les premières atteintes apparaître et se multiplier au milieu même de cette incrédulité. D’abord une certaine hilarité saugrenue et irrésistible s’empare de vous. Les mots les plus vulgaires, les idées les plus simples prennent une physionomie bizarre et nouvelle. Cette gaieté vous est insupportable à vous-même ; mais il est inutile de regimber. Le démon vous a envahi ; tous les efforts que vous ferez pour résister ne serviront qu’à accélérer les progrès du mal. Vous riez de votre niaiserie et de votre folie ; vos camarades vous rient au nez, et vous ne leur en voulez pas, car la bienveillance commence à se manifester.
Cette gaieté languissante, ce malaise dans la joie, cette insécurité, cette indécision de la maladie, dure généralement peu de temps. Il arrive quelquefois que des gens tout à fait impropres aux jeux de mots, improvisent des enfilades interminables de calembours, des rapprochements d’idées tout à fait improbables, et faits pour dévoyer les maîtres les plus forts dans cet art saugrenu.
Au bout de quelques minutes, les apports d’idées deviennent tellement vagues, les fils qui relient vos conceptions sont si ténus, que vos complices, vos coreligionnaires seuls peuvent vous comprendre. Votre folâtrerie, vos éclats de rire paraissent le comble de la sottise à tout homme qui n’est pas dans le même état que vous.
La sagesse de ce malheureux vous réjouit outre mesure, son sang-froid vous pousse aux dernières limites de l’ironie ; il vous paraît le plus fou et le plus ridicule de tous les hommes. Quant à vos camarades, vous vous entendez parfaitement avec eux. Bientôt vous ne vous entendez plus que par les yeux. Le fait est que c’est une situation passablement comique que celle d’hommes qui jouissent d’une gaieté incompréhensible pour qui n’est pas situé dans le même monde qu’eux. Ils le prennent en profonde pitié. Dès lors, l’idée de supériorité pointe à l’horizon de votre intellect. Bientôt elle grandira démesurément.
J’ai été témoin, dans cette première phase, de deux scènes assez grotesques. Un musicien célèbre, qui ignorait les propriétés du haschisch et n’en avait peut-être jamais entendu parler, arrive au milieu d’une société où presque tout le monde en avait pris. On essaye de lui faire comprendre ses merveilleux effets. Il rit avec grâce comme un homme qui veut bien poser quelques minutes par esprit de bienséance, parce qu’il est bien élevé. On rit beaucoup ; car l’homme qui a pris du haschisch est, dans la première phase, doué d’une merveilleuse intelligence comique. Les éclats de rire, les énormités incompréhensibles, les jeux de mots inextricables, les gestes baroques continuent. Le musicien déclare que cette charge d’artistes est mauvaise, que d’ailleurs elle être bien fatigante pour les auteurs.
La joie augmente. « Cette charge est peut-être bonne pour vous, pour moi non, dit-il. — Il suffit qu’elle soit bonne pour nous, » réplique égoïstement un des malades. Des éclats de rire interminables remplissent la salle. Mon homme se fâche et veut s’en aller. Quelqu’un ferme la porte et cache la clef. Un autre se met à genoux devant lui et lui déclare en pleurant, au nom de toute la société, que si elle émue pour lui et pour son infériorité de la plus profonde pitié, elle n’en sera pas moins animée d’une éternelle bienveillance.
On le supplie de faire de la musique, il se résigne. À peine le violon s’était-il fait entendre que les sons se répandaient dans l’appartement empoignaient çà et là quelqu’un des malades. Ce n’étaient que soupirs profonds, sanglots, gémissements déchirants, torrents de pleurs. Le musicien épouvanté s’arrête, il se croit dans une maison de fous. Il s’approche de celui dont la béatitude faisait le plus de tapage ; il lui demande s’il souffre beaucoup et ce qu’il faudrait faire pour le soulager. Un esprit positif, qui lui non plus n’avait pas goûté de la drogue béatifique, propose de la limonade et des acides. Le malade, l’extase dans les yeux, le regarde avec un indicible mépris ; c’est son orgueil qui le sauve des plus graves injures. En effet, quoi de plus propre à exaspérer un malade de joie que de vouloir le guérir?
Voici un phénomène extrêmement curieux selon moi : une domestique, chargée d’apporter du tabac et des rafraîchissements à des gens pris de haschisch, se voyant entourée de têtes bizarres, d’yeux démesurément agrandis, et comme circonvenue par une atmosphère malsaine, par cette folie collective, part d’un éclat de rire insensé, laisse tomber le plateau qui se brise avec toutes les tasses et les verres, et s’enfuit épouvantée à toutes jambes. Tout le monde rit. Elle a avoué le lendemain avoir éprouvé quelque chose de singulier pendant plusieurs heures, avoir été toute drôle, toute je ne sais comment. Cependant elle n’avait pas pris de haschisch.
La seconde phase s’annonce par une sensation de fraîcheur aux extrémités, une grande faiblesse ; vous avez, comme on dit, des mains de beurre, une lourdeur de tête et une stupéfaction générale dans tout votre être. Vos yeux s’agrandissent, ils sont comme tirés dans tous les sens par une extase implacable. Votre face se remplit de pâleur, elle devient livide et verdâtre. Les lèvres se rétrécissent, se raccourcissent et semblent vouloir rentrer en dedans. Des soupirs rauques et profonds s’échappent de votre poitrine, comme si votre nature ancienne ne pouvait pas supporter le poids votre nature nouvelle. Les sens deviennent d’une finesse et d’une acuité extraordinaires. Les yeux percent l’infini. L’oreille perçoit les sons les plus insaisissables au milieu des bruits les plus aigus.
Les hallucinations commencent. Les objets extérieurs prennent des apparences monstrueuses. Ils révèlent à vous sous des formes inconnues jusque-là. Puis ils se déforment et enfin entrent dans votre être, ou bien vous entrez en eux. Les équivoques les plus singulières, les transpositions d’idées les plus inexplicables ont lieu. Les sons ont une couleur, les couleurs ont une musique. Les notes musicales sont des nombres, et vous résolvez avec rapidité effrayante de prodigieux calculs d’arithmétique à mesure que la musique se déroule dans votre oreille. Vous êtes assis et vous fumez ; vous croyez être dans votre pipe, et c’est vous que votre pipe fume ; c’est vous qui vous exhalez sous la forme de nuages bleuâtres.
Vous vous y trouvez bien, une seule chose vous préoccupe et vous inquiète. Comment ferez-vous pour sortir de votre pipe? Cette imagination dure une éternité. Un intervalle de lucidité avec un grand effort vous permet de regarder à la pendule. L’éternité a duré une minute. Un autre courant d’idées vous emporte ; il vous emportera pendant une minute dans son tourbillon vivant, et cette minute sera encore une éternité. Les proportions du temps et de l’être sont dérangées par la multitude innombrable et par l’intensité des sensations et des idées. On vit plusieurs vies d’homme en l’espace d’une heure. C’est bien là le sujet de la Peau de chagrin. Il n’y a plus équation entre les organes et les jouissances.
De temps en temps la personnalité disparaît. L’objectivité qui fait certains poëtes panthéistes et aussi les grands comédiens devient telle, que vous vous confondez avec les êtres extérieurs. Vous voici arbre mugissant au vent et racontant à la nature des mélodies végétales. Maintenant vous planez dans l’azur du ciel immensément agrandi. Toute douleur a disparu. Vous ne luttez plus, vous êtes emporté, vous n’êtes plus votre maître, et vous ne vous en affligez pas. Tout à l’heure l’idée du temps disparaîtra complètement. De temps en temps encore un petit réveil a lieu. Il vous semble que vous sortez d’un monde merveilleux et fantastique. Vous gardez, il est vrai, la faculté de vous observer vous-même, et demain vous aurez conservé le souvenir de quelques-unes de vos sensations. Mais cette faculté psychologique, vous ne pouvez pas l’appliquer. Je vous défie de tailler une plume ou un crayon ; ce serait un labeur au-dessus de vos forces.
D’autres fois la musique vous raconte des poëmes infinis, vous place dans des drames effrayants ou féeriques. Elle s’associe avec les objets qui sont sous vos yeux. Les peintures du plafond, même médiocres ou mauvaises, prennent une vie effrayante. L’eau limpide et enchanteresse coule dans le gazon qui tremble. Les nymphes aux chairs éclatantes vous regardent avec de grands yeux plus limpides que l’eau et l’azur. Vous prendriez votre place et votre rôle dans les plus méchantes peintures, les plus grossiers papiers peints qui tapissent les murs des auberges.
J’ai remarqué que l’eau prenait un charme effrayant pour tous les esprits un peu artistes illuminés par le haschisch. Les eaux courantes, les jets d’eau, les cascades harmonieuses, l’immensité bleue de la mer, roulent, dorment, chantent au fond de votre esprit. Il ne serait peut-être pas bon de laisser un homme en cet état au bord d’une eau limpide ; comme le pêcheur de la ballade, il se laisserait peut-être entraîner par l’Ondine.
Vers la fin de la soirée, on peut manger, mais cette opération ne s’accomplit pas sans peine. On se trouve tellement au-dessus des faits matériels, qu’on préférerait certainement rester couché tout de son long au fond de son paradis intellectuel. Quelquefois cependant l’appétit se développe d’une manière extraordinaire ; mais il faut un grand courage pour remuer une bouteille, une fourchette et un couteau.
La troisième phase, séparée de la seconde par un redoublement de crise, une ivresse vertigineuse suivie d’un nouveau malaise, est quelque chose d’indescriptible. C’est ce que les Orientaux appellent le Kief ; c’est le bonheur absolu. Ce n’est plus quelque chose de tourbillonnant et de tumultueux. C’est une béatitude calme et immobile. Tous les problèmes philosophiques sont résolus. Toutes les questions ardues contre lesquelles s’escriment les théologiens, et qui font le désespoir de l’humanité raisonnante, sont limpides et claires. Toute contradiction est devenue unité. L’homme est passé dieu.
Il y a en vous quelque chose qui dit : « Tu es supérieur à tous les hommes, nul ne comprend ce que tu penses, ce que tu sens maintenant. Ils sont même incapables de comprendre l’immense amour que tu éprouves pour eux. Mais il ne faut pas les haïr pour cela ; il faut avoir pitié d’eux. Une immensité de bonheur et de vertu s’ouvre devant toi. Nul ne saura jamais à quel degré de vertu et d’intelligence tu es parvenu. Vis dans la solitude de ta pensée, et évite d’affliger les hommes. »
Un des effets les plus grotesques du haschisch est la crainte poussée jusqu’à la folie la plus méticuleuse d’affliger qui que ce soit. Vous déguiseriez même, si vous en aviez la force, l’état extra-naturel où vous êtes, pour ne pas causer d’inquiétude au dernier des hommes.
Dans ce suprême état, l’amour, chez les esprits tendres et artistiques, prend les formes les plus singulières et se prête aux combinaisons les plus baroques. Un libertinage effréné peut se mêler à un sentiment de paternité ardente et affectueuse.
Ma dernière observation ne sera pas la moins curieuse. Quand, le lendemain matin, vous voyez le jour installé dans votre chambre, votre première sensation est un profond étonnement. Le temps avait complétement disparu. Tout à l’heure c’était la nuit, maintenant c’est le jour. « Ai-je dormi, ou n’ai-je pas dormi? Mon ivresse a-t-elle duré toute la nuit, et la notion du temps étant supprimée, la nuit entière n’a-t-elle eu pour moi à peine que la valeur d’une seconde? Ou bien ai-je été enseveli dans les voiles d’un sommeil plein de visions? » Il est impossible de le savoir.
Il vous semble que vous éprouvez un bien-être et une légèreté d’esprit merveilleuse ; nulle fatigue. Mais à peine êtes-vous debout qu’un vieux reste d’ivresse se manifeste. Vos jambes faibles vous conduisent avec timidité, vous craignez de vous casser comme un objet fragile. Une grande langueur, qui ne manque pas de charme, s’empare de votre esprit. Vous êtes incapable de travail et d’énergie dans l’action.
C’est la punition méritée de la prodigalité impie avec laquelle vous avez fait une si grande dépense de fluide nerveux. Vous avez jeté votre personnalité aux quatre vents du ciel, et maintenant vous avez de la peine à la rassembler et à la concentrer.
V
Je ne dis pas que le haschisch produise sur tous les hommes tous les effets que je viens de décrire. J’ai raconté à peu de chose près les phénomènes qui se produisent généralement, sauf quelques variantes, chez les esprits artistiques et philosophiques. Mais il y a des tempéraments chez qui cette drogue ne développe qu’une folie tapageuse, une gaieté violente qui ressemble à du vertige, des danses, des sauts, des trépignements, des éclats de rire. Ils ont pour ainsi dire un haschisch tout matériel. Ils sont insupportables aux spiritualistes qui les prennent en grande pitié. Leur vilaine personnalité fait éclat. J’ai vu une fois un magistrat respectable, un homme honorable, comme disent d’eux-mêmes les gens du monde, un de ces hommes dont la gravité artificielle impose toujours, au moment où le haschisch fit invasion en lui, se mettre brusquement à sauter un cancan des plus indécents. Le monstre intérieur et véridique se révélait. Cet homme qui jugeait les actions de ses semblables, ce Togatus avait appris le cancan en cachette.
Ainsi l’on peut affirmer que cette impersonnalité, cet objectivisme dont j’ai parlé et qui n’est que le développement excessif de l’esprit poétique, ne se trouvera jamais dans le haschisch de ces gens-là.
VI
En Égypte, le gouvernement défend la vente et le commerce du haschisch, à l’intérieur du pays du moins. Les malheureux qui ont cette passion viennent chez le pharmacien prendre, sous le prétexte d’acheter une autre drogue, leur petite dose préparée à l’avance. Le gouvernement égyptien a bien raison. Jamais un État raisonnable ne pourrait subsister avec l’usage du haschisch. Cela ne fait ni des guerriers ni des citoyens. En effet, il est défendu à l’homme, sous peine de déchéance et de mort intellectuelle, de déranger les conditions primordiales de son existence et de rompre l’équilibre de ses facultés avec les milieux. S’il existait un gouvernement qui eût intérêt à corrompre ses gouvernés, il n’aurait qu’à encourager l’usage du haschisch.
On dit que cette substance ne cause aucun mal physique. Cela est vrai, jusqu’à présent du moins. Car je ne sais pas jusqu’à quel point on peut dire qu’un homme qui ne ferait que rêver et serait incapable d’action, se porterait bien, quand même tous ses membres seraient en bon état. Mais c’est la volonté qui est attaquée, et c’est l’organe le plus précieux. Jamais un homme qui peut, avec une cuillerée de confitures, se procurer instantanément tous les biens du ciel et de la terre, n’en acquerra la millième partie par le travail. Il faut avant tout vivre et travailler.
L’idée m’est venue de parler du vin et du haschisch dans le même article, parce qu’en effet il y a en eux quelque chose de commun : le développement poétique excessif de l’homme. Le goût frénétique de l’homme pour toutes les substances, saines ou dangereuses, qui exaltent sa personnalité, témoigne de sa grandeur. Il aspire toujours à réchauffer ses espérances et à s’élever vers l’infini. Mais il faut voir les résultats. Voici une liqueur qui active la digestion, fortifie les muscles, et enrichit le sang. Prise en grande quantité même, elle ne cause que des désordres assez courts. Voilà une substance qui interrompt les fonctions digestives, qui affaiblit les membres et qui peut causer une ivresse de vingt-quatre heures. Le vin exalte la volonté ; le haschisch l’annihile. Le vin est support physique ; le haschisch est une arme pour le suicide. Le vin rend bon et sociable ; le haschisch est isolant. L’un est laborieux pour ainsi dire, l’autre essentiellement paresseux. À quoi bon, en effet, travailler, labourer, écrire, fabriquer quoi que ce soit, quand on peut emporter le paradis d’un seul coup? Enfin le vin est pour le peuple qui travaille et qui mérite d’en boire. Le haschisch appartient à la classe des joies solitaires ; il est fait pour les misérables oisifs. Le vin est utile, il produit des résultats fructifiants. Le haschisch est inutile et dangereux[3].
VII
Je termine cet article par quelques belles paroles qui ne sont pas de moi, mais d’un remarquable philosophe peu connu, Barbereau, théoricien musical, et professeur au Conservatoire. J’étais auprès de lui dans une société dont quelques personnes avaient pris du bienheureux poison, et il me dit avec un accent de mépris indicible : « Je ne comprends pas pourquoi l’homme rationnel et spirituel se sert de moyens artificiels pour arriver à la béatitude poétique, puisque l’enthousiasme et la volonté suffisent pour l’élever à une existence supra-naturelle. Les grands poëtes, les philosophes, les prophètes sont des êtres qui, par le pur et libre exercice de la volonté, parviennent à un état où ils sont à la fois cause et effet, sujet et objet, magnétiseur et somnambule. »
Je pense exactement comme lui.An article written by University of Tennessee professor John R Garrett, "Monetary Policy and Expectations: Market-Control Techniques and the Bank of England, 1925-1931", which describes in exquisite detail the gold falsification measures undertaken by the Bank of England in the interwar period in order to impact interest rates in a favorable direction, performed with the full criminal complicity of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, may mean paranoid "gold bugs" could soon be forever absolved of their "tin hat" wearing status as outright gold, and other data, manipulation by a major central bank is now proven beyond doubt. The implications regarding the possibility of comparable deceitful and treasonous acts by modern central bankers are staggering.
The Bank of England depleted its open-market portfolio by secretly sterilizing large gold inflows. Thereafter interest rates were influenced by manipulating reported gold flows.... A gold flow falsification was over two-thirds as effective as an open-market operation.
Falsifying critical gold data worked for Britain 70 years ago. Is it working now too? And is the BOE alone, or is Bernanke taking advantage of the Bank of England's experience? To be sure, the world was different with the Gold Standard the bedrock of monetary policy. Yet are the similarities between then and now not greater than the differences? With the shadow economy exposed as hinging on the investing community's desire to go with the prevailing "valuation" lie (a reason why the shadow economy in broad terms will take many years to return, if ever) the core asset is and always will be gold.
And yet the main question remains: why did the Bank of England openly and flagrantly manipulate critical data? Why did it mislead the citizens of the country it was supposed to serve? And if this happened in the past is it happening now? Is this the reason why the Federal Reserve is so opposed to exposing itself to public scrutiny and audits? If the BOE was engaging in outright fraud in the 1925-1931 period, why would today be any different?
Garett's mesmerizing report, published in the September 1995 issue of Monetary Policy and Expectations, has oddly not received much if any public notice, with not a single mention of the article or its implication in either the blogosphere or the mainstream arena. This is very unusual as Garret's disclosures would lend vast credence to not just gold bugs' claims that there is blatant (ongoing) gold data manipulation, but that Central Banks regularly engage in outright deception when it comes to achieving desired monetary policy results. To wit:
Montagu Norman, the Governor of the Bank of England... engaged in a large-scale deception that greatly over-stated the size of the effective open-market portfolio, understated the size of the gold stock, and misstated the size and even the direction of gold flows.
Not only that, but Garrett provides a direct link between secret gold market operations by the BOE and accumulation of US Treasuries: a |
of the GST Act, indicate that the Court should construe the Act in a practical and common sense way and that, generally speaking, it should avoid interpretations which are unduly technical or overly meticulous and literal: see HP Mercantile [2005] FCAFC 126; 143 FCR 553 at [41]- [53] per Hill J; and Hill DG, “Some Thoughts on the Principles Applicable to the Interpretation of the GST” [2003] JlATax 3; (2004) 6 Journal of Australian Taxation 1. This approach seems particularly apposite to the construction of s 9-25 and s 195-1. In Saga Holidays, Stone J (with whom Gyles J and Young J agreed) noted that the Court had tended to adopt a purposive approach to the interpretation of the GST Act and had rejected “strict grammatical analyses in favour of a consideration not only of the syntax but also of “the policy and the surrounding legislative context” of the relevant provision” and with the characterisation of the tax as “a practical business tax” (see at [29]). Her Honour added that, this did not mean that there was “some special canon of construction that should be applied when interpreting the GST Act”, however, recognition of the legislation as involving “a practical business tax”, requires a broad approach to be taken to the relevant context, which includes the “legislative history, the parliamentary intention and the mischief to which a particular provision has been directed”, citing at [30] the Full Federal Court’s observations in Chaudhri v Commissioner of Taxation [2001] FCA 554; 109 FCR 416. I consider that there is particular force in the Commissioner’s submission that, in construing the phrase “taxi travel”, it is relevant to take into account the fact that the legislation is directed to persons who supply “taxi travel”, who need to understand whether or not they are obliged to register for GST, notwithstanding that their income does not reach the general statutory threshold. This reinforces the desirability of construing the legislation in a practical and common sense way and to avoid an approach which is “unduly technical or overly meticulous and literal” as Young J observed in Saga Holidays at [70]. A practical and common sense approach was adopted and applied by Sundberg J in Lansell House at first instance at [51] and [52]. As noted above, the issue there was whether Italian flat bread fell within item 32 of Sch 1 to the GST Act. His Honour described the question for decision as “the proper classification of every day food items for the purpose of the Goods and Services Tax”. He then added at [59]:
... The everyday English words in item 32 must be given their ordinary and natural meaning – what is the reasonable view on the basis of all the facts known to the Court as to whether or not the product is one which falls within the relevant category, which here is crackers. Thus, it seems to me, it is inappropriate for the Court to apply refined analytical tools – in this case rather elusive and qualified technical distinctions – to an ordinary English word, rather than local knowledge and common sense. As Toulson LJ said in Procter & Gamble, this is not a scientific question.
3. As Gleeson CJ said in XYZ v Commonwealth at [19]:
There are many instances where it is misleading to construe a composite phrase simply by combining the dictionary meanings of its component parts.
See also General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corporation Ltd v Commissioner of Pay-roll Tax [1982] 2 NSWLR 52 referred to by Gleeson CJ where Lord Wilberforce remarked, in the course of argument, that an Australian who looked up the words “commission” and “agent” in a dictionary would probably be surprised to be told that, in England, a commission agent is a bookmaker.
The text of the provision is to be construed according to the context “by reference to the language of the instrument viewed as a whole”: Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 355 at [69] (citations omitted). In the present case, the word “care” is to be construed in the context of the composite phrase of which it forms part, being “short-term direct care”, in the context of the rest of the specific paragraph and in the context of para (b) of Item 4.1.6. Similarly, the phrase “animals without owners” is to be construed in context. I should indicate, however, that I do not consider that the definition of “taxi travel” in s 195-1 of the GST Act is in truth a composite phrase. Rather, the focus in the definition on “travel that involves transporting passengers, by taxi or limousine, for fares” (emphasis added) expressly differentiates between two types of vehicles, as is further reflected in the use of the disjunctive “or”. The definition is to be contrasted with the phrase in Agfa-Gevaert, namely “silver dye bleach reversal process”, which was viewed as a composite phrase. For these reasons, I see no utility in approaching the task of statutory construction as if it was directed to a composite phrase. It may be that the phrase “taxi travel” in s 144-1 is itself a composite phrase but attention must also be focused upon the specific statutory definition of that phrase in s 195-1 which is not properly characterised as a composite expression. Sixthly, and perhaps related to the first of the principles summarised above, I acknowledge that appropriate caution needs to be taken in using dictionary meanings. This is highlighted in the passage from Gordon J’s judgment in Sea Shepherd which is set out in [131] above. I also respectfully agree with her Honour’s further observations at [36]:...Construction of a statute cannot be undertaken with no more than the words of the provision in one hand and a dictionary in the other. Judge Learned Hand rightly cautioned against the mechanical examination of words in isolation. As his Honour said in Cabell v Markham 148 F (2d) 737 (2d Cir 1945) at 739:
... it is one of the surest indexes of a mature and developed jurisprudence not to make a fortress out of the dictionary; but to remember that statutes always have some purpose or object to accomplish, whose sympathetic and imaginative discovery is the surest guide to their meaning.
That is not to say, however, that reference can never be made to dictionary meanings in ascertaining or confirming the ordinary meaning of words. I respectfully agree with the following observations of Mahoney JA in Provincial Insurance Australia Pty Ltd v Consolidated Wood Products Pty Ltd (1991) 25 NSWLR 541 at 560 concerning the use of dictionary meanings:
Applying these principles, which I view as providing helpful guidance rather than talismanic formulae or inflexible rules of law, I consider that the words in s 195-1 should be given their ordinary, everyday meanings and not a trade or specialised meaning (including one which reflects what Dr Abelson describes as a “regulatory concept”). I accept the Commissioner’s“Just please take me home now. I want to go home.” Mike Segar/Reuters
Bernie Sanders gave a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday that sought to unify the Democratic Party behind Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. Some people, though, were not buying it. Specifically, Sanders’ most diehard supporters, some of whom promised to sit out the election or vote for a third-party candidate rather than back Clinton.
Here are the faces of some of the most disappointed, angry, and downright despondent Sanders supporters in Philadelphia on Monday.
Poor souls. Alex Wong/Getty Images
OK, but what was she expecting? Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
I mean, nobody died. Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
Maybe at least pretend to hold that “I’m With Her” sign like you mean it? Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Too much Bern felt. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
“This is not happening. This is not happening.” Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
[Insert Celine Dion lyrics here.] Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
See the guy above Bernie’s head? That’s the saddest anyone has ever been while wearing a lei, EVER. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Read more Slate coverage of the 2016 campaign.Today at 3pm Eastern Time, the 2017 NBA Playoffs will begin. All of the playoff series are best of seven, meaning the first team to win four games in each is victorious and moves on. This happens for both the Eastern and Western conferences, until the best of both meet each other for the Finals.
This year, Microsoft -- through its "Bing Predicts" service -- says that Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors of the West will beat LeBron James and the the Cleveland Cavaliers of the East to become NBA Champions.
"Golden State is predicted to meet Cleveland in the NBA Finals for the third straight year. They are predicted to avenge last year’s defeat to win the series 4-1 and regain the title. If you’re looking for a First Round series to follow, Bing predicts seed #5 Atlanta to upset #4 Washington and win 4-2; Atlanta will not carry the momentum to the Eastern Semifinals though, and lose to Boston in 7 games. In the West, Bing predicts Houston to prevail over Oklahoma City in another much-anticipated First Round series. Houston’s efficient offense, led by MVP-candidate James Harden, will need 7 games to beat Oklahoma and their own MVP-candidate (and Harden’s former OKC teammate) Russell Westbrook," says The Bing Team.
The team explains, "Interested in how we do it? We generate our Bing sports predictions in two stages. We start with a traditional statistical model which incorporates win/loss, margins of victory, record at home and on the road, player composition, and many other factors to determine team strength."
While successfully picking the correct team to become the champions is not an easy task, the Warriors are favored by many to do so, meaning Microsoft is not making any shocking claims here. With that said, upsets in a best-of-seven match-up can absolutely happen. Not to mention, you can never count out the great LeBron James from willing his team to a championship, either.
Do you agree with Microsoft, or will a different team become the champions? Tell me in the comments below.
Photo Credit: Phovoir / ShutterstockIn his 40-year career as an archaeologist, Jason Wood has travelled the world, searching for Roman remains in Jordanian citadels and helping to restore royal palaces in Nepal. But his recent project was a little less exotic: digging up a patch of grass by some woods in Bradford.
Ever since he was a small boy, Wood had been thinking about the site on Horton Park Avenue, across the road from the ornate Grand Mosque. He remembered his dad pointing out the overgrown grass where a football club had once stood, wondering for decades how a ground that could hold 37,000 fans could be left to the worms and the weeds.
Forty years later, Wood returned, armed with a trowel and a determination to excavate the remains of what he views as “the Angkor Wat of football”: the forgotten home to Bradford Park Avenue, once one of the biggest teams in Yorkshire, which he thinks is just as important as any Cambodian temple.
The club folded in 1974, mired in debt and overshadowed by Bradford City, its more successful local rival. The site was abandoned, useless to developers because of a restrictive covenant which only permits it to be used for sport or recreation.
That may have thwarted property speculators but it delighted a footy-mad archaeologist. It took little more than light gardening to see that much of the ground was still standing. The concrete steps of the Kop end were clearly visible among the overgrown ash and sycamore trees, and the perimeter wall stood tall, complete with bricked-in recesses where the turnstiles had been installed. A chalk board had also survived, displaying the five-shilling ticket price for the final match where a young Kevin Keegan had helped Scunthorpe to a resounding 5-0 win. So too had the gents toilets and a crash barrier.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Terraces from the stadium. Photograph: Neville Gabie/Axis Projects Publishing/handout
Wood worked with a number of artists on the dig, which began in November 2013, funded by the National Football Museum and Arts Council England. Now the story of the excavation has been turned into a book, which has just been nominated for the UK’s most prestigious sports book award. Later this month Breaking Ground: Art, Archaeology and Mythology, edited by Wood and artists Neville Gabie and Alan Ward, will go head to head with biographies of Muhammad Ali and the cyclist Tommy Simpson to be voted William Hill sports book of the year.
It is quite a feat for a self-published book with a 500-copy print run, funded by donations from Bradford Park Avenue fans who are determined that history doesn’t forget the ground that was once a rival to Headingley and Bramall Lane in a Victorian battle for sporting supremacy in the White Rose county. The publishing endeavour mirrored their wider efforts for the old club, which they had revived by turning it into a fan-owned operation in the vein of Manchester’s FC United.
When word spread about the project, fans came to help from all around Bradford and beyond, helping to contextualise the archaeological finds. Some, like four boot studs, were self-explanatory. Some were more puzzling. Perhaps the most bizarre find was a nappy pin, unearthed next to one of the ground hooks behind the left-hand goalpost. It would have remained a mystery were it not for the arrival of Susan Farr, daughter of Chick Farr, a star goalkeeper. She explained that the elastic on her father’s shorts had snapped during a match, forcing the trainer on to the pitch to perform an emergency repair. It was an incident Farr never lived down, and he was regularly showered with pins when he was in goal thereafter.
A collection of marbles found had also been chucked at the poor goalies, it emerged: “The culprit identified himself to us and sheepishly owned up to his youthful misdemeanour, which at the time got him evicted from the ground.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The ground in 1966. Photograph: David Pendleton/Axis Projects Publishing/Handout
For Wood it was tremendously handy not having to guess the significance of his finds but having living witnesses explain them. “It would be like having a Roman soldier when I’m digging up a citadel,” he said.
This year the council-owned site was redeveloped into a cricket training facility as part of a project to encourage south Asian youths into the sport. Robert Nichol, another archeologist involved on the dig, who was so devoted to his beloved Middlesbrough FC that he bought a house on the club’s old ground, hopes the council will not forget the site’s heritage.
“Park Avenue was a people’s palace,” he writes in the book. “I hope through our project we have opened up a portal to a 1,001 memories but equally also perhaps opened a new chapter for a sports ground with a rich history but also clearly deserving of a future … The one thing I do know all about is that former grounds still have a life after the last football has been kicked.”Michael Herlihy at the NZ Championships intermediate final in Te Kuiti last season where he placed fourth.
Less than a fortnight before Taranaki's Herlihy brothers were to attempt a new world shearing record, the youngest of the six competitors has died.
Former national lambshearing junior champion, Michael Herlihy, of Stratford, died at the weekend. He was 20.
He and his five older brothers, Paul, Mark, Craig, Tim and Dean Herlihy, had planned to tackle the Six-Stand Strong Wool Lamb record at Gisborne next week.
SUPPLIED John Herlihy with his sons Paul, Mark, Craig, Tim, Dean and Michael.
The brothers aimed to shear 3000 lambs in just eight hours, 90 more than the five-stand record, which would require each of them to clip one sheep every 50 seconds.
READ MORE:
* Six brothers aiming for world shearing record
* Te Huia to have another crack at world record
The record setting event has now been cancelled.
Shearing Sports New Zealand chairman Sir David Fagan said the sports and industry of shearing, much wider than just in New Zealand, was shocked by the sudden death of Herlihy who had been a keen competitor in New Zealand's intermediate ranks.
"He was certainly one of the up-and-coming guns in the lower grade," he said.
The son of former long-time shearing contractor John Herlihy and wife Pat, who now farm at Whangamomona, Herlihy's biggest single win in New Zealand was the national lambshearing championships junior final at Raglan in 2013.
Last season, he finished in second place on the Shearing Sports New Zealand Intermediate rankings with wins at Stratford, Levin, Apiti and the Flaxbourne show in the South Island, but the major feature was third place at the Golden Shears where he was also top qualifier among the 46 shearers in the heats and claimed the FMG Quality Award for the grade.
Fagan said the brothers record attempt would have been a one-of-a-kind performance.
"They weren't trying to break a record, they were setting one," he said.
"It was pretty unique. We've never had six brothers go for a record before."
He said the loss of the young competitor was an "absolute tragedy" which would ripple right through the shearing community
"The whole industry and sport is built on family."
Taumaranui police senior sergeant Grant Alabaster said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Herlihy's death and it had been referred to the coroner.
Where to get help:
Lifeline - 0800 543 354
Depression Helpline (8 am to 12 midnight) - 0800 111 757
Healthline - 0800 611 116
Suicide Crisis Helpline - 0508 828 865
Youthline - 0800 376 633, free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nzHula Hoop Bronzer, Antagonist Lipstick, and A Party Dress eyeshadow mini. Brianna included two shadow samples as freebies with my order. Today I will be discussing my thoughts on the second half of my Brija Cosmetics haul. I reviewed and swatched their Harry Potter collection here in case you missed it. In addition to the Harry Potter collection, I also purchased their, and Aeyeshadow mini. Brianna included two shadow samples as freebies with my order.
* Disclaimer: All products purchased with my own money using a blogger discount. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. * If you are interested in picking up anything from Brija, they are offering a 20% off coupon on their lip products with the code "birthdaylove". The sale ends today which is why I wanted to get this post up.
Hula Hoop Bronzer is a big seller, as well as her lipstick in Unfortunate Souls. I wanted to pick up that one as well as their Syntax lipstick (a cool dark burgundy with a green shift, looks a lot like Mac's Blue Brown pigment in a lipstick form) but ultimately decided to just try one and went with their lipstick in Antagonist after seeing a fellow blogger look amazing in it
I emailed Brianna and asked her what is popular in her shop and she told me heris a big seller, as well as her lipstick in. I wanted to pick up that one as well as their(a cool dark burgundy with a green shift, looks a lot like Mac'sin a lipstick form) but ultimately decided to just try one and went with their lipstick inafter seeing a fellow blogger look amazing in it here
Just as a note, everything on Brija's website is vegan. Antagonist is a deep purple with a magenta tint and a subtle blue duochrome. The lipstick comes in a slim angled black tube and contains castor oil and olive oil. The slim angled tube is great for getting a pretty precise application. The formula is touted to be almost matte with a bit of creaminess to ensure a comfortable, long-lasting wear. After wearing it yesterday, I would agree with most of their claims. The formula is not a full matte, there is definitely a bit of slip in it which helps with hydration, but not enough where it slides all across your lips as you wear it. The lipstick is indeed comfortable to wear and my lips didn't feel dry at all while I was wearing it, which is very refreshing as most deeper shades have a matte formulation or are liquid mattes.
What Antagonist looks like on my lips. I overdrew my lips a bit so you could see how my natural lip color effects the pigmentation since they are pretty pigmented naturally. This also gives you an idea of how it would look like blotted down since I didn't apply it as heavily towards the edges.
If you ever tried any of Performance Colors' (RIP) matte lipsticks, the formula feels similar. The lipstick is an interesting color and the blue duochrome, though subtle, is noticeable in direct lighting. I really like it on my skintone. The only drawback is that the lipstick isn't super long-lasting. It stayed on well for about 3 hours but when I ate some Tortilla Soup for dinner, the color had disappeared. I had a strong suspicion that would be the case as the lipstick is not a full matte and honestly, I'm okay with that because the formula is so comfortable. I always wear a lip liner under darker colors and that should help with the staying power. I plan on picking up Unfortunate Souls, Syntax, and Tease next!
Hula Hoop Bronzer applied heavily. My inner arm is very fair, while my face is about two shades darker.
Moving on to the Hula Hoop Bronzer, it is touted as being a dupe for Benefit's Hoola Bronzer, a cult favorite. It's a light brown on the warmer side. It's a bit too warm to use for contouring but it does add a lovely warmth to the skin. They offer it three different sizes - sample bag with 3+ uses, a 10g jar, or a 25g jar. The powder is smooth and finely milled and comes encased with a sifter. The color also seems to be a good shade to warm up the complexion however I literally cannot see it on my face. I consider myself pretty light with yellow undertones (a tad darker than an NC15 on Mac's scale, Nars Gobi is a perfect match). I was actually surprised that the powder is too light for me, as I usually have the opposite problem! I suppose it's my fault since the description does say "for very light skintones". The ultra fair will have better luck with this. For anyone who is an NC15 or darker, this shade is not for you. Brija offers a darker bronzer called Chai Cupcake for those who need a darker shade.
All in all, I'm happy with the quality and performance of the lipstick, eyeshadows, and highlighter. The bronzer is nice too but unfortunately is too light for my skintone. I definitely want more lipsticks and eyeshadows. They have a collection full of duochromes inspired by Dexter just calling me name! I'll be posting some looks incorporating the stuff I got in the next few weeks.
Will any of you be placing an order with Brija soon? Let me know in the comments!
xx Carissa"By building more resilient regions, we can save billions in taxpayer dollars," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a task force report on rebuilding Sandy-damaged regions. (AP File Photo)
(CNSNews.com) - If your seaside home or business washes away in a coastal storm, will you be allowed to rebuild? Or would sand dunes in place of buildings make the area more "resilient"?
The federal government announced on Monday that it is remapping storm-damaged areas of the East Coast, a move that will contribute to new "resilience standards" for the post-Hurricane Sandy rebuilding effort.
The updated Environmental Sensitivity Index maps will provide "important reference material for green infrastructure planning," said a report released Monday by a federal task force that is shaping the rebuilding strategy.
According to the task force, "Green infrastructure includes natural and/or restored features (e.g., wetlands or sand dune ecosystems), that incorporate the natural processes (e.g., flood protection, water filtration) that are recognized as integral to community, economic, and environmental resilience. These approaches have proven successful in other regions, and it appears they reduced flood damage where applied in the region impacted by Sandy."
In fact, the task force recommends that "green infrastructure options" be considered in all post-Sandy infrastructure investments.
Three federal agencies -- the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- announced Tuesday that they will use ships, aircraft, and satellites to measure water depths, look for submerged debris, and record altered shorelines in high priority areas from South Carolina to Maine, as stipulated by Congress in the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013.
“Our approach is to map once, then use the data for many purposes,” said NOAA Rear Admiral Gerd Glang in a news release. “Under the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act, NOAA and its federal partners are taking a 'whole ocean' approach to get as much useful information as possible from every dollar invested to help states build more resilient coastlines.”
The data will be available to local, state, and federal agencies as well as academia and the general public. The information can be applied to updating nautical charts, removing marine debris, replenishing beaches, making repairs -- "and planning for future storms and coastal resilience," NOAA said.
Rising sea levels
The U.S. Geological Survey plans to collect very high-resolution elevation data as part of the remapping process. That fits with the Obama administration requirement that all federally-funded rebuilding projects in the Sandy-affected region must account for future risks posed by rising sea levels.
According to the task force report on rebuilding Sandy-damaged areas, "Even a moderate amount of sea level rise will increase the flooding that coastal storm events cause."
'We must prepare communities across the country for the impacts of climate change, many of which are already being felt," Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan blogged.
The Sandy rebuilding task force, chaired by Donovan, noted that it has "worked to ensure that the decisions being made with regard to coastal planning, management, and risk assessment in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy include in-depth analysis of both current and future conditions, especially related to future sea level. These actions will help identify and evaluate resilient rebuilding options..."
Kevin Gallagher, a USGS scientist, called the loss of life and landscape destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy "a stark reminder that our nation must become more resilient to coastal hazards."
He added that "Sandy's most fundamental lesson is that storm vulnerability is a direct consequence of the elevation of coastal communities in relation to storm waves. Communities will benefit greatly from the higher resolution and accuracy of new elevation information to better prepare for storm impacts, develop response strategies, and design resilient and cost-efficient post-storm redevelopment."
"By building more resilient regions, we can save billions in taxpayer dollars," HUD Secretary Donovan wrote in the report released Monday.
Donovan also indicated that the post-Sandy rebuilding effort will serve as a model for the nation: "The benefits of resilient rebuilding to a neighborhood hit by Sandy can and should be replicated by communities across the Nation," he wrote in the report's introduction.
Resilience Institute
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell went to New York last week to announce the establishment of a new Science and Resilience Institute at Sandy-ravaged Jamaica Bay, in Queens. She also announced a $100 million competitive grant program to build "safer and more resilient communities."
"We gather about nine and a half months after Hurricane Sandy devastated communities across New York City but across this entire region as well," Jewell said. "In its wake, our nation was forced to face some very simple truths--that climate change is real, that it’s posing new and growing threats to our neighborhoods, and in the future we need to build our communities in a way that addresses these growing challenges. We can’t just build back the way we were. We have to build back better and stronger."
She said the nation needs "the very best scientists" to "assist these communities and the ecology as well."Let that one sink in for a minute. Mike Nolan, current defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and former head coach for the San Francisco 49ers as a possible defensive coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks?
That seems to be the hot rumor right now. Honestly the rumor started as many do and that's on twitter. It comes from an account that no one can really verify and that account included Jayhawkslant and Matt Tait on the tweet which seems to have led to this thing gaining steam a little faster than normal. And so the saying goes, where there is smoke...
So here we are on Christmas Eve, Fetch is bringing you his annual Night Before RCTmas Poem in just a few short minutes and now we've got a little buzz surrounding a possible KU football hire to get us through this slower holiday weekend.
I would have to think it would be hard to label a hire like Nolan anything but a homerun. Personally I would be prettty happy with that one and you would think it would open some doors in a hurry on the defensive side of the ball. Nolan has coached under Al Groh, Brian Billick, Dan Reeves and more. His NFL career spans over two decades and he is considered one of the better 3-4 guys in the league.
At face value it seems a bit out of left field and honestly it feels like a bit of a longshot. Why would Nolan come to Kansas? More than likely this is a bad rumor gone wild. Then again, two months ago I would have said why would Charlie Weis come to Kansas?
Since Thursday there have been a few small claims that a Kansas defensive coordinator would be named as soon as Monday that it would be a big name. That buzz has picked up steam and Nolan seems to be the name riding that wave of momentum for the moment. One way or another we'll find out soon enough, but at the very least Charlie Weis seems to have given Jayhawk fans reason to think big. And why not after the week we had with the quarterback position.The main agency fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is lashing out at the international response, calling it “non-existent.”
“We are completely amazed by the lack of willingness and professionalism and coordination to tackle this epidemic,” Brice de le Vingne, the operations director of Doctors Without Borders, told the Financial Times. “We have been screaming for months. Now the situation is even worse – we are today on the verge of seeing an entire country collapsing.”
An estimated 2,240 people have been infected with the virus in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since it first surfaced in March, and more than half of the afflicted have died. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) describes the current situation in Liberia as “catastrophic” and continuously deteriorating. The country has closed its borders, declared a state of emergency and on Tuesday it imposed a curfew on the main slum area in the capital of Monrovia, where Ebola panic has lead to public unrest.
Fear of infection has compounded the disaster, with workers and patients fleeing Monrovia hospitals in recent days, leading to an almost complete collapse of the health system and causing increased risks for other diseases such as malaria.
To be fair, many countries and organizations are sending aid to the affected region. The African Development Bank has pledged $56 million, the United Kingdom has increased its assistance to $8 million, China has sent supplies worth $4.9 million, E.U. support stands at $15.8 million, and the U.S. has pledged the same amount of aid as well as deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). According to MSF, however, that’s far from enough.
“Leaders in the West are talking about their own safety and doing things like closing airlines – and not helping anyone else,” Brice de la Vingne told the Guardian, comparing it with the rapid international response to the earthquake in Haiti, where 300,000 people died. “You need very senior people with high profiles, the kind of people who can coordinate a response to a million people affected by an earthquake.”
A million people are currently residing in quarantined regions and are at risk of not receiving adequate supplies of food and water, although the World Health Organization said Tuesday that it had started delivering food aid to hospitalized patients and quarantined districts, in cooperation with the World Food Program. This aid will continue for another three months.
However, the biggest unmet need is for additional well-trained health workers. Professionals on the ground are exhausted, and several hundred have died in part because of a lack of training. MSF and other organizations are stretched to breaking point, some of them because of their involvement in other crises. USAID, for example, is responding to four humanitarian crises at the same time: South Sudan, Syria, Iraq and the Ebola outbreak. It must also weigh up whether to put people at risk.
“There may be a lot of well-intentioned medical staff in the world, but this is Ebola,” DART leader Tim Callaghan told the development web site Devex.
MSF president Dr. Joanne Liu told told the New York Times that it is also more difficult to recruit medical professionals to deal with Ebola than for any other emergency, because of the risk of infection and the dangers of giving constant care to the patients. “You have to learn to live with fear,” she said.
Contact us at editors@time.com.PLU2014 Starcraft Sino-Korean Carnival Text by endy
2014 PLU Sino-Korean Brood War Carnival
Event Preview
Trailer
Venue
Players
Schedule
Live Content
Streams
Blogs
Interviews
VODs
Replays
Pictures
TL, Live from Shanghai
To celebrate the legendary game that is Brood War, the Chinese community Bisu, Sea, and, as well as Chinese favorites Pj, Lx,, and. edit: the Chinese line-up was modified to Jaystar, Fengzi, VIP and 334. The former line-up was present as special guests for the Chinese BW retrospective that took place after the games.
This event, aptly named "The PLU 2014 Sino-Korean Brood War Carnival", will take place on Sunday, Aug 17 5:00am GMT (GMT+00:00) local time, at the Shanghai Expo Grand Stage.
Our very own TLer endy will attend this event, and will provide live coverage, photos, interviews, and tidbits.
He will continually update this thread and will try his best to answer questions!
Trailer by PLU and Kongdoo
Chinese trailer from PLU, the organizer:
Korean trailer from Kongdoo
Chinese trailer from PLU, the organizer:Korean trailer from Kongdoo
Venue
The venue has been host to several esports events in the past, including the StarCraft II WCS Asia Finals in 2012. It has a thousand-seat capacity. Tickets for the event sold out quickly.
The venue has been host to several esports events in the past, including the StarCraft II WCS Asia Finals in 2012. It has a thousand-seat capacity. Tickets for the event sold out quickly.
Players
334 is China's best 2v2 player. He won a
Bisu needs no introduction. He is the most successful Protoss player of all time, with 3 Starleague titles, and a stellar Proleague record. He stayed a while with SKT after the SC2 switch, then retired. His debut on Afreeca generated an insane amount of hype, and he won the largest BW amateur event to date, the Sonic Starleague 9. He announced that he will not participate in new tournaments and will join the army soon. Is this for sure? We will try to find out in tonight's interview! Sea has been the resident Terran master in the Korean amateur scene ever since he retired from playing StarCraft II for Team Liquid. While he never was as successful as Bisu -- Sea is famous for never passing a Starleague quarterfinals -- he always was a solid asset for MBC Game Hero in Proleague. ZerO was close to becoming the #1 Zerg towards the end of the pro scene, with deep runs in individual leagues. He will play against the Chinese Protoss JayStar today. Fengzi is currently China's top player. Kind of like the Chinese Sziky. He was ranked very high on the Fish ladder not so long ago, and if anyone can take games off Korean, it's him! Pj and Lx were by far the two strongest Chinese Protoss. Both were invited to play for SKT T1 in 2005, and they stayed at the team house before returning to China mainly due to the language barrier. Unlike what was announced earlier, they will attend the event as special guests. F91 was considered one of the strongest foreign Zerg circa 2008. He was known for his unconventional play that allowed him to abuse IdrA's predictability in the Liquibition Broodsport showmatch organized by TL. He was also the first and only player to win 5 consecutive Liquibitions.334 is China's best 2v2 player. He won a similar offline event last year, playing with the one whom I shall not say the name. JayStar is a very skilled Protoss player, but was overshadowed by Pj and Lx until they retired. He's still active and will be playing against ZerO in this event.
Schedule (All times are local time in Shanghai, China, GMT+8.)
11:30 Doors open and broadcast starts
13:00 Opening ceremony
13:20 - 14:00 Hosts, commentators, and players introduction
14:00 1v1 Mini-tour semifinals Bo3 match 1, vs ZerO
15:00 1v1 Mini-tour semifinals Bo3 match 2, vs Fengzi
16:00 2v2 Mini-tour finals, Bo5
17:30 1v1 Mini-tour finals, Bo5
19:00 Awards ceremony
19:10 - 21:30 Random events, fan interaction.
(All times are local time in Shanghai, China, GMT+8.)Doors open and broadcast startsOpening ceremonyHosts, commentators, and players introduction1v1 Mini-tour semifinals Bo3 match 1, JayStar vs1v1 Mini-tour semifinals Bo3 match 2, Bisu vs2v2 Mini-tour finals, Bo51v1 Mini-tour finals, Bo5Awards ceremonyRandom events, fan interaction |
-timeout <arg> Set A3212 th timeout value (default: 0) --avalon7-iic-detect Enable Avalon7 detect through iic controller --avalon7-freqadj-time <arg> Set Avalon7 check interval when run in AVA7_FREQ_TEMPADJ_MODE (default: 60) --avalon7-delta-temp <arg> Set Avalon7 delta temperature when reset freq in AVA7_FREQ_TEMPADJ_MODE (default: 0) --avalon7-delta-freq <arg> Set Avalon7 delta freq when adjust freq in AVA7_FREQ_TEMPADJ_MODE (default: 100) --avalon7-freqadj-temp <arg> Set Avalon7 check temperature when run into AVA7_FREQ_TEMPADJ_MODE (default: 104) --avalon7-nonce-mask <arg> Set A3212 nonce mask, range 24-32. (default: 31) --no-avalon7-asic-debug Disable A3212 debug. --bab-options <arg> Set BaB options max:def:min:up:down:hz:delay:trf --bflsc-overheat <arg> Set overheat temperature where BFLSC devices throttle, 0 to disable (default: 90) --bitburner-fury-options <arg> Override avalon-options for BitBurner Fury boards baud:miners:asic:timeout:freq --bitburner-fury-voltage <arg> Set BitBurner Fury core voltage, in millivolts --bitburner-voltage <arg> Set BitBurner (Avalon) core voltage, in millivolts --bitmine-a1-options <ref_clk>:<sys_clk>:<spi_clk>:<max_chip> --bxf-temp-target <arg> Set target temperature for BXF devices (default: 82) --bxm-bits <arg> Set BXM bits for overclocking (default: 50) --compac-freq <arg> Set GekkoScience Compac frequency in MHz, range 100-500 (default: 150.0) --dragonmint-t1-options <arg> Dragonmint T1 options ref_clk_khz:sys_clk_khz:spi_clk_khz:override_chip_num --T1efficient Tune Dragonmint T1 per chain voltage and frequency for optimal efficiency --T1noauto Disable Dragonmint T1 per chain auto voltage and frequency tuning --T1performance Tune Dragonmint T1 per chain voltage and frequency for maximum performance --T1fantarget <arg> Throttle T1 frequency to keep fan less than target fan speed (default: 100) --T1Pll1 <arg> Set PLL Clock 1 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Pll2 <arg> Set PLL Clock 2 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Pll3 <arg> Set PLL Clock 3 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Pll4 <arg> Set PLL Clock 4 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Pll5 <arg> Set PLL Clock 5 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Pll6 <arg> Set PLL Clock 6 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Pll7 <arg> Set PLL Clock 7 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Pll8 <arg> Set PLL Clock 8 in Dragonmint T1 broad 1 chip (-1: 1000MHz, >0:Lookup PLL table) (default: 1332) --T1Volt1 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 1 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1Volt2 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 2 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1Volt3 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 3 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1Volt4 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 4 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1Volt5 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 5 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1Volt6 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 6 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1Volt7 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 7 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1Volt8 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set voltage 8 - VID overrides if set (390-425) (default: 404) --T1VID1 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 1 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --T1VID2 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 2 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --T1VID3 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 3 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --T1VID4 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 4 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --T1VID5 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 5 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --T1VID6 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 6 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --T1VID7 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 7 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --T1VID8 <arg> Dragonmint T1 set VID 8 in noauto - Overrides voltage if set (1-31) (default: 0) --hfa-hash-clock <arg> Set hashfast clock speed (default: 550) --hfa-fail-drop <arg> Set how many MHz to drop clockspeed each failure on an overlocked hashfast device (default: 10) --hfa-fan <arg> Set fanspeed percentage for hashfast, single value or range (default: 10-85) --hfa-name <arg> Set a unique name for a single hashfast device specified with --usb or the first device found --hfa-noshed Disable hashfast dynamic core disabling feature --hfa-temp-overheat <arg> Set the hashfast overheat throttling temperature (default: 95) --hfa-temp-target <arg> Set the hashfast target temperature (0 to disable) (default: 88) --hro-freq Set the hashratio clock frequency (default: 280) --klondike-options <arg> Set klondike options clock:temptarget --rock-freq <arg> Set RockMiner frequency in MHz, range 125-500 (default: 270) See ASIC-README for more information regarding these. FPGA only options: --bfl-range Use nonce range on bitforce devices if supported See FGPA-README for more information regarding this. Cgminer should automatically find all of your Avalon ASIC, BFL ASIC, BitForce FPGAs, Icarus bitstream FPGAs, Klondike ASIC, ASICMINER usb block erupters, KnC ASICs, BaB ASICs, Hashfast ASICs, ModMiner FPGAs, BPMC/BGMC BF1 USB ASICs, Bi*fury USB ASICs, Onestring miner USB ASICs, Hexfury USB ASICs, Nanofury USB ASICs, Antminer U1/U2/U2+ U3 USB ASICs, Cointerra devices, BFx2 USB ASICs, Rockminer R-Box/RK-Box/T1 USB ASICs, Avalon2/3/4 USB ASICs and Hashratio USB ASICs. --- SETTING UP USB DEVICES WINDOWS: On windows, the direct USB support requires the installation of a WinUSB driver (NOT the ftdi_sio driver), and attach it to the chosen USB device. When configuring your device, plug it in and wait for windows to attempt to install a driver on its own. It may think it has succeeded or failed but wait for it to finish regardless. This is NOT the driver you want installed. At this point you need to associate your device with the WinUSB driver. The easiest way to do this is to use the zadig utility which you must right click on and run as administrator. Then once you plug in your device you can choose the "list all devices" from the "option" menu and you should be able to see the device as something like: "BitFORCE SHA256 SC". Choose the install or replace driver option and select WinUSB. You can either google for zadig or download it from the cgminer directory in the DOWNLOADS link above. When you first switch a device over to WinUSB with zadig and it shows that correctly on the left of the zadig window, but it still gives permission errors, you may need to unplug the USB miner and then plug it back in. Some users may need to reboot at this point. LINUX: The short version: sudo cp 01-cgminer.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/ The long version: On linux, the direct USB support requires no drivers at all. However due to permissions issues, you may not be able to mine directly on the devices as a regular user without giving the user access to the device or by mining as root (administrator). In order to give your regular user access, you can make him a member of the plugdev group with the following commands: sudo usermod -G plugdev -a `whoami` If your distribution does not have the plugdev group you can create it with: sudo groupadd plugdev In order for the USB devices to instantly be owned by the plugdev group and accessible by anyone from the plugdev group you can copy the file "01-cgminer.rules" from the cgminer archive into the /etc/udev/rules.d directory with the following command: sudo cp 01-cgminer.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/ After this you can either manually restart udev and re-login, or more easily just reboot. OSX: On OSX, like Linux, no drivers need to be installed. However some devices like the bitfury USB sticks automatically load a driver thinking they're a modem and the driver needs to be unloaded for cgminer to work: sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDCACMData There may be a limit to the number of USB devices that you are allowed to start. The following set of commands, followed by a reboot will increase that: sudo su touch /etc/sysctl.conf echo kern.sysv.semume=100 >> /etc/sysctl.conf chown root:wheel /etc/sysctl.conf chmod 0644 /etc/sysctl.conf Some devices need superuser access to mine on them so cgminer may need to be started with sudo i.e.: sudo cgminer <insert commands here> --- Advanced USB options: The --usb option can restrict how many USB devices are found: --usb 1:2,1:3,1:4,1:* or --usb BAS:1,BFL:1,MMQ:0,ICA:0,KLN:0 or --usb :10 You can only use one of the above 3 The first version --usb 1:2,1:3,1:4,1:* allows you to select which devices to mine on with a list of USB bus_number:device_address All other USB devices will be ignored Hotplug will also only look at the devices matching the list specified and find nothing new if they are all in use You can specify just the USB bus_number to find all devices like 1:* which means any devices on USB bus_number 1 This is useful if you unplug a device then plug it back in the same port, it usually reappears with the same bus_number but a different device_address You can see the list of all USB devices on linux with'sudo lsusb' Cgminer will list the recognised USB devices with the '-n' option or the '--usb-dump 0' option The '--usb-dump N' option with a value of N greater than 0 will dump a lot of details about each recognised USB device If you wish to see all USB devices, include the --usb-list-all option The second version --usb BAS:1,BFL:1,MMQ:0,ICA:0,KLN:0 allows you to specify how many devices to choose based on each device driver cgminer has - the current USB drivers are: AVA, BAS, BFL, BF1, DRB, HFA, ICA, KLN and MMQ. N.B. you can only specify which device driver to limit, not the type of each device, e.g. with BAS:n you can limit how many BFL ASIC devices will be checked, but you cannot limit the number of each type of BFL ASIC Also note that the MMQ count is the number of MMQ backplanes you have not the number of MMQ FPGAs The third version --usb :10 means only use a maximum of 10 devices of any supported USB devices Once cgminer has 10 devices it will not configure any more and hotplug will not scan for any more If one of the 10 devices stops working, hotplug - if enabled, as is default - will scan normally again until it has 10 devices --usb :0 will disable all USB I/O other than to initialise libusb --- WHILE RUNNING: The following options are available while running with a single keypress: [U]SB management [P]ool management [S]ettings [D]isplay options [Q]uit U gives you: [S]ummary of device information [E]nable device [D]isable device [U]nplug to allow hotplug restart [R]eset device USB [L]ist all known devices [B]lacklist current device from current instance of cgminer [W]hitelist previously blacklisted device [H]otplug interval (0 to disable) P gives you: Current pool management strategy: Failover [F]ailover only disabled [A]dd pool [R]emove pool [D]isable pool [E]nable pool [C]hange management strategy [S]witch pool [I]nformation S gives you: [Q]ueue: 1 [S]cantime: 60 [E]xpiry: 120 [W]rite config file [C]gminer restart D gives you: [N]ormal [C]lear [S]ilent mode (disable all output) [D]ebug:off [P]er-device:off [Q]uiet:off [V]erbose:off [R]PC debug:off [W]orkTime details:off co[M]pact: off [T]oggle status switching:enabled [Z]ero statistics [L]og interval:5 Q quits the application. The running log shows output like this: [2013-11-09 11:04:41] Accepted 01b3bde7 Diff 150/128 AVA 1 pool 0 [2013-11-09 11:04:49] Accepted 015df995 Diff 187/128 AVA 1 pool 0 [2013-11-09 11:04:50] Accepted 01163b68 Diff 236/128 AVA 1 pool 0 [2013-11-09 11:04:53] Accepted 9f745840 Diff 411/128 BAS 1 pool 0 The 8 byte hex value are the 1st nonzero bytes of the share being submitted to the pool. The 2 diff values are the actual difficulty target that share reached followed by the difficulty target the pool is currently asking for. --- Also many issues and FAQs are covered in the forum thread dedicated to this program, http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=28402.0 DISPLAY: The display is roughly split into two portions, the top status window and the bottom scrolling log window. STATUS WINDOW The status window is split into overall status and per device status. Overall status: The output line shows the following: (5s):2.469T (1m):2.677T (5m):2.040T (15m):1.014T (avg):2.733Th/s These are exponentially decaying average hashrates over 5s/1m/5m/15m and an average since the start. Followed by: A:290391 R:5101 HW:145 WU:37610.4/m Each column is as follows: A: The total difficulty of Accepted shares R: The total difficulty of Rejected shares HW: The number of HardWare errors WU: The Work Utility defined as the number of diff1 shares work / minute (accepted or rejected). alternating with: ST: 22 SS: 0 NB: 2 LW: 356090 GF: 0 RF: 0 ST is STaged work items (ready to use). SS is Stale Shares discarded (detected and not submitted so don't count as rejects) NB is New Blocks detected on the network LW is Locally generated Work items GF is Getwork Fail Occasions (server slow to provide work) RF is Remote Fail occasions (server slow to accept work) Followed by: Connected to pool.com diff 3.45K with stratum as user me The diff shown is the current vardiff requested by the pool currently being mined at. Followed by: Block: ca0d237f... Diff:5.01G Started: [00:14:27] Best share: 1.18M This shows a short stretch about the current block, when the new block started, and the all time best difficulty share you've found since starting cgminer this time. Per device status: 6: HFS Random : 645MHz 85C 13% 0.79V | 2.152T / 1.351Th/s Each column is as follows: Temperature (if supported) Fanspeed (if supported) Voltage (if supported) A 5 second exponentially decaying average hash rate An all time average hash rate alternating with 6: HFS Random : 645MHz 86C 13% 0.80V | A:290348 R:1067 HW:88 WU:18901.8/m The total difficulty of accepted shares The total difficulty of rejected shares The number of hardware erorrs The work utility defined as the number of diff1 shares work / minute LOG WINDOW All running information is shown here, usually share submission results and block update notifications, along with device messages and warnings. [2014-03-29 00:24:09] Accepted 1397768d Diff 3.35K/2727 HFS 0 pool 0 [2014-03-29 00:24:13] Stratum from pool 0 detected new block --- MULTIPOOL FAILOVER STRATEGIES WITH MULTIPOOL: A number of different strategies for dealing with multipool setups are available. Each has their advantages and disadvantages so multiple strategies are available by user choice, as per the following list: FAILOVER: The default strategy is failover. This means that if you input a number of pools, it will try to use them as a priority list, moving away from the 1st to the 2nd, 2nd to 3rd and so on. If any of the earlier pools recover, it will move back to the higher priority ones. ROUND ROBIN: This strategy only moves from one pool to the next when the current one falls idle and makes no attempt to move otherwise. ROTATE: This strategy moves at user-defined intervals from one active pool to the next, skipping pools that are idle. LOAD BALANCE: This strategy sends work to all the pools on a quota basis. By default, all pools are allocated equal quotas unless specified with --quota. This apportioning of work is based on work handed out, not shares returned so is independent of difficulty targets or rejected shares. While a pool is disabled or dead, its quota is dropped until it is re-enabled. Quotas are forward looking, so if the quota is changed on the fly, it only affects future work. If all pools are set to zero quota or all pools with quota are dead, it will fall back to a failover mode. See quota below for more information. The failover-only flag has special meaning in combination with load-balance mode and it will distribute quota back to priority pool 0 from any pools that are unable to provide work for any reason so as to maintain quota ratios between the rest of the pools. BALANCE: This strategy monitors the amount of difficulty 1 shares solved for each pool and uses it to try to end up doing the same amount of work for all pools. --- QUOTAS The load-balance multipool strategy works off a quota based scheduler. The quotas handed out by default are equal, but the user is allowed to specify any arbitrary ratio of quotas. For example, if all the quota values add up to 100, each quota value will be a percentage, but if 2 pools are specified and pool0 is given a quota of 1 and pool1 is given a quota of 9, pool0 will get 10% of the work and pool1 will get 90%. Quotas can be changed on the fly by the API, and do not act retrospectively. Setting a quota to zero will effectively disable that pool unless all other pools are disabled or dead. In that scenario, load-balance falls back to regular failover priority-based strategy. While a pool is dead, it loses its quota and no attempt is made to catch up when it comes back to life. To specify quotas on the command line, pools should be specified with a semicolon separated --quota(or -U) entry instead of --url. Pools specified with --url are given a nominal quota value of 1 and entries can be mixed. For example: --url poola:porta -u usernamea -p passa --quota "2;poolb:portb" -u usernameb -p passb Will give poola 1/3 of the work and poolb 2/3 of the work. Writing configuration files with quotas is likewise supported. To use the above quotas in a configuration file they would be specified thus: "pools" : [ { "url" : "poola:porta", "user" : "usernamea", "pass" : "passa" }, { "quota" : "2;poolb:portb", "user" : "usernameb", "pass" : "passb" } ] --- SOLO MINING Solo mining can be done efficiently as a single pool entry or a backup to any other pooled mining and it is recommended everyone have solo mining set up as their final backup in case all their other pools are DDoSed/down for the security of the network. To enable solo mining, one must be running a local bitcoind/bitcoin-qt or have one they have rpc access to. To do this, edit your bitcoind configuration file (bitcoin.conf) with the following extra lines, using your choice of username and password: rpcuser=username rpcpassword=password Restart bitcoind, then start cgminer, pointing to the bitcoind and choose a btc address with the following options, altering to suit their setup: cgminer -o http://localhost:8332 -u username -p password --btc-address 15qSxP1SQcUX3o4nhkfdbgyoWEFMomJ4rZ Note the http:// is mandatory for solo mining. --- LOGGING cgminer will log to stderr if it detects stderr is being redirected to a file. To enable logging simply add 2>logfile.txt to your command line and logfile.txt will contain the logged output at the log level you specify (normal, verbose, debug etc.) In other words if you would normally use:./cgminer -o xxx -u yyy -p zzz if you use./cgminer -o xxx -u yyy -p zzz 2>logfile.txt it will log to a file called logfile.txt and otherwise work the same. There is also the -m option on linux which will spawn a command of your choice and pipe the output directly to that command. The WorkTime details 'debug' option adds details on the end of each line displayed for Accepted or Rejected work done. An example would be: <-00000059.ed4834a3 M:X D:1.0 G:17:02:38:0.405 C:1.855 (2.995) W:3.440 (0.000) S:0.461 R:17:02:47 The first 2 hex codes are the previous block hash, the rest are reported in seconds unless stated otherwise: The previous hash is followed by the getwork mode used M:X where X is one of P:Pool, T:Test Pool, L:LP or B:Benchmark, then D:d.ddd is the difficulty required to get a share from the work, then G:hh:mm:ss:n.nnn, which is when the getwork or LP was sent to the pool and the n.nnn is how long it took to reply, followed by 'O' on it's own if it is an original getwork, or 'C:n.nnn' if it was a clone with n.nnn stating how long after the work was recieved that it was cloned, (m.mmm) is how long from when the original work was received until work started, W:n.nnn is how long the work took to process until it was ready to submit, (m.mmm) is how long from ready to submit to actually doing the submit, this is usually 0.000 unless there was a problem with submitting the work, S:n.nnn is how long it took to submit the completed work and await the reply, R:hh:mm:ss is the actual time the work submit reply was received If you start cgminer with the --sharelog option, you can get detailed information for each share found. The argument to the option may be "-" for standard output (not advisable with the ncurses UI), any valid positive number for that file descriptor, or a filename. To log share data to a file named "share.log", you can use either:./cgminer --sharelog 50 -o xxx -u yyy -p zzz 50>share.log./cgminer --sharelog share.log -o xxx -u yyy -p zzz For every share found, data will be logged in a CSV (Comma Separated Value) format: timestamp,disposition,target,pool,dev,thr,sharehash,sharedata For example (this is wrapped, but it's all on one line for real): 1335313090,reject, ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff00000000, http://localhost:8337,ASC0,0, 6f983c918f3299b58febf95ec4d0c7094ed634bc13754553ec34fc3800000000, 00000001a0980aff4ce4a96d53f4b89a2d5f0e765c978640fe24372a000001c5 000000004a4366808f81d44f26df3d69d7dc4b3473385930462d9ab707b50498 f681634a4f1f63d01a0cd43fb338000000000080000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000080020000 --- BENCHMARK The --benchmark option hashes a single fixed work item over and over and does not submit shares to any pools. The --benchfile <arg> option hashes the work given in the file <arg> supplied. The format of the work file is: version,merkleroot,prevhash,diffbits,noncetime Any empty line or any line starting with '#' or '/' is ignored. When it reaches the end of the file it continues back at the top. The format of the data items matches the byte ordering and format of the the bitcoind getblock RPC output. An example file containing bitcoin block #1 would be: # Block 1 1,0e3e2357e806b6cdb1f70b54c3a3a17b6714ee1f0e68bebb44a74b1efd512098,00000000001 9d6689c085ae165831e934ff763ae46a2a6c172b3f1b60a8ce26f,1d00ffff,1231469665 However, the work data should be one line without the linebreak in the middle If you use --benchfile <arg>, then --benchfile-display will output a log line, for each nonce found, showing the nonce value in decimal and hex and the work used to find it in hex. --- RPC API For RPC API details see the API-README file --- FAQ Q: Help, I've started cgminer and everything reads zero!? A: Welcome to bitcoin mining. Your computer by itself cannot mine bitcoin no matter how powerful it is. You have to purchase dedicated mining hardware called ASICs to plug into your computer. See Q regarding ASICs below. Q: I have multiple USB stick devices but I can't get them all to work at once? A: Very few USB hubs deliver the promised power required to run as many devices as they fit if all of them draw power from USB. Q: I've plugged my devices into my USB hub but nothing shows up? A: RPis and Windows have incomplete or non-standard USB3 support so they may never work. It may be possible to get a USB3 hub to work by plugging it into a USB2 hub. When choosing a hub, USB2 hubs are preferable whenever possible due to better support all round. Q: Can I mine on servers from different networks (eg xxxcoin and bitcoin) at the same time? A: No, cgminer keeps a database of the block it's working on to ensure it does not work on stale blocks, and having different blocks from two networks would make it invalidate the work from each other. Q: Can I configure cgminer to mine with different login credentials or pools for each separate device? A: No. Q: Can I put multiple pools in the config file? A: Yes, check the example.conf file. Alternatively, set up everything either on the command line or via the menu after startup and choose settings->write config file and the file will be loaded one each startup. Q: The build fails with gcc is unable to build a binary. A: Remove the "-march=native" component of your CFLAGS as your version of gcc does not support it. Also -O2 is capital o 2, not zero 2. Q: Can you implement feature X? A: I can, but time is limited, and people who donate are more likely to get their feature requests implemented. Q: Work keeps going to my backup pool even though my primary pool hasn't failed? A: Cgminer checks for conditions where the primary pool is lagging and will pass some work to the backup servers under those conditions. The reason for doing this is to try its absolute best to keep the devices working on something useful and not risk idle periods. You can disable this behaviour with the option --failover-only. Q: Is this a virus? A: Cgminer is being packaged with other trojan scripts and some antivirus software is falsely accusing cgminer.exe as being the actual virus, rather than whatever it is being packaged with. If you installed cgminer yourself, then you do not have a virus on your computer. Complain to your antivirus software company. They seem to be flagging even source code now from cgminer as viruses, even though text source files can't do anything by themself. Q: Can you modify the display to include more of one thing in the output and less of another, or can you change the quiet mode or can you add yet another output mode? A: Everyone will always have their own view of what's important to monitor. The defaults are very sane and I have very little interest in changing this any further. There is far more detail in the API output than can be reasonably displayed on the small console window, and using an external interface such as miner.php is much more useful for setups with many devices. Q: What are the best parameters to pass for X pool/hardware/device. A: Virtually always, the DEFAULT parameters give the best results. Most user defined settings lead to worse performance. Q: What happened to CPU and GPU mining? A: Their efficiency makes them irrelevant in the bitcoin mining world today and the author has no interest in supporting alternative coins that are better mined by these devices. Q: GUI version? A: No. The RPC interface makes it possible for someone else to write one though. Q: I'm having an issue. What debugging information should I provide? A: Start cgminer with your regular commands and add -D -T --verbose and provide the full startup output and a summary of your hardware and operating system. Q: Why don't you provide win64 builds? A: Win32 builds work everywhere and there is precisely zero advantage to a 64 bit build on windows. Q: Is it faster to mine on windows or linux? A: It makes no difference in terms of performance. It comes down to choice of operating system for their various features and your comfort level. However linux is the primary development platform and is virtually guaranteed to be more stable. Q: My network gets slower and slower and then dies for a minute? A; Try the --net-delay option if you are on a GBT server. This does nothing with stratum mining. Q: How do I tune for p2pool? A: It is also recommended to use --failover-only since the work is effectively like a different block chain, and not enabling --no-submit-stale. If mining with a BFL (fpga) minirig, it is worth adding the --bfl-range option. Q: I run PHP on windows to access the API with the example miner.php. Why does it fail when php is installed properly but I only get errors about Sockets not working in the logs? A: http://us.php.net/manual/en/sockets.installation.php Q: What is a PGA? A: Cgminer supports 3 FPGAs: BitForce, Icarus and ModMiner. They are Field-Programmable Gate Arrays that have been programmed to do Bitcoin mining. Since the acronym needs to be only 3 characters, the "Field-" part has been skipped. Q: What is an ASIC? A: They are Application Specify Integrated Circuit devices and provide the highest performance per unit power due to being dedicated to only one purpose. They are the only meaningful way to mine bitcoin today. Q: What is stratum and how do I use it? A: Stratum is a protocol designed for pooled mining in such a way as to minimise the amount of network communications, yet scale to hardware of any speed. With versions of cgminer 2.8.0+, if a pool has stratum support, cgminer will automatically detect it and switch to the support as advertised if it can. If you input the stratum port directly into your configuration, or use the special prefix "stratum+tcp://" instead of "http://", cgminer will ONLY try to use stratum protocol mining. The advantages of stratum to the miner are no delays in getting more work for the miner, less rejects across block changes, and far less network communications for the same amount of mining hashrate. If you do NOT wish cgminer to automatically switch to stratum protocol even if it is detected, add the --fix-protocol option. Q: Why don't the statistics add up: Accepted, Rejected, Stale, Hardware Errors, Diff1 Work, etc. when mining greater than 1 difficulty shares? A: As an example, if you look at 'Difficulty Accepted' in the RPC API, the number of difficulty shares accepted does not usually exactly equal the amount of work done to find them. If you are mining at 8 difficulty, then you would expect on average to find one 8 difficulty share, per 8 single difficulty shares found. However, the number is actually random and converges over time, it is an average, not an exact value, thus you may find more or less than the expected average. Q: My keyboard input momentarily pauses or repeats keys every so often on windows while mining? A: The USB implementation on windows can be very flaky on some hardware and every time cgminer looks for new hardware to hotplug it it can cause these sorts of problems. You can disable hotplug with: --hotplug 0 Q: What should my Work Utility (WU) be? A: Work utility is the product of hashrate * luck and only stabilises over a very long period of time. Assuming all your work is valid work, bitcoin mining should produce a work utility of approximately 1 per 71.6MH. This means at 5GH you should have a WU of 5000 / 71.6 or ~ 69. You cannot make your machine do "better WU" than this - it is luck related. However you can make it much worse if your machine produces a lot of hardware errors producing invalid work. Q: What should I build in for a generic distribution binary? A: There are a number of drivers that expect to be used on dedicated standalone hardware. That said, the drivers that are designed to work generically with USB on any hardware are the following: --enable-avalon --enable-aval |
. You may want to display all of the sales items from each site on the network that are tagged “Halloween.” The API makes these types of data mash-ups very easy to implement.
Maybe you want to post to your WordPress site from a web connected device. Smart devices have been gaining momentum for years; apps from these devices can access your API and your site will handle the request.
I could list a hundred more ideas for usage but the point of why we need and API in WordPress is that if every WordPress site is running a similar API data structure, and the sites data is open, amazing things can be created.
This post is the first in a series where I will go deeper into all aspects of the API; keep an eye out!
Some Additional Resources Worth Checking Out
http://v2.wp-api.org
https://wordpress.org/plugins/json-rest-api
http://apppresser.com/using-wordpress-rest-api-mobile-app
http://wordpress.tv/2014/07/06/rachel-baker-put-your-content-to-rest-with-wp-api
http://wordpress.tv/2014/10/13/andrew-nacin-post-modern-wordpressThree of Scottish rugby’s most exciting prospects – Callum Hunter-Hill, Hugh Fraser and Tom Galbraith – have graduated from the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy into full-time professional deals with Edinburgh.
All three featured for London Scottish throughout the 2016/17 season, while Fraser and Galbraith have been training with the capital club on a fulltime basis since ending their time in Richmond.
Hunter-Hill has signed a two-year deal with the capital club, while the two backs will be part of the Edinburgh set-up until at least May 2018.
A product of Edinburgh’s Stewart’s Melville College, Hunter-Hill made his Scotland U20 debut in the side’s historic win over England in the 2016 Six Nations and has since made 14 appearances – five as captain – for the age-grade side.
During his time in the BT Sport Academy, the lock made several reserve appearances for both Edinburgh and their counterparts in the west. He also captained Stirling County in the BT Premiership.
On penning his first professional deal, he said: “I’ve no doubt it’s going to be a huge step-up into such a professional environment but I’m looking forward to the challenge and getting started with Edinburgh.
“There are some established players in the second-row at the club and it’s exciting to be able to learn from these guys and feed off their knowledge.
“I know a lot of the young guys at the club and something really seems to be building with a good blend of youth and experience. I’m excited to get involved, apply myself and start competing for a place in the team."
Scrum-half Fraser joined the Academy in 2014 and progressed through the national age-grade system.
He was a regular starter in Scotland U20’s historic season in 2016, and was named as scrum-half in the World Rugby U20 Championship dream team at the close of the competition that same year.
Fraser has featured for Heriot’s in the BT Premiership.
On joining the club, he said: “I’m really looking forward to finally stepping up and being with the side on a fulltime basis.
“It’s great to be training alongside experienced internationalists. It motivates you to aspire to their level and keeps you pushing on.
“I’ve enjoyed watching the boys I played age-grade rugby with do well in an Edinburgh shirt and hopefully I can follow in their footsteps.”
Galbraith – who is comfortable at stand-off, centre and full-back – was part of the same senior age-grade side as Fraser.
Schooled at Glenalmond College, Galbraith also played for Kelso Quins, before making the switch to fellow Border side, Melrose, to compete in the BT Premiership.
He was awarded an Academy contract in 2015 and captained Scotland U20 against Ireland in the 2016 Six Nations.
He said: “It’s great to have progressed through the Academy and be recognised with a pro-contract at the end.
“I’ve enjoyed spending time in the training environment already. It’s given me a chance to get to know the other boys and get into the swing of things before going into pre-season.
“I’ve played with a lot of the younger guys at under-20 and it’s great to see them getting on the Edinburgh team sheet. They’ve shown that with a great deal of hard work, it’s possible to get a shot.”
Acting Head Coach, Duncan Hodge, said:
“All three players are quality athletes and welcome additions to the squad.
“Callum is hugely talented and shows a lot of maturity for a player of his age. He’s solid at the set-piece and has shown he is a natural leader.
“As a scrum-half, Hugh has a great service and a good game management. He’s shown his worth at age-grade level and will provide further competition at scrum-half.
“Tom is a well-rounded footballer with a deceptive physical edge. His versatility will see him add depth to a few positions in our backline.”The Church has done it again. As per a report, a magazine run by a church in Goa has ended up comparing the NDA governments to the Nazi regime in Germany. In doing so, it has accused the present government of carrying out a “constitutional holocaust”, a nonsensical term that is sure to find pride of place in liberal vocabulary.
Before indulging in such hyperbole and instead of accusing others of being “like Nazis”, the Catholic Church and its flock would do well to examine (and admit) their own historical connections with Hitler and Mussolini.
Did you know there was a time when the Catholic Church saw Mussolini as a man sent by God?
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Indeed, when Italy was born as a country in the second half of the 19th century, a lot of the unification happened at the expense of the “Papal states“, which were lands held by the Pope. When stripped of its moneybag, the Catholic Church revolted against the Italian government, excommunicating the King and even forbade Catholics from voting in Parliamentary elections … a fatwa if you will.
Who did the Catholic Church see as the messenger of God that would bring all this democracy and secularism to an end?
Fascist Benito Mussolini, the savior.
In the early 20th century, as the Fascists began to consolidate their power in Italy, they found an eager ally in the Pope. Let David Kertzer, professor of Italian studies at Brown University, explain in this interview to NPR (you can also read about it in his book The Pope and Mussolini)
And yes, Mussolini’s fascist rallies in 1933 would begin with a morning mass performed by a Catholic priest.
Interestingly, as the World War drew closer, the Church did have some doubts about supporting Mussolini, but the break never actually happened. The reason they had these doubts is not what you might suspect. The real reason makes for absolutely chilling reading:
That’s right.
But of course, with more practical considerations in mind, the break with Mussolini’s Fascist Regime and the Catholic Church never happened.
Did I mention that Mussolini gave the Catholic Church a cool 750 million lira in cash and another 1 billion lira in government bonds? When offered that kind of money, fascism can’t really be a roadblock, can it? (Here‘s from TIME Magazine on June 17th, 1929)
If you happen to be in a mind to dismiss these as old failings of a long dead Pope, I should remind you that the Catholic Church subscribes to the dogma of “Papal infallibility”. Simply put, this means that the Catholic Church officially believes that no Pope can ever be wrong.
Yeah…that’s a real thing. Check it out here. Indian ‘liberals’ would have made fun of it if the Pope wore saffron.
So Mussolini and the “infallible” Pope of the Catholic Church were allies. History.
Today, Manohar Parrikar is too much of a ‘fascist’ for them.
You cannot change history, but fortunately for our eminent historians and intellectuals, you can always try to cover it up.
Abhishek Banerjee is a math lover who may or not be an Assistant Professor at IISc Bangalore. He is the author of Operation Johar – A Love Story, a novel on the pain of left wing terror in Jharkhand, available on Amazon here. https://dynastycrooks.wordpress.com/
Share This Post and Support:Drexel professor George Ciccariello-Maher, who has come under fire on social media multiple times, says he is leaving the university.
An outspoken Drexel University professor known for stirring controversy on Twitter over current events, including October’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, is leaving the school.
George Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor of politics and global studies, will “no longer work” at Drexel after Dec. 31 due to continued threats made against him, he said in a statement posted on social media Thursday.
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“This is not a decision I take lightly; however, after nearly a year of harassment by right-wing, white supremacist media outlets and internet mobs, after death threats and threats of violence directed against me and my family, my situation has become unsustainable,” he said in the statement. “Staying at Drexel in the eye of this storm has become detrimental to my own writing, speaking, and organizing.”
In the lengthy post, Ciccariello-Maher went on to comment on free speech on college campuses, remarking that “we are at war, and academia is a crucial front in that war.”
Ciccariello-Maher also included messages to faculty and his students, who he said have “earned [his] admiration and the admiration of many by standing up for [their] rights.”
“In the face of aggression from the racist Right and impending global catastrophe, we must defend our universities, our students, and ourselves by defending the most vulnerable among us and by making our campuses unsafe spaces for white supremacists,” he wrote in the Thursday afternoon message.
“White people and men are told that they are entitled to everything,” Ciccariello-Maher wrote Oct. 2. “This is what happens when they don’t get what they want.”
The university had said it decided to place Ciccariello-Maher on leave to protect its students, faculty, and staff, but previously defended the professor’s decision to express his own opinions.
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Drexel confirmed that Ciccariello-Maher had resigned, citing his decision “to pursue other opportunities.”
“Drexel University has accepted his resignation and recognizes the significant scholarly contributions that Professor Ciccariello-Maher has made to the field of political thought and his service to the Drexel University community as an outstanding classroom teacher,” the university said in a statement. “Drexel University wishes Professor Ciccariello-Maher well in his future pursuits.”
Ciccariello-Maher did not respond to a request for comment.
Staff writer Rob Tornoe contributed to this article.
Published: December 28, 2017 — 1:49 PM EST | Updated: December 28, 2017 — 2:17 PM ESTDid you know the book series had a TV show? It did. And it was awesome.
Encyclopedia Brown belongs to a special category of children's books: books--the kind starring characters like Harry Potter and Nancy Drew--that treat curiosity as one of the best assets a kid can have. Books that make it seem not just acceptable, but actually kind of wonderful, to be a nerd. Donald J. Sobol's "boy detective"--enjoyer of puzzles, observer of oddities, lover of facts--derives much of his charm from his earnest appreciation of the world's details. He finds his fun in the mundane: in the revealing little banalities that make life interesting and weird and, if you're lucky, mysterious.
Sobol, whose death at 87 was announced this week, leaves a rich legacy. It includes not only the Encyclopedia Brown book series, and not only the comic strip of the same name, but also multiple generations of people--girls and boys--who were inspired by Encyclopedia to go off and solve their own mysteries. In an age that increasingly needs and values its engineers and its makers and its problem-solvers, that is something to be celebrated.
But Sobol's legacy includes something else, too: a TV show. An incredibly cheesy, ridiculous, wondrous TV show. For a brief, shining moment in 1989--a stretch of time that had more than its share of brief, shining moments--Encyclopedia, Sally Kimball, Bugs Meany, and the gang got to together to act out their adventures in the full, fluorescent glory of the late 1980s.A Pakistani school was forced to drop John Lennon’s classic song Imagine from a concert by students after two right-wing columnists objected to the reference to a world without religion in its lyrics.
A school in Karachi had to drop plans to feature John Lennon’s classic song Imagine in a concert by students after two prominent Pakistani right-wing columnists objected to the lyrics, especially its reference to a world without heaven or religion.
The columnists, who frequently espouse right-wing views in their writings and on social media platforms, claimed they had unearthed a “secular conspiracy” under which students of the elite school were being “turned into atheists and made to deny the ideology of Pakistan”.
Ansar Abbasi, a leading columnist of the Jang Group, first drew attention to the matter when he tweeted on Thursday about the Karachi Grammar School’s plans to feature Lennon’s song.
“A private school in Karachi is holding a concert on Friday. Students will sing John Lennon’s lyrics – no heavan (sic), no hell, no religion too,” he said in the tweet.
A private school in Karachi is holding a concert on Friday. Students will sing John Lennon's lyrics- no heavan, no hell, no religion too. — Ansar Abbasi (@AnsarAAbbasi) August 23, 2017
This was followed by a TV talk show by Orya Maqbool Jan, another rabidly anti-secular columnist and commentator, who condemned the Karachi Grammar School for “imposing” the song on its students.
“The song questions our belief in God and encourages an atheist mindset,” Jan said on the nationally televised programme. He called for the government to take strict action against the school and its management.
Pakistani conservatives so offended by lyrics of John Lennon's Imagine, its only a matter of time before someone gets lynched for singing it pic.twitter.com/R2XksiL4jx — Fahad Desmukh (@desmukh) August 25, 2017
“The school is run by an Englishman and that is where the problem lies,” he claimed, adding the parents of the students at the school were “slaves to Western thought”.
While most of the mainstream media kept away from the controversy, the Urdu media took up the issue and discussed an apparent decline in standards in educational institutions and how Western thoughts and ideas had “polluted” young Pakistani minds.
Lennon’s 1971 song, his biggest solo hit after leaving The Beatles, which is universally recognised as a rallying cry for world peace. In its first line, he asks listeners to “imagine there’s no heaven” and goes on to sing about a world without countries or religion.
Many liberals took to Twitter to express support for the school and to chide the two columnists for creating a controversy over the song.
Imagine a country where religious bigots are suddenly feeling threatened by a John Lennon song https://t.co/j0JgILTDN1 pic.twitter.com/LEZo8paoqb — Shahzeb Jillani (@ShahzebJillani) August 24, 2017
Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, a spokesman for the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, said on a TV talk show: “The song draws a line between extremism and peace. John Lennon hoped for a peaceful world where people didn’t fight over heaven or hell just like the Sufis (of the region).”
source: hindustantimes.comTuesday 1 March 2016 10:22am
The international research team has found that when people are asked to rate the attractiveness of gender-blended face morphs they tend to judge them as less appealing if they are first asked to classify the face as male or female.
New psychology research from the University of Otago, Warwick Business School, and University of California, San Diego, is helping explain why male faces with feminine features are considered attractive in some contexts but not others.
The study findings provide a new explanation for why the “Johnny Depp Effect” — which involves women tending to prefer men with more feminine faces — holds in some contexts, but not in others.
The international research team has found that when people are asked to rate the attractiveness of gender-blended face morphs they tend to judge them as less appealing if they are first asked to classify the face as male or female.
Across two separate experiments, gender blends were disliked when, and only when, the faces were first categorised by gender, despite an overall preference of the participants for more feminine features.
Study co-author Professor Jamin Halberstadt, of Otago’s Department of Psychology, says that “processing fluency”— how easy it is to perceive, process, and categorise something — appears to account for this effect.
Piotr Winkielman, from the Warwick School of Business and UCSD, adds that “mental effort can negatively colour our initial impressions, even for things that are objectively pretty.”
“The idea we tested is that the mental effort of having to assign a gender to an ambiguous face has a flow-on effect of negatively influencing how we feel about that face,” says Professor Halberstadt.
In the second experiment, in which some participants were first asked to categorise gender-ambiguous faces by ethnicity, they did not subsequently judge the gender blends as less appealing.
This suggests that it is not merely a general aversion to facial ambiguity that is responsible for the effect, Professor Halberstadt says.
“It has previously been suggested that a woman’s preference in male faces vary due to hormonal influences — that sometimes she is subconsciously looking for signs of a ‘nice dad’ who will be a good provider, while other times it is the highly masculine ‘bad boy’ with his ‘better’ genes.
“However, our research indicates that such changes in preferences can instead be explained by a simple cognitive process,” Professor Halberstadt says.
“The more feminine faces are generally preferred, unless the context forces the viewer to put the face into rigid gender boxes,” adds Professor Winkielman.
The findings are published in the international journal PLOS ONE.
The study authors also include students Helen Owen from Otago and Evan Carr from the UCSD.
For more information, contact:
Professor Jamin Halberstadt
Department of Psychology
University of Otago
Tel 64 3 479 8289
Email jhalbers@psy.otago.ac.nzIt’s almost the Thanksgiving holiday, so it’s not like you’re doing anything productive anyway.
With that in mind, a new data visualization is here to kill hours, if not days of your life. It’s the 200 top-scoring reddit posts of all time, organized by subreddit.
When it comes to “score” (the net numbers of upvotes minus downvotes), it’s clear that reddit’s r/funny and r/pics subreddits dominate the top 200. The top 200 most-popular reddit links of all time also include 5 from r/WTF, 4 from r/todayIlearned, and 1 from r/music.
You can also re-sort the interactive chart to show a visualization of the top 200 based on comments. As you would expect, doing this gives more real estate to comment-happy subreddits like r/IAmA and r/AskReddit. FYI, the top reddit AMAs, in terms of score and comments, are Barack Obama’s, Bill Gates’, Snoop Lion’s, and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s.
The interactive chart was created by James Trimble, a computing science student at Glasgow University. His site, UK Data Explorer, features a ton of different style of data maps, all exploring public data.
Go check out the visualization and kill some time here.
UK Data Explorer via Mashable
Images via UK Data Explorer, redditIf you happen to be in Bangkok, Thailand and you want to spend a day checking out a truly overwhelming collection of Batman toys and ephemera, I have some very good news for you. The Batcat Museum, founded by collector Somchay Nitimongkolchai after he saw Batman Begins in 2005, is open for business with a massive (and strange) collection of Batman stuff for your perusal.
If you're not in Bangkok, then don't worry. CA reader Greg Heath was just there, and sent in a few pictures of his tour through the museum's considerable Batman collection. Having seen them, I think I can officially say it: I want to go to there.
The museum has collected just about any Batman toy you can imagine, from action figures all the way up to statues, including a slightly miscolored one based on Jim Balent's classic cover to 1995's Catwoman #18:
It's not just new stuff, though. They also have a good amount of vintage toys, including my favorite Batman toy ever: The 1966 official Utility Belt toy, complete with a handgun. You know, like Batman has.
There's also an Adam West style cape and cowl (though Greg didn't let us know if it was an original), and a "Some Days You Just Can't Get Rid Of A Bomb" statue that I need to have in my life:
I have no idea what this is, but I think it might be a board game based on Jiro Kuwata's Batman manga from the '60s:
There are also film canisters from all the Batman movies, from Dark Knight to Batman & Robin, which I assume was thrown in for free when he bought the others, just hanging out with a DC Direct Batarang replica and an iPhone case:
And now, my personal favorite item from the entire museum. I have no idea what it actually is, but I love this thing in front of the shampoos that's posed like it's asking Leonardo DiCaprio to draw him like one of his French girls:
And then there's this.
Yeah. I don't know either.
To learn more, feel free to check out this article on CNN, and if you're in Thailand, go to this place and send us pictures. Seriously. I will not be satisfied until I have seen it all.(Newser) – When a 92-year-old Chilean woman was taken to the hospital after a fall recently, doctors performed a routine exam and were shocked when a hip X-ray revealed a 4.4-pound fetus filling her abdominal cavity. Hospital director Margo Vargas Lazo tells the BBC that the calcified fetus was "large and developed," and had probably been there at least 50 years. The AFP reports that the woman wasn't experiencing any pain because of it, and notes that the fetus was roughly seven months along when it died. The condition is called "lithopedion," and happens when a fetus dies and calcifies outside of the womb. Lazo tells the Efes news agency in Chile that this case is "extraordinarily rare," reports the Independent.
A study published in 2000 in the Sao Paulo Medical Journal defined just how rare: the phenomenon happens in just 1.5% to 1.8% of the abdominal pregnancies that occur—and the incidence of those are 1 in 11,000. "There have been less than 300 cases in 400 years of world medical literature," per the study. It looked at those recorded cases and found that two-thirds of the diagnoses happened in women over 40, with the "period of fetus retention" ranging from four to 60 years. As with other cases, the Chilean woman was unaware of the presence of the fetus. Given her age, doctors sent her home a few hours later without performing an operation to remove it, so she'll likely leave the world with her unborn baby inside her. (This baby girl was born pregnant with twins.)If you’re looking for a safe bet, don’t go to Las Vegas. Instead, drive a bit south into the deserts of Arizona and California and start planting cotton. Thanks to government subsidies and insurance, it’s a sure thing.
The federal government, through the Farm Bill, has paid about $1.1 billion to Arizona cotton farmers over the past 20 years. In California, which grows more cotton, $3 billion of the public’s largesse has been spread around to those farmers, according to reporting by ProPublica. All these payments come as the demand for that cotton is shrinking and it’s taking more precious water to grow it.
In the past, the payments came directly to farmers in the form of subsidies. Now, they’re coming as payments for crop insurance, which can protect farmers if the price drops below a preset amount, making it very difficult to lose money by farming cotton. Although switching to wheat would use less water, government policies encourage farmers to keep growing cotton—they’d be foolish not to.
“If I knew my 401k was guaranteed to not fall below 85 percent of its current level and there was no limit on the upside, my portfolio would be a lot riskier than it is,” Craig Cox, a senior vice president at the Environmental Working Group, who was a former staff member for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, told ProPublica.
Payments to farmers aren’t the only way federal tax dollars have subsidized this industry. Water is brought to those farms via the $4.4 billion Central Arizona Project canal. Farmers pay a fraction of the cost of the water, which is brought in from the overstrained Colorado River.
-Steve Straehley
To Learn More:
Holy Crop: How Federal Dollars Are Financing the Water Crisis in the West (by Abrahm Lustgarten and Naveena Sadasivam, ProPublica)
If You Eat Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts or Drink Milk or Wear Cotton Clothes, California’s Drought is Your Problem Too (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Technically, Huntsville Restaurant Week 2014 isn't really a week. It's 10 days, lasting from lunch on Aug. 15 through dinner Aug. 24. The extra three days are fortuitous because this third year of Huntsville Restaurant Week - part of the Alabama Tourism Department's Alabama Restaurant Week initiative - features 39 restaurants. That's the most ever. Up from 28 last year and 33 during its 2012 debut. HRW's 39 restaurants are also more than any other area of the state's restaurant week.
Libby Webb and her husband own and operate one of those restaurants, New Market BBQ. They've participated in HRW every year and Webb says they usually see a 20 to 25 percent increase in business during the event. "We get extra foot traffic during the event itself and then we get addition foot traffic for weeks sometimes months after," Webb said of her New Market-based restaurant. "Because we're a remotely located business this kind of extra attention once a year is always helpful for a small business because we get people that see and know about us maybe in a way in which they didn't before."
At an Aug. 12 HRW press conference held at Five Points spot 1892 East, that restaurant's bespectacled executive chef/co-owner Steven Bunner stood at a podium in front of large-scale photograph of a goat. "For those of us that work in the industry, every week for us is restaurant week," Bunner said. "For us, it's'restaurant life,' but it's a great life and this event is a great opportunity for us, for the city, to showcase what really is the great true flavor of the Tennessee Valley."
New events for Huntsville Restaurant Week 2014, organized by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, include the sold-out A Night Out With The Chefs, an Aug. 14 kickoff event with local kitchen pros sharing cooking secrets.
At the 1892 East press conference, CVB Tourism Sales Manager/Huntsville Restaurant Week coordinator Pam Williams detailed #DineHSV, a new social media contest. "Every day during the 10 day period you have a chance to win a gift certificate to one of the participating restaurants," said Williams, clad in a royal-blue dress. "So use that hashtag through all your social media and tell us what you're excited about for Huntsville Restaurant Week - what dish you want to try, which dish you have tried - and just comment, post and tweet about it, you'll be entered to win of the gift certificate from 10 of the participating restaurants."
CVB CEO Judy Ryals plans on visiting eclectic downtown eatery The Office Break Room & Bar during Huntsville Restaurant Week, the goal of which is to encourage consumers to support area restaurants and deeper explore their menu. Ryals feels if this is achieved, the ripple effects on local economics as a whole can be significant. "If people come into our community and enjoy our dining scene," Ryals said, "whether they be a convention delegate or a visitor to our city, they enjoy their experience here and may be return and experience the attractions and other things our community offers."
In other words, they come back for seconds.
Below is a list of Huntsville Restaurant Week specials for all 39 participating restaurants and food-trucks.
1892 East, 720 Pratt Avenue, 256- 489-1242
$30 Dinner: Two piece order Gulf shrimp and Grits, Roasted all-natural chicken breast with mash potatoes and seasonal vegetables, Black and White Duo dessert
Baumhower's Restaurant, 4250 Balmoral Drive, 256-881-8878
$5 Lunch: Snack Redneck Caviar
$10 Lunch: Snack Redneck Caviar and Tailgate Chili
$15 Lunch: Snack Redneck Caviar and Char-Grilled Steak with grilled half potato
$10 Dinner: Snack Redneck Caviar, Wang Filet Salad and Petite Blackberry Cobbler
$20 Dinner: Snack Redneck Caviar, Char-Grilled Gulf Shrimp Platter and Petite Blackberry Cobbler
Below the Radar Brewing Company, 220 Holmes Avenue N.E., 256- 469-7043
$15 Lunch: Diablo Chicken, S'mores Cake
$30 Dinner: House Made Beer Battered Onion Rings, Boneless Pork Chop, Peach & Pale Ale Sorbet
Brasserie Juno, 964 Airport Road, 256-880-9920
$15 Lunch: Mediterranean Chicken Grecque Salad served with choice of soups du jour
$30 Dinner: Scallops Juno, Salad de la Maison, Grilled Redfish
Buenavista Mexican Cantina, 3045 Mountain Cove Blvd. Hampton Cove, 256-533-9890
$5 Lunch: Guacamole Salad, Street Tacos
Cafe on Wheels Neon Lilly food truck, 9754 Madison Blvd. Madison, 256-469-8579
$15 Lunch: choice of Kapusta Salad, Olivier Salad or Selodka Pod Shuboy, Choice of The Sampler Plate, Siberian Pelmeny and Polish Golabki, Kapusta Salad, Ukrainian Chocolate Candy
$20 Dinner: Choice of Borsch or Okroshka, Choice of Choice of The Sampler Plate, Siberian Pelmeny and Polish Golabki, Choice of Kapusta Salad, Olivier Salad or Selodka Pod Shuboy, Ukrainian Chocolate Candy
Clementine's at the Garden, 4747 Bob Wallace Ave., 256-830-4447
$10 Lunch: Choice of daily soups, Choice of Chicken Salad, Pasta Salad, Homemade Pimento Cheese or Tuna Salad, Choice of White Chocolate Macadamia, Oatmeal Raisin, Reese's Peanut Butter, Reese's Peanut Butter or Chocolate Chunk homemade cookies
Commerce Kitchen, 300 Franklin St. S.E., 256-382-6622
$15 Lunch: Melon & Heirloom Tomato Salad, Prime Skirt Street Tacos, Choice of Bourbon Milk Chocolate Pecan Pie or Sorbet and Ice Cream Flight
$30 Dinner: Choice of Fried Green Tomatoes or Marinated Atlantic Seafood Salad, Butter Fried Chicken or Grilled Red Grouper, Choice of Bourbon Milk Chocolate Pecan Pie or Sorbet and Ice Cream Flight
Cotton Row Restaurants, 100 Southside Square, 256-382-9500
$15 Lunch: Watercress and Potato Cream Soup, Chicken Pillard Salad, Tahitian Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee
$30 Dinner: Local Fried Green Tomatoes, Alabama Gulf Shrimp Pasta, Tahitian Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee
D'Licious Dining & Smokehouse Grill, 255 Pratt Ave., 256- 469-7271
$5 Lunch: Grilled Hamburger, Fudge Brownie Stick
$10 Lunch: Hickory Smoked Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Chocolate Drizzled Cheesecake
$15 Lunch: Fried Green Tomatoes, Hickory Smoked Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Fudge Brownie Stick
$10 Dinner: House Salad, Three piece chicken fingers, Chocolate Drizzled Vanilla Ice Cream
$20 Dinner: Fried Green Tomatoes, Choice of Tilapia or Catfish Filet, Chocolate Drizzled Cheesecake
Drake's Restaurant, 4800 Whitesburg Drive, 256- 517-8588
$10 Lunch: Salad & Burger
$10 Dinner: Salad & Burger
$20 Dinner: Choice of Spicy Cali Roll or Spicy Roll sushi, Hand Pressed Burger, Cookie Ala Mode
Dreamland BBQ, 3855 University Drive, 256-539-7427
$10 Lunch: Small Side Salad, choice of Rib Sandwich or Half-Pound Sausage, Small Banana Pudding
$20 Dinner: Two Small Side Salad, Choice of two: Jumbo Pork Sandwich, Chicken Sandwich, Rib Sandwich or Half-Pound Sausage, two Small Banana Puddings
$30 Dinner: Slab of Ribs, Half-Pound Sausage, two eight-ounce sides, Pint of Banana Pudding
Granville's Gourmet Ribs & Barbeque, 200-U Oakwood Ave., 256-585-3550
$5 Lunch: Regular Pork Sandwich, Banana Pudding
$10 Lunch: Large Pork Plate with two sides, Banana Pudding
$15 Lunch: Large Rib Plate, Banana Pudding
$10 Dinner: Wing Appetizer, Regular Pork Plate with two sides, Banana Pudding
$20 Dinner: Wing Appetizer, Large Rib late with two sides, Chocolate Pie
$30 Dinner: Pound of Wings, Large Brisket Plate with two sides, Chocolate Pie
Grille 29, 445 Providence Main St., Ste. 101, 256-489-9470
$15 Lunch: Gazpacho, Filet Tips with garlic mashed potatoes and haricot vert
$30 Dinner: Gazpacho, Stuffed Scallops, Mini Creme Brulee
Hildegard's, 2357 Whitesburg Drive, Ste. C., 256-512-9776
$10 Lunch: Pork Schnitzel Sandwich, Home Baked German Chocolate Cake
$20 Dinner: Asparagus Soup, Sample Platter With Chicken Schnitzel, Homemade Black Cherry Cheese Cake
Hopper's Bar and Grill, 5903 University Drive, 256-830-0600
$20 Dinner: Choice of House Salad, Spicy Chili or Soup of the Day, Choice of Southern Fried Chicken, Chopped Steak, Baked Tilapia, Choice of nine desserts
Humphrey's Bar & Grill, 109 Washington St., 256-704-5555
$10 Lunch: Buttermilk Hushpuppies, Choice of Angus Beef Hamburger or Hot Dog, Non-alcoholic beverage
Mango's Caribbean Restaurant, 6241 University Drive N.W., 256-971-5111
$10 Lunch: Garden Salad, Choice of Jerk Chicken or Stew Chicken, Choice of three sides.
$20 Dinner: Choice of Pea Soup or salad, Choice of Jerk Chicken or Stew Chicken, Pineapple Peach Crisp
New Market BBQ, 5601 Winchester Road New Market, 256- 379-5525
$5 Lunch: Regular Sized Pulled Pork Sandwich, Choice of five sides, Small Banana Pudding
$10 Lunch: Hickory Pit Smoked Pulled Pork plus one additional meat, Choice of five sides, Choice of eight desserts
$10 Dinner: Hickory Pit Smoked Pulled Pork plus one additional meat, Choice of five sides, Choice of eight desserts
$30 Dinner: 4 Roasted Corn on the Cobb, Chicken, Turkey Breast, Beef Brisket and Pork Ribs (quarter-pound each), four half-pint sides, four slices of pie
Nick's Ristorante, 10300 Bailey Cove Road, #1, 256-489-8280
$30 Dinner: Choice of Wedge, Spinach or Caesar salad, Wild Mushroom Risotto Cakes, Tournedos of Beef Au Poivre
Ole Hickory BBQ, 5061 Maysville Road, 256-859-2824
$5 Lunch: Crispy Fried Okra, BBQ Hot Dog, Banana Pudding
$10 Lunch: Cheddar Bacon Grit Cakes, Cheddar Bacon Grit Cakes, Drew's Chocolate Cake
$10 Dinner: Cheddar Bacon Grit Cakes, Cheddar Bacon Grit Cakes, Drew's Chocolate Cake
Pane e Vino Pizzeria, 300 Church St., 256-533-1180
$10 Lunch: Caesar Salad, Margarita Pizza, Cannoli
$20 Dinner: Heirloom Caprese, The Provenical, Tiramisu
Peppered Pig Food Truck, 11595Memorial Pkwy. S.W., 407- 927-6591
$10 Lunch: Piggy Burger with fresh cut fries and drink
Ruth's Chris Steak House, 800 Monroe St. 256-327-7890
$30 Dinner: Choice of Steak Salad or Caesar Salad, Sliced Flat Iron Steak with mashed potatoes, Miniature Bread Pudding
Sady's Bistro, 14 Main St., Ste. B Madison, 256-235-1745
$10 Lunch: Choice of Latin Sandwich or 3 Jamones Panini, Choice of ice cream or five types of cake slices
Sady's Bistro on Providence, 500 Providence Main St. N.W., 256-270-8474
$10 Lunch: |
case Show all 25 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The Madeleine McCann case 1/25 Madeleine McCann One of the last photos of Madeleine before her disappearance EPA 2/25 Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann was three when she was abducted during a family holiday in 2007 3/25 Top worn by a man that detectives investigate with connection to disappearance of Madeleine McCann A computer generated image of the distinctive burgundy long sleeve top worn by a man that detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are looking for 4/25 Apartment in Portugal from where Madeleine went missing An aerial view of the Ocean Club apartments and pool where Madeleine McCann went missing Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images 5/25 Kate McCann Kate McCann speaks to the press outside the court house in Lisbon on 12 September 2013 following the first audience of the McCann couple's libel proceedings against former inspector Goncalo Amaral for a book written about the case of their missing daughter 6/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Kate McCann and Gerry McCann before the start of the 'Miles for Missing People' charity run in Regent's Park in London, 2011 7/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann make an appeal at a press conference in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal 7 May 2007 8/25 Kate and Gerry McCann The McCann's give an interview with a Spanish television channel at their home in Rothley 9/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Madeleine McCann was abducted in Portugal in May 2007 AP 10/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Preliminary forensic analysis on samples recovered from the McCanns' hire car raised the possibility of a match with Madeleine's DNA profile, according to the leaked report Getty Images 11/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Pope Benedict XVI blesses a photo of four-year-old abducted British girl Madeleine McCann, while meeting her parents Gerry and Kate McCann, after his weekly general audience at the Vatican, 2007 Reuters 12/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann speak to the press on 4 May 2007 at the Ocean club appartement hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos after Madeline vanished while her parents were out to dinner 13/25 Portuguese police search for Madeleine Dozens of Portuguese police aided by dogs search for missing three-year old British girl Madelaine McCann in front of the Ocean club appartment hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos 14/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann walk holding their two other children outside the Ocean club apartment hotel in Praia de Luz in May 2007 15/25 Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann pictured at the age of three, left, and as she might have looked aged nine PA/Teri Blythe 16/25 Kate and Gerry McCann The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have described as "pure speculation" reports in the Portuguese press suggesting that a chief suspect in the disappearance of their daughter was killed in a tractor accident four years ago. PA 17/25 Tribute for missing Madeleine in Rothley, Leicesteshire Three year old Cally prepares to add a yellow ribbon to a floral tribute for missing Madeleine McCann in Rothley in Leicesteshire, 2007 18/25 Support for the missing Madeleine Everton captain Lee Carsley (L) leads his team onto the field, followed Mikel Arteta (C) and Manuel Fernandes (R) wearing Tshirts bearing a message of support for the missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, prior to the English Premiership match between Chelsea and Everton, at Stamford Bridge in London, 2007 19/25 Madeleine McCann A poster appealing for information about Madeleine McCann at a Spanish railway station PA 20/25 BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance Former porn star Mark Sloan (L) was cast in the BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance BBC 21/25 Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect on 20 January 2008 in London. The description has come from British woman Gail Cooper, who was staying with her family close to the McCann's apartment in Portugal 22/25 Image of a woman sought in the case Clarence Mitchell, the press spokesman for the McCann family, releases a photofit image of a woman sought in the search for missing Madeleine McCann Getty Images 23/25 Suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Police released two e-fits of suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Getty Images 24/25 Raymond Hewlett Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett, who is being sought in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann PA 25/25 A picture of a suspect An artist's impression of a suspicious man seen by a witness apparently watching the McCann family's apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the day before Madeleine McCann went missing Channel 4 1/25 Madeleine McCann One of the last photos of Madeleine before her disappearance EPA 2/25 Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann was three when she was abducted during a family holiday in 2007 3/25 Top worn by a man that detectives investigate with connection to disappearance of Madeleine McCann A computer generated image of the distinctive burgundy long sleeve top worn by a man that detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are looking for 4/25 Apartment in Portugal from where Madeleine went missing An aerial view of the Ocean Club apartments and pool where Madeleine McCann went missing Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images 5/25 Kate McCann Kate McCann speaks to the press outside the court house in Lisbon on 12 September 2013 following the first audience of the McCann couple's libel proceedings against former inspector Goncalo Amaral for a book written about the case of their missing daughter 6/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Kate McCann and Gerry McCann before the start of the 'Miles for Missing People' charity run in Regent's Park in London, 2011 7/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Kate and Gerry McCann make an appeal at a press conference in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal 7 May 2007 8/25 Kate and Gerry McCann The McCann's give an interview with a Spanish television channel at their home in Rothley 9/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Madeleine McCann was abducted in Portugal in May 2007 AP 10/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Preliminary forensic analysis on samples recovered from the McCanns' hire car raised the possibility of a match with Madeleine's DNA profile, according to the leaked report Getty Images 11/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Pope Benedict XVI blesses a photo of four-year-old abducted British girl Madeleine McCann, while meeting her parents Gerry and Kate McCann, after his weekly general audience at the Vatican, 2007 Reuters 12/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann speak to the press on 4 May 2007 at the Ocean club appartement hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos after Madeline vanished while her parents were out to dinner 13/25 Portuguese police search for Madeleine Dozens of Portuguese police aided by dogs search for missing three-year old British girl Madelaine McCann in front of the Ocean club appartment hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos 14/25 Kate and Gerry McCann Gerald McCann and Kate McCann walk holding their two other children outside the Ocean club apartment hotel in Praia de Luz in May 2007 15/25 Madeleine McCann Madeleine McCann pictured at the age of three, left, and as she might have looked aged nine PA/Teri Blythe 16/25 Kate and Gerry McCann The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have described as "pure speculation" reports in the Portuguese press suggesting that a chief suspect in the disappearance of their daughter was killed in a tractor accident four years ago. PA 17/25 Tribute for missing Madeleine in Rothley, Leicesteshire Three year old Cally prepares to add a yellow ribbon to a floral tribute for missing Madeleine McCann in Rothley in Leicesteshire, 2007 18/25 Support for the missing Madeleine Everton captain Lee Carsley (L) leads his team onto the field, followed Mikel Arteta (C) and Manuel Fernandes (R) wearing Tshirts bearing a message of support for the missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, prior to the English Premiership match between Chelsea and Everton, at Stamford Bridge in London, 2007 19/25 Madeleine McCann A poster appealing for information about Madeleine McCann at a Spanish railway station PA 20/25 BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance Former porn star Mark Sloan (L) was cast in the BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance BBC 21/25 Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect on 20 January 2008 in London. The description has come from British woman Gail Cooper, who was staying with her family close to the McCann's apartment in Portugal 22/25 Image of a woman sought in the case Clarence Mitchell, the press spokesman for the McCann family, releases a photofit image of a woman sought in the search for missing Madeleine McCann Getty Images 23/25 Suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Police released two e-fits of suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann Getty Images 24/25 Raymond Hewlett Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett, who is being sought in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann PA 25/25 A picture of a suspect An artist's impression of a suspicious man seen by a witness apparently watching the McCann family's apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the day before Madeleine McCann went missing Channel 4
Madeleine disappeared from a holiday home in Portugal's Algarve region in May 2007, days before her fourth birthday.
British police are still investigating her disappearance.
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Subscribe nowThe government has begun invalidating the passports of Canadians who have left to join extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander revealed in an interview on Friday.
The minister told the National Post his department had also revoked the passports of several Canadians who had not yet left the country but who had intended to travel to the volatile region to enlist as foreign fighters.
He would not disclose the number of passports Citizenship and Immigration Canada had revoked over the conflict but said there were “multiple cases.” The government says about 30 Canadians are with extremist groups in Syria and 130 are active elsewhere.
“Yes, I think it’s safe to say that there are cases of revocation of passports involving people who’ve gone to Syria and Iraq already,” Mr. Alexander said. “I just don’t want to get into the numbers, but multiple cases.”
The action means Canadian fighters in Syria and Iraq may effectively be stranded there. Their passports are no longer valid and therefore cannot be used to return to Canada. Nor could they be used to travel elsewhere.
This week the Post revealed the identity of another Canadian with the Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS). Mohammed Ali, a 23-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., left Canada in April and later wrote online about playing soccer with severed heads.
Other Canadians allegedly with ISIS and similar extremist groups in the region include Hasibullah Yusifzai of Burnaby, B.C., and Calgary’s Farah Shirdon, who this week threatened attacks on the United States, before Twitter suspended his account.
Mr. Alexander said while they were few in number, he was troubled that Canadians had joined ISIS, which has been committing widespread atrocities in an attempt to impose its militant version of Islamic law on Syrians and Iraqis.
“We are not by any means the leading contributor of foreign fighters to Syria, even though the dozens that are there and the 130 that are abroad [with other extremist groups] is a disturbing number for all Canadians. But we want to ensure that Canada’s good name is not besmirched by these people any more than it already has been and that Canadians are protected.”
Measures to staunch the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria are among the strategies Canada and its allies have adopted to degrade ISIS. On Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told the United Nations Security Council, which met to discuss the situation in Iraq, that ISIS was a “terrorist army” that had blended “medieval ideology” with modern weapons. “We must also reject their nihilistic worldview wherever we find it,” he said.
Hours before he spoke, ISIS released an hour-long propaganda video intended to discourage an international military campaign against the group. It included footage of André Poulin, a troubled Muslim convert from Timmins, Ont., who died in Syria in August 2013.
It also showed a masked gunman standing before captured Syrian troops digging their own graves. After speaking in what sounded like North American — possibly Canadian — English, he appeared to help execute the kneeling prisoners with a handgun.
The participation of Canadians in ISIS has become a key focus of the government in recent months, and while the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service have the lead roles, Mr. Alexander’s department, which includes Passport Canada, has also been actively involved.
The minister said the department was making use of existing regulations that allow officials to revoke or deny a passport when there is evidence a Canadian intends to use it to travel abroad to commit crimes, in this case terrorism.
“When law enforcement and security agencies provide us with that evidence, as they have done, we are able to act,” he said. So far that has taken place “in multiple cases” against those attempting to join extremists in Syria, he said.
“I can’t really get into how many, [or] how many are under consideration right now. These are operational matters and security matters and we don’t comment on them in detail, but this is a power that exists and that is being used.”
The new citizenship law enacted in June also gave the government the authority to revoke Canadian citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism. The power has not yet been put to use but the minister said it sends a message that those who join groups like ISIS will pay a heavy price: “You will cease being a Canadian because behaviour of this kind is incompatible with the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.”
This week, Australian police broke up what they said was a plot directed by an Australian ISIS commander to behead a random citizen on video and drape the terrorist group’s black flag over the body. The arrests highlighted concerns that foreign fighters could spread fanatical violence to their home countries, but Canada has fewer extremists in groups like ISIS than Australia and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Alexander said Canada’s success at integrating newcomers was partly responsible. “That tends to create a very high level of allegiance and loyalty to Canada among the vast majority of immigrants, and we should be proud of that,” he said.
“But the pull of this poisonous ideology from the Gulf, from some of the centres of preaching, Pakistan and elsewhere, where it’s really anchored, is strong. And it’s transmitted by the internet. So despite our success on immigration and settlement, we can’t ignore this challenge.”
National Post
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House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) caught the Trump White House red-handed engaging in the Russia cover-up when he went to the White House to view documents.
Video:
CNN State Of The Union host Jake Tapper asked Schiff about the documents that he viewed at the White House.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee answered, “The most important thing people need to know about these documents is not classified, and it’s a couple things. First, the Deputy Assistant to the White House informed me when I went to see them that these are exactly the same materials that were shown to the Chairman. Now, this is a very interesting point. How does the White House know that these are the same materials that were shown to the Chairman if the White House wasn’t aware of what the Chairman was being shown? And the second point that was made to me, and this was also underscored by Sean Spicer, and that is it was told to me by the Deputy Assistant that these materials were produced in the ordinary course of business.
Well, the question for the White House and Mr. Spicer is, the ordinary course of whose business? Because if these were produced for or by the White House, then why all the subterfuge? There’s nothing ordinary about the process that was used here at all.
And Jake, I think the answer may come from the President himself. You can say a lot of things about the President, but one thing you can not say is he’s not subtle, and I think his tweets tell the story. And the story is, look over there at leaks, and look over there at anything we can claim that the Obama administration did wrong on incidental collection or anything else, but whatever you do, under no circumstances look here at me or at Russia. I think that’s really what’s going on.
Rep. Schiff caught the White House red-handed in their cover-up. The lesson here for Trump is that he and his White House should never have tried to BS a former prosecutor. Schiff is smarter than this White House, and he is not going to stop coming after them in this investigation.
The White House official that tried to smokescreen Schiff made a huge mistake that ended up adding evidence to claim that the Trump administration is trying to cover-up the Russia scandal.
Adam Schiff isn’t falling for the White House’s attempts at misdirection and that could be really bad news for the political future of Donald Trump.
If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:A Spanish toddler identified as the reincarnation of a revered Buddhist lama spent his entire childhood in an Indian monastery. But at the age of 18 he returned to his family in Spain. Still hailed as a teacher, he is more comfortable on the beaches of Ibiza.
When he was two, Osel Hita Torres was enthroned as a reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist lama.
He was dressed in robes and a yellow hat. Grown men prostrated themselves in front of him and asked for his blessing.
No-one was allowed to show him affection unless he initiated it. He had his own special cutlery.
"It must have been tempting to take advantage of that sometimes and act badly," I say to him now.
"Yes," he replies. "I was a tyrant and an obnoxious spoiled brat. I was pretty bossy, let's say."
Even by Tibetan Buddhist standards, two was a young age for enthronement, and Osel was not even Tibetan - he is Spanish.
We are speaking in Ibiza, in the courtyard to his mother's villa. Osel is 27 and no longer a lama.
Image caption Osel would like to become a documentary maker
He has swapped the rigours of monastic life for playing the drums on the beach, and chilling to trance music. He is not sure he is still a Buddhist.
Because of his bad experiences with the media, he hardly ever gives interviews. But he is relaxed and charming to me, and philosophical about his extraordinary history.
Find out more Listen to The Reluctant Lama on the BBC iPlayer (UK only) via the link
He was born in Granada, the fifth child of Maria Torres.
Maria had converted to Buddhism and was a follower of Thubten Yeshe, a charismatic and extrovert Tibetan lama who was travelling the West in the 1970s.
Yeshe was no ordinary lama. He visited Disneyland and was half in love with Western culture.
His young Western disciples were drawn by his Eastern exoticism. Some believed he could read their minds.
It made me feel very special, the fact that he had chosen me as his mother Maria
But Lama Yeshe had heart problems, and he died in 1984 in a Los Angeles hospital, aged 49.
His followers were distraught. A few months later, Maria became pregnant with Osel.
In Tibetan Buddhism, lamas who achieved a high level of enlightenment are able to choose what happens after their death - whether to be reincarnated and, if so, where.
The conviction grew among Lama Yeshe's followers and former colleagues that Yeshe had chosen to be reincarnated in Spain, in little Osel.
They detected in Osel a certain meditative self-containment. The way he acted reminded them of Yeshe. A baby like Osel appeared in another lama's dreams.
Osel was taken to India for testing, where he picked out Lama Yeshe's former possessions, including his sunglasses. The Dalai Lama confirmed that Osel was Lama Yeshe's reincarnation.
The Four Noble Truths The four noble truths contain the essence of the Buddha's teachings. It was these four principles that the Buddha came to understand during his meditation under the bodhi tree. • The truth of suffering (Dukkha) • The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudāya) • The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha) • The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga) The Buddha is often compared to a physician. In the first two noble truths he diagnosed the problem (suffering) and identified its cause. The third Noble Truth is the realisation that there is a cure. The fourth noble truth, in which the Buddha set out the Eightfold Path, is the prescription, the way to achieve a release from suffering. Find out more: BBC Religion/ Buddhism
Osel went to live in a monastery in southern India and had little contact with his parents. It was a strange way to treat a toddler but Osel feels no resentment.
"For them it wasn't something negative, it was a huge opportunity they were giving the kid, like he's going to Yale or Oxford."
I met Maria at a Buddhist temple on Ibiza. I put it to her that her name is appropriate for the mother of a God. She does not reject the idea. "At the beginning, yes, it was something like this."
The fact that Lama Yeshe had come back in her son was good news.
"It was a reason for celebrating. It made me feel very special, the fact that he had chosen me as his mother. I thought that I was not going to have any more suffering during my life, just because of that. I wanted to share my son with the rest of the world, because it's not my son."
But did she not miss him? She says she was not clingy.
"Maybe because I don't really need to have my children by my side all my time, it was something I could deal with very easily."
But having a lama in the family was disruptive for her other five children as they all travelled the world, trying to stay reasonably close to Osel when he was very small.
Osel's Western disciples barely saw him as a little child at all. They detected in him wisdom, compassion and a detachment from emotional needs that allowed him to develop on a spiritual path - and stopped him missing his parents.
"When you were treated in this very deferential way, how much did you think to yourself secretly 'This is crazy'?" I ask him.
"For me it was completely normal," he says.
"But at a certain point in my life, around 15-16, I didn't feel comfortable with it...
When he was nine, he sent a cassette tape to his mother where he pleaded to be allowed to come back to Spain.
Instead his father, Paco, went to live in the monastery with him, and his younger brother, Kunkyen, went to join him as a monk.
"When I turned 16-17, I was dying to get out."
The turning point came when he read Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, and he started to wonder whether he was a true Buddhist.
Image caption Osel finally decided to leave the monastery when he was 18
On his 18th birthday, he had a momentous conversation with his mother, which she described to me. "He said to me, 'If I decide not to go back to the monastery, can someone force me to go back?'"
"No", she told him. "Well, I'm not going back," he said.
But the monastery wanted him to return.
"I got a huge amount of letters and phone calls, and people coming to visit me, just telling me that I made a big mistake, that I lost a huge opportunity, that was my destiny, my purpose, blah-blah-blah, whatever."
Maria was also put under pressure but she supported his decision, and still does.
Life outside the monastery was difficult for him to start with - discos and girls were baffling and scary
Life outside the monastery was difficult for him to start with - discos and girls were baffling and scary. One of his Buddhist sponsors living in Canada arranged for him to go to school there. He then went to Madrid where he did a degree in film studies. He would like to become a documentary maker.
Sometimes Osel seems like a living disproof of the old Jesuit saying, "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." The Tibetans had him from two till 18, but the pull of the West was stronger.
"What music do you like?" I ask him. "Reggae, I like drum-and-bass, I like trance, psychedelic trance, stuff like that. Hip-hop also."
In Lama Yeshe's organisation, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), they still see him as a teacher. He tries to accommodate them with what wisdom he can muster, but his advice tends to be light on Buddhist theology, with generic suggestions like, "When we see people in the centre, it's nice to always say hello."
His future is uncertain, caught between cultures and traditions. He lives on Ibiza but Spanish is only his third language, after Tibetan and English. He has taught Tibetan classes, he doesn't have a full time job but has been making a documentary for the FPMT.
He and Kunkyen feature on a recording that combines Tibetan chanting with Western trance music. He seems to be moving back towards the FPMT and even talks about returning to head the organisation.
Image caption Lama Yeshe was famous for his smile and sense of humour
"Maybe when the spiritual director decides to retire, then I can take over."
As the spiritual director?
"I'll probably just be maybe the co-ordinator. Not spiritual. I don't know, maybe some day. Slowly I am getting some interest towards Buddhism."
Maria is still a convinced Buddhist. "Do you still think he's a reincarnated lama?" I ask.
"Yes," she says. "What he isn't, is a traditional lama and it is what he doesn't want to be."
She has no regrets. "I never ask this question to myself, because it's not possible to go back. I always think everything has sense. What's happening now is the best it can happen, because it's what's happening."
Buddhists do not really do regret.
Osel himself still believes in reincarnation, and that Lama Yeshe could have chosen whose body he would come back in. He is just not sure it is him.
"Are there ever occasions when you feel a little bit of Lama Yeshe in you?" I ask.
"Yes, sometimes," he says. "Sometimes I ask Lama Yeshe to give me a message or a sign or something. And many times he does give me a sign or a message.
"So I don't know if he's outside or if he's inside. I don't know, but he's one of my best friends."
The Reluctant Lama will be broadcast on Friday 28 September at 11:00 BST on BBC Radio 4. Or catch up later on the BBC iPlayer.Get the biggest celebs stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Pilots on the flight hired by Justin Bieber and his flunkies for the Super Bowl were so overcome with marijuana fumes they were forced to wear oxygen masks.
The official report in to Friday’s incident also revealed how the obnoxious teen and his father were “extremely abusive” to a flight attendant.
The verbal assault was so bad during the flight from Toronto to New Jersey she was forced to seek refuge near the cockpit.
According to reports in the U.S. the 19-year-old’s leased, Gulfstream jet had 12 passengers on board when it was detained by officials at Teterboro airport.
“The captain of the flight stated that he warned the passengers, including Bieber, on several occasions to stop smoking marijuana,” says the official report of the incident.
“The captain also stated he needed to request that the passengers stop their harassing behaviour toward the flight attendant and after several warnings asked the flight attendant to stay with him near the cockpit to avoid any further abuse.
“The flight attendant stated the passengers, including Bieber and his father, Jeremy Bieber were extremely abusive verbally and she would not work another flight with them.”
Despite the luxury jet having a pressurised cabin the pilots choose to wear their oxygen masks to avoid inhaling marijuana and testing positive during any subsequent drug test.
A failure would have put the crew’s licence at risk.
According to sources, when the plane landed on Friday afternoon Drug Enforcement Agency, Customs, Border patrol agents and police boarded the jet.
They found there was still a strong smell of marijuana inside the cabin.
Two drug dogs then indicated the presence of the class B drug in three pieces of luggage, one of which belonged to Bieber, however no unsmoked cannabis was found.
The two other bags were listed as belonging to his personal assistant and his personal trainer.
However both “disavowed knowledge of the contents of the bags and stated they were actually Bieber’s bags, but they were forced to place their names on the bags,” according to the report.
No “contraband” was found but a second search found empty bags that appeared to have once contained pot.
None of the items could be linked to Bieber, his father, or their guests.
The “Boyfriend” singer was quickly separated from the other passengers as investigators carried out their searches.
The report stated “in past examinations, Bieber had become argumentative and abusive when together with his security team” which led to him being taken to a private area.
When interviewed the Canadian confessed to smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, but stated he did not have any additional cannabis on him.
Bieber, his father Jeremy and 10 friends had flown in to the exclusive airport ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
No members of the flight crew were willing to file charges against their passengers, so Bieber and his entourage were allowed to go on their way.
Bieber, who was recently charged while driving under the influence, resisting arrest, driving on an expired licence and assault, said he was due to watch the game between Seattle and Denver in a “private suite at the MetLife Stadium.
Following the game, which Seattle won 43 - 8, Bieber headed in to Manhattan to attend several post game parties.
However he was turned away by several clubs including the exclusive 1Oak.(Washington, DC) – If there’s one thing that socially responsible businesses have learned, it’s that they can’t go at it alone. Whether it’s implementing responsible sourcing initiatives or creating a positive corporate model to make an impact on sustainability, there is strength in numbers. So where did Ben & Jerry’s turn for help and inspiration for its latest ice cream flavor? Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing. Never has the phrase “polishing off a pint” been so perfectly poised in any partnership for a delicious double-entendre.
Collectively committed to making a better impact in their global communities, the two B Corp companies proudly introduce Salted Caramel Brown-ie Ale ice cream, which will be featured in Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops as well as in pints across the country as a Limited Batch flavor this fall (MSRP $4.89). The concoction consists of New Belgium Brown Ale Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Swirls and Fudge Brownies. The ice cream, arriving on shelves this month, was unveiled Wednesday evening at a Washington D.C. launch “Brew-Ha-Ha” in the confines of the historic Howard Theatre. The launch event was heralded as “a night of music, climate activism, beer, and ice cream.” Musicians Galactic and Dr. Dog performed at the unveiling of Ben & Jerry’s newest ice cream flavor to highlight climate activism.
New Belgium Brewing and Ben & Jerry’s jointly pursued a partnership with Protect Our Winters, an organization founded by pro-snowboarder Jeremy Jones, to bridge the gap between the winter sports community and the necessary action to address climate change. “We wanted to partner with a business that shared our progressive values, fun spirit, and desire to take action giving fans an opportunity to act on climate. New Belgium quickly became the perfect choice,” said Jay Curley, Senior Marketing Manager at Ben & Jerry’s. A portion of the proceeds from the ice cream and the beer will benefit Protect Our Winters. Attendees at the launch event were encouraged to request action via governors in their home states to embrace Protect Our Winters and the Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions.
Ben & Jerry’s and New Belgium combined forces on a Ben & Jerry’s-inspired beer as earlier announced by the brewing company in April 2015. Although the beer is just hitting markets now in October, the story made a springtime splash with the announcement of Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale http://nbb.beer/ BenandJerrysBeer. New Belgium’s Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale, a limited special release, is laden with dark roasted malts, chocolaty tones and hints of vanilla. Both the beer and ice cream will be available now through the holiday season while supplies last.
“We are incredibly excited to be working with a like-minded business, creating top-notch flavor sensations and leveraging our collective efforts to bring awareness to B Corps and climate issues,” said Bryan Simpson, New Belgium’s PR Director. “Beer and ice cream are a beautiful pair, and getting to turn folks onto the work of POW makes this collaboration that much more meaningful.”
Beer floats have never had a more perfect pairing…
For more information about Protect Our Winters, visit www.protectourwinters.org.
For more information about New Belgium Brewery, visit www.newbelgium.com
For more information about Ben & Jerry’s, visit www.benjerry.com
ABOUT PROTECT OUR WINTERS
Protect Our Winters (POW) was started in 2007 by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones who witnessed first-hand the impact of climate change on our mountains. After having been turned away from areas that had once been ride-able and seeing resorts closed due to lack of snow, Jeremy saw a gap between the winter sports community and the action being taken by us all to address the problem. Snow-based recreation in the United States is estimated to contribute $62 billion annually to the US economy and supports over 940,000 jobs. So when we look at the cost of inaction, it’s serious business. We are the environmental voice of the global snow sports community, united towards a common goal of reducing climate change’s effects on our sports, our industry and local economies through education, advocacy and community-based activism. POW was founded on the idea that the collective power of the winter sports community is massive, and if we can all work together, the end result can be revolutionary. Together We Can Protect Our Winters. www.protectourwinters.org
ABOUT NEW BELGIUM BREWING
New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, is recognized as one of Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work and one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best Small Businesses. The 100% employee-owned brewery is a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business as designated by the League of American Bicyclists, and one of World Blu’s most democratic U.S. businesses, and a Certified B Corp. In addition to Fat Tire, New Belgium brews ten year-round beers; Ranger IPA, Rampant Imperial IPA, Slow Ride Session IPA, Snapshot Wheat, Shift Pale Lager, Sunshine Wheat, 1554 Black Ale, Blue Paddle Pilsener, Abbey Belgian Ale and Trippel. Learn more at www.newbelgium.com.
ABOUT BEN & JERRY’S
As an aspiring social justice company, Ben & Jerry’s believes in a greater calling than simply making a profit for selling its goods. The company produces a wide variety of super-premium ice cream, yogurt and sorbet using high-quality ingredients. Ben & Jerry’s incorporates its vision of Linked Prosperity into its business practices in a number of ways including a focus on values-led sourcing. In 2014 the company plans to complete its transition to using entirely non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) ingredients by source as well as to fully Fairtrade-certified ingredients wherever possible, which benefits farmers in developing countries. Ben and Jerry’s products are distributed in 35 countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops, restaurants and other venues. Ben & Jerry’s, a Vermont corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever, operates its business on a three-part Mission Statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community. Ben & Jerry’s became a certified B Corp (Benefit Corporation) in 2012. The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation’s employee-led grant programs totaled $2.5MM in 2014 to support economic and social justice, environmental restoration, and peace through understanding. For the inside scoop on Ben & Jerry’s visit www.benjerry.com.A 21-year-old man has died following a drive-by shooting in the Jane and Sheppard area, Toronto police say.
Police were called to the scene of Laura Road and Sheppard Avenue West just before 5 p.m. after reports of people in two cars shooting at each other while driving. Officers arrived to find a car with bullet holes with two men injured inside.
One man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The second man suffered minor injuries, paramedics say. Police believe the two men were cousins.
Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook told CBC News that anywhere from six to ten shots were fired in total.
At the scene on Wednesday evening, Sgt. Rob Duthie told reporters shots came just one vehicle, a black Honda sedan that was seen fleeing eastbound on |
to attract them because all the top players want to go to the top clubs. Alex Neil is trying to get a striker in but that has not worked out, and it will be interesting how they get on.
MOTD2 host and BBC Radio 5 live presenter Mark Chapman: This will probably make me look an idiot but, hey, that's the whole point of predictions isn't it? I am going to say that all three will stay up. Bournemouth's football at times last season was excellent and Eddie Howe won't change his philosophy in the Premier League. It could cause a lot of teams problems.
Watford, thanks to the Pozzo family, are part of one of the best, if not THE best scouting system in the world and there will be some gems in that squad by the end of the window. And Norwich are a club with Premier League set-up. If they can find a striker capable of regularly scoring in the top flight they should be fine too.
How we calculated the overall top fourIt looks like Yahoo has been looking for a home for Delicious for some time now. On his Diggnation web show this week, Digg founder Kevin Rose said that Yahoo contacted Digg to see if the company would be interested in taking over Delicious prior to when an internal slide leaked indicating Yahoo wanted to get rid if it and before the December layoffs (which would put the time period at early December/late November). In the video, Rose addresses this around the 36 minute mark.
Rose said that at first he thought that Yahoo was trying to sell Delicious off (which is what we assumed as well), but then realized that Yahoo was simply trying to find a home for the bookmarking service. Rose confirmed that Yahoo and Digg had preliminary talks simply about how much it would cost for the upkeep of Delicious.
Shortly after these early conversations, Rose said the news broke that Yahoo was planning to “sunset” Delicious and a number of other services in the Yahoo product family. Which is when he Tweeted that he would “really like to buy del.icio.us and make a seriously rad social bookmarking site, screenshot archives of bookmarks/audio annotations etc.”
Rose has a few compelling ideas to breathe new life into Delicious, including the ability to take static snapshots of a webpage at a given moment so users always have access to what a site looked like when they initially bookmarked it. Another possible feature, says Rose, could be an audio recording feature that would allow users to add audio annotations to bookmarks to add additional context to bookmark sharing. He’d also add pro accounts, and try to make a profit from the service.
Rose says he would definitely take over Delicious but didn’t offer any updates on whether this would actually happen. He added that he contacted Delicious’ original founder Joshua Schachter to see if he would want to back the project but as we know Schacter is pursuing other projects. Rose says that he’s hoping it finds a good home and he’d ‘love to do something cool with it’ but doesn’t know if Yahoo would give Delicious to him.
Thanks to @UniPaul for the tip.If you're an immigrant in Buffalo facing deportation, chances are good you're fighting that legal battle without a lawyer.
State lawmakers want to change that reality and have set aside $10 million in the new budget to expand immigrant legal defense services.
The goal, according to legislators, is to fight back against President Trump's crackdown on immigrants by ensuring that anyone with a deportation case in Batavia immigration court will have legal representation.
Under the law, deportation cases are civil, not criminal, matters and do not require court-appointed legal representation for the person facing deportation.
"We don't want anyone deported because they don't have a lawyer," Assemblyman Sean Ryan, the Buffalo Democrat at the center of the legislative effort, said Thursday.
Immigration advocates often point to the absence of attorneys in local cases as one reason why the large majority of immigrants seeking asylum in Batavia are rejected.
In 2014, at a time when immigration judges across the country were granting half of all asylum claims, judges at the Federal Detention Center in Batavia granted fewer than 20 percent, according to data from Syracuse University.
The new funding, which is included in the state budget that just passed, will go to the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project and its partner, the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer Project.
The new state budget also includes $2 million for refugee resettlement agencies here and across the state.
The money is designed to financially support resettlement agencies that will lose funding under Trump's immigration policies, including his plan to cut in half the number of refugees – roughly 100,000 last year – admitted to the United States.Announcements Researchers in corporate and financial laws The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy is looking to hire two researchers (1 legal...
Disclosures in privacy policies: Does 'notice and consent' work? by Rishab Bailey, Smriti Parsheera, Faiza Rahman and Renuka Sane. In a recent paper, Disclosures in privacy policies: Does notice and...
Data localisation in India: Questioning the means and ends by Rishab Bailey and Smriti Parsheera. Data localisation has become a recurring topic in Indian public policy debates. This has been prompt...
Privacy, Aadhaar, Data Protection: Statist Liberalism and the Danger to Liberty by Anirudh Burman. Kings will be tyrants from policy when subjects are rebels from principle. &n...
An annotated reading list on the Indian bankruptcy reform, 2018 by Rajeswari Sengupta and Anjali Sharma. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) was enacted two years back and its provisions f...The trend of the month has been the deepening of market relationships and forming alliances of players. Of course, this boosts both conquers as well as market cooperation.
Let’s make a snapshot of the brave new world that will soon become history and birthplace for a new generation of AI. Its width today is equivalent to 5 creep lives on foot without portals:
While room decorations are still in development, our artists players themselves perform spectacularly well from orbit by actively using walls:
bonzaiferroni has set the new world record in ER: 625M. With GCL22, that seems close to impossible! The previous record was set by Hernanduer in February 2016. He managed to improve his record in this season too from 557M to 578M.
Hernandeur hits home runs season after season in the “red gold” category, the last month being no exception:
Remco, bldinator, Zortea, Wurmus, Revrick, and n0ne have joined the race for power. New players though have an issue with power: they need at least a level 8 room to absorb it. If they’ve grabbed it, it doesn’t mean yet they can use it. But fortunately enough, there is a market today to sell output and keep the mining technology.
A month has passed since the mineral balance changed (see changelog 2016-09-26). Let’s see which goods have gained traction since then. Here is the total purchase chart:
stuff total amount, K best buyer player amount, K 24282 AzuraStar 4806 18755 Dissi 6201 14809 Dhakos 3330 11778 Dissi 4280 11392 Hernanduer 4669 4701 Dissi 2279 3525 stybbe 546 2972 Dissi 274 2811 Suppen 628 2485 Reini 808 1929 AzuraStar 394 1757 Remco 318 1728 backseat 1504 1652 DarkTrooper7 340 1295 daboross 433 1016 Zergling 608 918 dog 300 652 Dissi 216 366 Rajecz 118 348 Zergling 316 346 0xDEADFEED 125 184 0xDEADFEED 130 131 DomNomNom 89 112 DomNomNom 75 111 Bleem 53 84 Remco 64 81 DomNomNom 81 72 Zortea 42 57 DomNomNom 57 49 Forgo 25 22 Remco 22 15 Forgo 15 13 Mayumi 13 8 SteeleR 8 8 Mayumi 4 3 Mayumi 3 2 ricane 2
* Deals higher than 100 credits per unit were excluded from the chart (token and credit transfers).
A group of volunteers led by tedivm unveiled a curious project: a service to create player alliances www.leagueofautomatednations.com. Previously, there was only one way to recognize an alliance: by a common badge color. But now we’re seeing an explosion of coalitions thanks to a centralized index:
In our two previous reviews, we already mentioned the “Screeps United Nations” a group that’s increasingly gaining momentum. This is the most numerous fellowship of players (15 members) so far: a well thought-out statute and active recruiting do the job. It looks like only another alliance’s border can stop them from growing even larger. And now there is such a containing alliance in the South West with the same name, “Southwestern Alliance” with top players like Hernanduer and stybbe:
Also, very impressive is the alliance of central and North-Eastern parts, “The Culture”. It could be the most powerful one, looking at its ranks: Dissi, NhanHo, DarkTrooper7, Bovius, that is 4 out of ER Top 10. Plus, certainly, tedivm himself and others. We think the whole world has nothing to stop such a rally of behemoths.
Even if only you and your neighbor are cooperating, your alliance is perfectly legitimate, so step out of shadow and join the geography of commonwealths.
Another interesting news is the appearance of the Slack channel #thewarpath that watches all clashes live and a twitter ScreepsObserver. They let you witness interesting battles first-hand. As for our video of the month, here is a piece of how SUN secures his territory by completely wiping out Romus, who nevertheless staged a very clever resistance.One Republican lawmaker is saying he sees a pattern in the leaks that brought down President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
Speaking to national security columnist Eli Lake of Bloomberg View, Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, suggested that Flynn may be just be the beginning of Trump's inner circle fallen by enemies within the U.S. government.
'First it's Flynn, next it will be Kellyanne Conway, then it will be Steve Bannon, then it will be Reince Priebus,' Nunes told the right-of-center Lake, who then referred to Flynn as the 'appetizer' and the president as 'the entree.'
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Rep. Devin Nunes told Bloomberg View columnist Eli Lake that he's concerned about all the leaks and suggested 'it looks like a pattern'
One of the most notable things about the Flynn fall-from-grace story, Lake pointed out, was the fact that the contents of his conversation with Russian Amb. Sergey Kislyak were clearly monitored by the government, and then, so easily got out.
Bloomberg View columnist Eli Lake talked to Rep. Devin Nunes about the many leaks tripping up the Trump administration
At the time, Flynn was the incoming National Security Advisor, but his correspondence was seemingly monitored by the FBI or the NSA, Lake wrote.
'It's very rare that reporters are ever told about government-monitored communications of U.S. citizens, let alone senior U.S. officials,' Lake wrote.
Later he added, 'Normally intercepts of U.S. officials and citizens are some of the most tightly held government secrets.'
Not in this case, however, which caused Nunes to suggest that something really didn't smell right.
'There does appear to be a well orchestrated effort to attack Flynn and others in the administration,' Nunes told the Bloomberg View columnist.
President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned last night, over phone calls that he had with Russia's ambassador before the president was sworn in
WHO'S NEXT? Devin Nunes suggested those leaking dirt about Trump administration officials could come after Kellyanne Conway (left) next, followed by Steve Bannon (center) and then chief of staff Reince Priebus (right)
DINNER IS SERVED? As Rep. Devin Nunes listed off the administration officials who could be impacted by the bevvy of leaks, columnist Eli Lake considered them the 'appetizers,' with President Donald Trump playing the role of 'the entree'
'From the leaking of phone calls between the president and foreign leaders to what appears to be high-level FISA Court information, to the leaking of American citizens being denied security clearances, it looks like a pattern,' Nunes said.
Days after Trump conversed with foreign leaders, embarrassing details have leaked out, including that the president had to ask aides about a nuclear arms treaty, while on the phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and that he and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had a fraught back-and-forth over an Obama era refugee resettlement plan.
On Friday, one of Flynn's top deputies, Robin Townley, was denied a security clearance from the CIA, Politico reported, citing two unnamed sources, which prevented Townley from serving on the National Security Council.
Nunes told Lake he planned to ask the FBI to investigate the Flynn leak and find out if the outgoing national security advisor was the target of a law enforcement investigation. The Washington Post previously reported that Flynn was not being looked at by the FBI.
The New York Times reported that Flynn did have a conversation with the FBI over his conversation with the Kremlin representative, as they were concerned he didn't tell them the whole truth.
Lake pointed out that there were a number of places investigators could turn in sniffing out Flynn's, and the administration's, adversaries.
'Flynn was a fat target for the national security state,' the columnist wrote. 'He had cultivated a reputation as a reformer and a fierce critic of the intelligence community leaders he once served with when he was the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama.'
The Bloomberg columnist suggested the Flynn leak could be over partisan politics as well.
He reminded readers that Flynn became a national name when he spoke onstage at last summer's Republican National Convention in Cleveland, on the heels of being rumored to be Trump's veep.
'He was also a fat target for Democrats,' Lake wrote.< back
Instructions
Controls Use your arrow keys or [W,A,S,D] keys to navigate pacman. To pause / resume the game press [SPACE] or [ESC] or just click into the game area.
Controls Use swipe gestures to navigate pacman. Alternatively use the Arrow Buttons underneath the game area to navigate pacman. To pause / resume the game, touch the game area once.
Ghosts Ghosts are creatures that hunt pacman and will kill him if they catch him. Every ghost has its own strategy to chase down pacman. Inky Inky will stay in the ghost house until pacman has eaten at least 30 pills. His home is the bottom right corner. Blinky Blinky is the most agressive of the 4 ghosts. He will start chasing pacman right away, and aim directly at him. His home is the upper right corner. Pinky Pinky will start chasing pacman right away, he will always aim 4 fields ahead and 4 fields left of pacman. His home is the upper left corner. Clyde Inky will stay in the ghost house until pacman has eaten at least 2/3 of all pills. His home is the bottom left corner. Inky will stay in the ghost house until pacman has eaten at least 30 pills. His home is the bottom right corner.Blinky is the most agressive of the 4 ghosts. He will start chasing pacman right away, and aim directly at him. His home is the upper right corner.Pinky will start chasing pacman right away, he will always aim 4 fields ahead and 4 fields left of pacman. His home is the upper left corner.Inky will stay in the ghost house until pacman has eaten at least 2/3 of all pills. His home is the bottom left corner.
Ghost moods The ghosts have two different moods that change the way they act during the game. Scatter mood The ghosts have two different moods that change the way they act during the game. This is the default mood. When ghosts are in scatter mood, they will just go to their home corner and stay there. Chase mood After a certain time the ghosts change their mood and want to go chasing pacman. This is indicated through the walls turning red.
Items Pills The goal of every level is, to eat all the white pills without getting catched by the ghosts. One pill results in 10 points. Powerpills In every level there are 4 powerpills, which are a bit bigger than the regular ones. If Pacman eats those, he will get strong enough to eat the ghosts. You can see this indicated by the ghosts turning blue. One powerpill results in 50 points. Eating a ghost results in 100 points. The soul of the ghost will return to the ghost house before starting to chase Pacman again.BENGALURU: Anticipating a more protectionist U.S. technology visa programme under a Donald Trump administration, India's $150 billion IT services sector will speed up acquisitions in the United States and recruit more heavily from college campuses there.Indian companies including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro have long used H1-B skilled worker visas to fly computer engineers to the US, their largest overseas market, temporarily to service clients.Staff from those three companies accounted for around 86,000 new H1-B workers in 2005-14. The US currently issues close to that number of H1-B visas each year.President-elect Trump's campaign rhetoric, and his pick for Attorney General of Senator Jeff Sessions, a long-time critic of the visa programme, have many expecting a tighter regime."The world over, there's a lot of protectionism coming in and push back on immigration. Unfortunately, people are confusing immigration with a high-skilled temporary workforce, because we are really a temporary workforce," said Pravin Rao, chief operating officer at Infosys, India's second-largest information technology firm.While few expect a complete shutdown of skilled worker visas as Indian engineers are an established part of the fabric of Silicon Valley, and US businesses depend on their cheaper IT and software solutions, any changes are likely to push up costs.And a more restrictive programme would likely mean Indian IT firms sending fewer developers and engineers to the United States, and increasing campus recruitment there."We have to accelerate hiring of locals if they are available, and start recruiting freshers from universities there," said Infosys' Rao, noting a shift from the traditional model of recruiting mainly experienced people in the US"Now we have to get into a model where we will recruit freshers, train them and gradually deploy them, and this will increase our costs," he said, noting Infosys typically recruits 500-700 people each quarter in the US and Europe, around 80 percent of whom are locals.Trump's election win and Britain's referendum vote to leave the European Union are headwinds for India's IT sector, as clients such as big US and British banks and insurers hold off on spending while the dust settles.In India's IT hub of Bengaluru and the financial capital Mumbai, executives expect a Trump administration to raise the minimum wage for foreign workers, pressuring already squeezed margins.Buying US companies would help Indian IT firms build their local headcount, increase their on-the-ground presence in key markets and help counter any protectionist regulations.Indian software services companies have invested more than $2 billion in the United States in the past five years. North America accounts for more than half of the sector's revenue."We have to accelerate acquisitions," said Rao at Infosys, which in the past two years has bought companies including US-based Noah Consulting and Kallidus Technologies.Jatin Dalal, Wipro's chief financial officer, said his growth strategy is to buy companies that offer something beyond what Wipro already does, or new, disruptive firms - such as Appirio, a US cloud services firm.The chief executive of Tech Mahindra, C.P. Gurnani, said his firm, which two years ago bought network services management firm Lightbridge Communications Corp, is on the look-out for more US acquisitions, particularly in healthcare and fintech - financial technology firms that are disrupting traditional banking services.In a broader shift from labour intensive onsite projects, Indian IT firms are also turning to higher-tech services such as automation, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) platforms.With better technology and faster networks, IT firms are encouraging Western clients to adopt more virtual services.Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka says he has focused on automation and AI as growth drivers since 2014. "The AI platform is 5-6 percent of our revenues," he told Reuters. "Three years ago, it was zero."More automation would mean fewer onshore developers."The 'Plan B' would be to accelerate the trend... to reduce their reliance on people and increase their focus on delivering automation, leveraging the cloud for their clients," said Partha Iyengar, Gartner's head of research in India.Hillary Clinton is seen aboard the campaign bus in Cleveland on the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio.
July 31, 2016 Hillary Clinton is seen aboard the campaign bus in Cleveland on the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Melina Mara/The Washington Post
The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is the Democratic nominee for president.
The former secretary of state visits key states in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president.
The former secretary of state visits key states in her quest to become the Democratic nominee for president.
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Wednesday said that he does not believe Hillary Clinton is qualified to be president based on her acceptance of special-interest money, her support of free trade and her vote for the Iraq War.
Sanders’s blunt assessment at a raucous rally here came at the end of a day of testy exchanges between the two White House contenders in a race that Sanders has prolonged by continuing to win nominating contests, despite Clinton’s formidable lead in the delegate count.
Earlier Wednesday, Clinton launched a fierce two-pronged attack on Sanders, questioning her persistent challenger’s qualifications as a Democrat and for the presidency — although she stopped short of saying he was unqualified for the job.
Appearing at a rally at Temple University, Sanders told supporters that “Secretary Clinton appears to be getting a little bit nervous.”
“She has been saying lately that she thinks I am quote-unquote not qualified to be president,” Sanders said. “Let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton, I don’t believe that she is qualified if she is through her super PAC taking tens of millions of dollars in special-interest money. I don’t think you are qualified if you get $15 million through Wall Street for your super PAC.”
How Bernie Sanders won Wisconsin, in less than 60 seconds. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
“I don’t think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq,” he continued, referring to Clinton’s 2002 vote as a U.S. senator from New York.
Sanders also criticized Clinton’s past support of trade deals, suggesting that that also undermines her ability to be president.
Responding late Wednesday night on Twitter, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said Sanders had reached “a new low.”
Counting down to what has become a make-or-break Democratic primary in New York on April 19, the two campaigns traded other zingers Wednesday via speeches, interviews and social media.
“If you want to vote for me, I think you should know what I want to do, not just a lot of arm-waving and hot rhetoric,” Clinton said during a visit to a job-training program here.
The former secretary of state spoke with new urgency, reflecting both the shrinking window for underdog Sanders to overtake her in the nominating contest and a growing grudge match over which candidate can rightfully claim leadership of a restless Democratic electorate.
Sanders also threw some elbows Wednesday when he was asked during a CBS News interview whether he should apologize to victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre for voting for legislation that provided immunity to gun manufacturers — a position Clinton has continued to criticize.
This summer's political conventions could get heated – but it certainly wouldn't be the first time. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
“Maybe Secretary Clinton might want to apologize to the families who lost their loved ones in Iraq, or to the massive levels of destabilization we’re now seeing in that region,” said Sanders.
Earlier in the day, Clinton did not try to disguise her frustration with Sanders, which bordered on scorn.
“Like a lot of people, I am concerned that some of his ideas just won’t work, because the numbers don’t add up,” she told a union audience.
“Others won’t even pass Congress, or they rely on Republican governors suddenly having a conversion experience and becoming progressives,” she asserted to laughter. “In a number of important areas, he doesn’t have a plan at all.”
Sanders was set to address the same Pennsylvania AFL-CIO convention on Thursday, and both candidates were scheduled to return to New York after that. Although Pennsylvania offers a rich trove of delegates on April 26, it is the rough-and-tumble New York contest that both campaigns have cast as an essential test.
Sanders plans a news conference Thursday in Philadelphia to highlight his opposition to a series of “disastrous” trade deals that Clinton supported. He has pressed that issue, with some success, in industrial Midwestern states.
Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said that among the deals that Sanders will talk about is the Panama free-trade agreement. In a statement this week, Sanders blasted the deal, saying it had enabled thousands of corporations to evade U.S. taxes by using a law firm in Panama.
While Sanders was opposed to the deal from “Day One,” he criticized Clinton for reversing her position on the deal from opposition as a presidential candidate in 2008 to support while she was President Obama’s secretary of state.
That put Clinton on the defensive before union workers Wednesday, and she devoted a large section of her speech to a defense of her approach to trade.
Clinton has not been able to put the primary phase of the presidential campaign behind her despite holding a lead in overall votes and convention delegates from nearly the start of the contest. Sanders’s easy double-digit victory Tuesday night in Wisconsin was only the latest example of his staying power, while a fierce back-and-forth between campaign aides showed the increasing willingness to attack qualifications and character on both sides.
“D-E-L-U-S-I-O-N-A-L,” Fallon tweeted about post-victory comments from Weaver.
Clinton’s campaign never formally acknowledged the Wisconsin result. She spent Tuesday evening raising money in New York instead of holding a primary-night party.Her campaign ignored reporters’ requests for information about her plans ahead of time.
On Wednesday, the Clinton campaign gloated over Twitter at the New York Daily News front-page critique of Sanders’s comments and record on gun control. Clinton aides also made hay out of Sanders’s stumble in an editorial board interview with the newspaper over his signature promise to break up big banks.
“Let’s see how she does before the same editorial board,” Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said of Clinton.
Also Wednesday, Clinton implied that Sanders, a self-
described democratic socialist, is not a full Democrat and might not feel the same fealty to the party and its other candidates. The senator has always caucused with Democrats in Congress but is an independent.
“I think he himself doesn’t consider himself to be a Democrat,” Clinton said in an interview with MSNBC. “You know, look, he’s raised a lot of important issues that the Democratic Party agrees with, income inequality first and foremost. But it’s up to the Democratic primary voters to make that assessment.”
A Clinton loss in New York would bolster Sanders’s claim that he can still catch up to her and become the nominee, perhaps in part by convincing Clinton delegates that she no longer deserves their support.
The argument over who is or is not a Democrat is aimed primarily at elected Democrats, party leaders and activists, many of whom are already backing Clinton. As Sanders’s campaign has started talking about “flipping” Clinton delegates, she and her surrogates have begun to question Sanders’s commitment to the Democratic Party and to other elected leaders.
Clinton supporters note that Sanders has not raised money for the party. Her campaign has recently emphasized how she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, have worked for decades to support Democratic candidates.The point has become less subtle as Sanders’s recent string of caucus and primary victories — he has won six out of the last seven state contests — has eroded Clinton’s still-large lead among pledged convention delegates.
“I’ve been in the trenches for a long time, and I believe in electing Democrats up and down the ticket,” Clinton said in the MSNBC interview.
Weaver disputed Clinton’s contention that Sanders hasn’t helped Democrats in the past, saying he has both campaigned for them and helped raised money for them. Weaver cited fundraising letters Sanders had written for the arms of the Democratic Party that try to get members elected to the House and Senate.Stop Egypt’s Pinochet from murdering 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters!
26 March 2014
Monday’s death sentence handed down by a kangaroo court in Egypt to 529 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) marks a new stage in the military junta’s brutal efforts to terrorize and intimidate popular opposition.
The trial in the southern city of Minya was a travesty. Most of the accused were not present. The judge, a bloodthirsty lackey of the military, screamed insults at the few defendants who were allowed in the courtroom. Defense lawyers were barred from the court. The filthy proceedings lasted less than two days, and ended with more than 500 defendants being condemned to the gallows for the killing of one policeman.
The trial was staged for the sole purpose of providing a pseudo-legal cover for the state murder of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the main bourgeois political opposition to the military dictatorship.
With consummate cynicism, the United States and the European Union combined a perfunctory criticism of the death sentences with a declaration of support for the regime of mass murderers. Their “deep concern” and “shock” would not be permitted to undermine the “important relationship” with the junta. The European Union described “the death penalty” as “cruel and inhuman”, called upon “the Egyptian interim authorities” to apply “international standards” and stressed: “This is particularly important for the credibility of Egypt’s transition towards democracy.”
The junta has murdered thousands and is about to hang hundreds of its opponents, and the European Union has the gall to still talk about Egypt’s “transition towards democracy.”
Not wishing to be outdone, the US State Department, in a declaration that might have been penned by a master of black comedy, called upon “all parties and groups in Egypt to make sure that as their democratic transition moves forward, it’s done so in an inclusive manner.” The 529 condemned must await further instructions from Secretary of State John Kerry as to how they should “move forward” to democracy as they stand on the gallows with their hands tied and ropes around their necks.
The military would not have dared hand down the death sentences were it not confident that it is acting with the support of the Obama administration. Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is nothing other than a modern Egyptian version of the late Chilean dictator, General Augusto Pinochet. Like the former Chilean dictator, al-Sisi came to power in a US-backed military coup and has the support of the imperialist powers in erecting a fascistic military dictatorship and declaring war against the working class.
Following the US-backed 1973 coup against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, Pinochet—with the help of death squads, concentration camps and torture chambers—turned Chile into a bloody playground for international finance capital. Supported by the CIA and various US governments, Pinochet’s junta carried out killings and disappearances of political opponents, pushed through low wages and high interest rates and exploited a workforce at gun-point to generate maximum profits for a tiny ruling elite.
As in Chile, the Egyptian junta’s barbaric methods serve the interests of its imperialist patrons. The US and European governments supported the July 3, 2013 military coup and the junta’s subsequent repression of countless sit-ins, demonstrations and strikes. Since the coup—carried out amidst mass protests against Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Mursi—the junta has banned the MB, killed and jailed thousands of its supporters, issued an anti-protest law and enshrined its privileges in a new constitution.
With the backing of Washington and Brussels, the Egyptian military junta is seeking to extend its reign of terror to the entire working class and violently crush all strikes and protests at the behest of international finance capital.
This program was clearly spelled out by Egyptian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour. In a recent Reuters article titled “Egypt investors believe Sisi presidency will bring stability” he is quoted as saying:
“In the West, a candidacy and maybe the election of an army officer or an ex-officer to the presidency of a developing, third world country would raise eyebrows and call to mind the image of a Pinochet rather than a George Washington… a dictator rather than a reformer. [But] this country as it stands today needs a strongman that can pull it together... Law and order is good toward investment and toward the economy.”
International banks and investors have long been calling for Sisi’s installation as president. “I think most investors would say it doesn’t appear all that democratic, but it’s more stable, so my investment will be safer,” said Gabriel Sterne of Exotix, a London-based frontier market bank active in Egypt. A report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch last month described a potential Sisi presidency as “market-friendly in the near term”, and demanded a “crucial” loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Earlier this month, Sisi threatened years of austerity and suffering to the Egyptian working class: “Our economic circumstances, in all sincerity and with all understanding, are very, very difficult... Possibly one or two generations will [have to suffer] so that the remaining generations live.”
The escalation by the junta of its counter-revolutionary attempts to violently crush any opposition to its rule comes amidst growing signs of social conflict and a renewed explosion of working class struggles. On Monday, Democracy Meter, an Egyptian research center, reported that the number of strikes and protests in Egypt reached 1,044 in February, including doctors, textile workers, public servants, bus drivers and other sections of the working class.
According to media reports, five leaders of the postal workers strike in the coastal town of Alexandria were arrested at their homes in dawn raids on Tuesday. On the same day, Sisi praised a newly formed “anti-terror unit,” threatening that the army is capable of “doing the impossible.” According to the Egyptian Daily Al-Mary Al-Youm, he declared that “maximum effort has to be exerted to confront threats and challenges of the homeland’s national security.”
The death sentences and the junta’s preparations for an ever more direct fascistic dictatorship are a warning. It confirms that the ruling elite will stop at nothing and is ready to defend its class interests with the bloodiest measures against any challenge by the working class.
The International Committee of the Fourth International calls on the working class in all parts of the world to come to the defense of the condemned prisoners and the beleaguered Egyptian working class. Protests and demonstrations should be organized denouncing the imperialist-backed junta and demanding the annulment of the death sentences and the release of all the defendants.
Johannes Stern
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.The FBI released these photos of a man suspected of sexually exploiting a child. FBI officials hope someone recognizes details in the photos that could help identify the man.
The FBI is searching for a man suspected of sexually exploiting a child.
Referred to as "John Doe 28," the FBI released photos of the man, hoping someone might recognize specific details in the photos that could help identify him.
The FBI says the man and the victim were seen on video inside a residence with a blue sofa chair and a picture hanging on the wall. The picture may depict a landscape.
The man is also seen wearing wire-frame glasses and a burgundy t-shirt with what appears to be a shark logo. He appears to be a Caucasian man in his 30s or 40s with a receding hairline.
The images of the man can be found online at www.fbi.gov/wanted/ecap
There are no specific details linking the man to a particular state or region, officials said, and the man's whereabouts are unknown.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the FBI's toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit them online at tips.fbi.gov.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC ChicagoOTTAWA — Justin Trudeau has come out strongly in favour of a Chinese state-owned energy company’s effort to purchase Calgary-based petroleum producer Nexen.
Trudeau made the comments in an opinion column published in some Postmedia newspapers and websites Tuesday, arguing that China’s objectives are not “sinister” and that Canada is in an enviable position for engaging the Asian power.
“China has a game plan,” the Liberal leadership contender wrote. “There is nothing inherently sinister about that. They have needs and the world has resources to meet those needs.
“We Canadians have more of those resources — and therefore more leverage — than any nation on Earth.”
The Chinese National Offshore Oil Company’s $15.1-billion takeover bid for Nexen has become a sensitive issue for Stephen Harper’s government, which is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether it will accept the deal.
There has been concern — including from some Conservative backbenchers — that permitting CNOOC to take over Nexen represents a threat to Canada’s national security.
Others, however, have warned that rejecting the takeover will anger Chinese officials and scare off other potential foreign investors.
In his opinion article, Trudeau said Canada should use its natural resources to build a foundation for broad, long-term economic engagement with the Asian power — and approving the Nexen deal would go a long way to accomplishing that goal.
“Why is the CNOOC-Nexen deal good for Canada?” Trudeau wrote. “Because Chinese and other foreign investors will create middle-class Canadian jobs …. More fundamentally, it is in Canada’s interest to broaden and deepen our relationship with the world’s second-largest economy.”
Trudeau, who will be in Calgary Tuesday, said conditions should be attached to foreign investors that require them to abide by Canadian laws and operate in good faith. And he acknowledged that there will be national security concerns in certain sectors.
“However, in the CNOOC case, Chinese ownership of three per cent of oilsands leases hardly constitutes a national security issue,” he wrote.
“Most important, the big picture isn’t about CNOOC or Petronas, but the many opportunities like them that will follow in their footsteps.”
Malaysian state-owned energy company Petronas is awaiting word from the Harper government on its plan to take over Calgary-based natural gas producer Progress Energy after its initial proposal |
six individuals who were killed and celebrate the coming together across communities in Oak Creek. National organizations, such as the Sikh Coalition and South Asian Americans Leading Together, travel to Oak Creek to participate in community events and will this year engage in a Twitter town hall along with other advocacy organizations and provide coverage of events via Facebook Live. Simultaneously, new campaigns such as the National Sikh Campaign’s We Are Sikhs, have also launched to educate communities about the Sikh faith and work to safeguard religious freedom for Sikhs.
Protecting religious liberty for people of all faiths has always been at the core of the ACLU’s mission, both through legal action and public education efforts. We’ve worked in recent years to defend and advance Sikhs’ religious freedom in a variety of contexts, alongside organizations like UNITED SIKHS, the Sikh Coalition, and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Through these partnerships, we have, for example, won a landmark court victory for Sikhs who want to serve in the military; assisted Gurdit Singh, a mail carrier, at Disney World in receiving a religious accommodation; and supported Jagjeet Singh when he was barred from wearing his turban in a courtroom in Mississippi.
Motivated by the memory of those who died and were injured in Oak Creek five years ago, we will continue to work, both in and out of court, with Sikh communities to protect the religious freedom of Sikhs and all people. Too many lives have been destroyed by attacks like the one in Oak Creek. Too many people have suffered harassment and discrimination because of bigotry. Too many people live in fear when they should be able to freely practice their faith as our Constitution guarantees.
On August 5, and always, we stand in solidarity with Oak Creek, Sikh communities around the country, and every individual and faith community that has been targeted by hate—just as the community in Oak Creek has done for others.John Key has many questions to answer at his post cabinet meeting today, after refusing this morning to provide key information to back up his claims about ‘jihadi brides”, the Green Party said today.
The Green Party has revealed that the Prime Minister knew on May 25 2015 - six months prior to first introducing the notion of Kiwi “jihadi brides” at the December Select Committee hearing - that no women had left New Zealand to join fighters in the Middle East.
“John Key made a calculated statement six months later about so called ‘jihadi brides’ in an attempt to whip up fear and suspicion of Muslim women in New Zealand,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.
“The fear has real, everyday impacts on the lives of women living in New Zealand.
“After the Green Party’s latest revelations, John Key is refusing to answer or, conveniently, doesn’t remember basic information about the so called ‘jihadi brides’.
“After first seeding the notion of jihadi brides and whipping up fear of New Zealand Muslim women as a result, John Key has the obligation to clarify some basic points.
Firstly, how long had the women, if there was more than one, been living in Australia before they left?
“John Key says it’s irrelevant how long they were there, but that’s not true. He gave the impression that they’d been radicalised here. If they weren’t radicalised here, then New Zealand needs to know.
Did he ever ask, or was he ever told, that the women were travelling to the Middle East to marry terrorists? If so, how many went as so called brides?
“The Prime Minister is picking and choosing to release the information that suits his own particular narrative, regardless of the truth, and regardless of who he hurts,” said Mrs Turei.1
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I
Revelations to one who could not read a letter. Anno Domini 1373.
A Particular of the Chapters.
The first chapter, off the noumber of the Revelations particularly.
This is a Revelation of love that Jesus Christ, our endless blisse, made in
sixteen Sheweings or Revelations particular. Off the which, the first is of His
pretious coroning with thornys; and therewith was comprehended and specifyed
the Trinite with the incarnation, and unite betwix God and man soule, with many
faire sheweings of endless wisedome and teacheing of love, in which all the
sheweings that follow be grounded and onyd. The second is the discolloureing of
His faire face in tokenyng of His deareworthy passion. The third is that our Lord
God, almighty wisedome, all love, right as verily as He hath made every thing
that is, also verily He doith and workeith all thing that is done. The fourth is the
scourgeing of His tender body with plentious sheddyng of His blood. The fifth is
that the fend is overcome by the pretious passion of Christe. The sixth is the
worshippfull thankeing of our Lord God, with which He rewardeth His blissed
servants in Hevyn. The seventh is often feeleing of wele and wo. Feleing of wele
is gracious touching and lightening, with trew sekirness of endless joy. The
feleing of wo is temptation be heavyness and irkehede of our fleshly liveing, with
ghostly understanding that we arn kept also sekirly in love in wo as in wele be
the godeness of God. The eighth is the last paynes of Christ and His cruelle
dyeing. The ninth is of the likeing which is in the blissefull Trinite of the herde
passion of Christe and His rewfull dyeing, in which joy and likeing He will wee
be solacid and myrthid with Him till whan we come to the fullhede in Heavyn.
The tenth is our Lord Jesus shewith in love His blissefull herte even cloven on
two enjoyand. The eleventh is an hey, ghostly sheweing of His deareworthy
moder. The twelfth is that our Lord is most worthy being. The thirteenth is that
our Lord God wil we have gret regard to all the deeds that He hath done in the
gret nobleth of all things makyng and of the excellency of man makeyng, which
is above all His workes, and of the pretious asseth that He hath made for man
synne, turneing all our blame into endlesse worshippe; where also our Lord
seith, Behold and see, for be the same mightie wisedome and goodnesse I shall
make wele all that is not wele, and thou shalt see it. And in this He will we keepe
us in the feith and trowthe of Holy Church, not willing to wete His privityes
now, but as it longyth to us in this life. The fourteenth is that our Lord is
ground of our beseekeing. Herein were seene two properties: that one is rightfull
prayer, that other is sekir truste, which He will both be alike large, and thus our
prayers likyth Him, and He of His goodnesse fullfilleth it. The fifteenth, that we
shall sodenly be taken from al our peyne and from all our wo, and, of His
goodnesse, we shall come up aboven where we shall have our Lord Jesus to our
mede and be fullfilled of joy and blisse in Hevyn. The sixteenth is that the
blissefull Trinite, our Maker, in Christe Jesus our Saviour, endlessely wonyth in
our soule worshipfully reuland and geveand all things, us mightily and wisely
saveand and keepeand for love; and we shall not be overcome of our enemy.
II
The second chapter. Of the tyme of these revelations, and how shee
asked three petitions.
These Revelations were shewed to a simple creature that cowde no letter the
yeere of our Lord 1373, the eighth day of May, which creature desired afore three
gifts of God. The first was mende of His passion. The second was bodily seke-
nesse in youth at thirty yeeres of age. The third was to have of Gods gift three
wounds. As in the first methought I had sume feleing in the passion of Christe,
but yet I desired more be the grace of God. Methought I would have beene that
time with Mary Magdalen and with other that were Crists lovers, and therefore
I desired a bodily sight wherein I might have more knowledge of the bodily
peynes of our Saviour, and of the compassion our Lady and of all His trew lovers
that seene that time His peynes, for I would be one of them and suffer with Him.
Other sight ner sheweing of God desired I never none till the soule was departid
fro the body. The cause of this petition was that after the sheweing I should have
the more trew minde in the passion of Christe.
The second came to my mynde with contrition frely desireing that sekenesse
so herde as to deth that I might in that sekeness underfongyn alle my rites of
Holy Church, myselfe weneing that I should dye, and that all creatures might
suppose the same that seyen me, for I would have no manner comfort of eardtly
life. In this sekenesse I desired to have all manier peynes bodily and ghostly that
I should have if I should dye, with all the dreds and tempests of the fends, except
the outpassing of the soule. And this I ment for I would be purged be the mercy
of God and after lyven more to the worshippe of God because of that sekenesse;
and that for the more speede in my deth, for I desired to be soone with my God.
These two desires of the passion and the sekenesse I desired with a condition,
seying thus: "Lord, thou wotith what I would, if it be Thy will that I have it, and
if it be not Thy will, good Lord, be not displeased, for I will nought, but as Thou
wilt." For the third, by the grace of God and teachyng of Holy Church, I con-
ceived a mighty desire to receive three wounds in my life; that is to sey, the
wound of very contrition, the wound of kinde compassion, and the wound of
willfull longing to God. And all this last petition I asked without any condition.
These two desires foresaid passid fro my minde, and the third dwelled with me
continually.
III
Of the sekenese opteyned of God be petition. Third chapter.
And when I was thirty yers old and halfe, God sent me a bodely sekeness in
which I lay three dayes and three nights, and on the fourth night I tooke all my
rites of Holy Church and wened not a levyd till day; and after this I langorid
forth two dayes and two nights. And on the third night I wened oftentimes to
have passyd, and so wened they that were with mee; and, in youngith yet, I
thought great sweeme to dye; but for nothing that was in earth that me lekid to
levin for, ne for no peyne that I was aferd of, for I trusted in God of His mercy.
But it was to have lyved that I might have loved God better and longer tyme,
that I might have the more knoweing and lovyng of God in blisse of Hevyn. For
methought all the time that I had lived here so little and so short, in reward of
that endlesse blisse, I thought, nothing. Wherefore I thought, "Good Lord, may
my living no longer be to Thy worshippe?" And I understood by my reason and
be my feleing of my peynes that I should dye, and I assented fully with all - with
all the will of my herte to be at God will. Thus I durid till day, and be than my
body was dede fro the middis downewards as to my feleing. Then was I stered to
be sett upright, underlenand with helpe, for to have more fredam of my herte to
be at Gods will, and thinkeing on God while my life would lest.
My curate was sent for to be at my endeing, and by than he cam I had sett my
eyen and might not speke. He sett the cross before my face and seid, "I have
browte thee the image of thy maker and Saviour. Louke thereupon and comfort
thee therewith." Methought I was wele for my eyen were sett up rightward into
Hevyn where I trusted to come be the mercy of God, but nevertheless I assented
to sett my eyen in the face of the Crucifix, if I might; and so I dede. For me-
thought I might longer duren to loke even forth than right up. After this my
sight began to failen and it was all derke about me in the chamber as it had be
night, save in the image of the Cross wherein I beheld a comon light, and I wiste
not how. All that was beside the Cross was uggely to me as if it had be mekil
occupyed with the fends. After this the other party of my body began to dyen so
ferforth that onethys I had ony feleing, with shortnesse of onde; and than I went
sothly to have passid.
And in this, sodenly all my peyne was taken fro me, and I was as hele, and
namely in the other party of my body, as ever I was aforn. I mervalid at this
soden change, for methought it was a privy workeing of God and not of kinde,
and yet by the feleing of this ease I trusted never the more to levyn. Ne the
feleing of this ease was no full ease to me, for methought I had lever a be
deliveryd of this world. Than came suddenly to my minde that I should desyre
the second wounde of our Lords gracious gift, that my body might be fullfilled
with minde and felyng of His blissid passion, for I would that His peynes were
my peynes, with compassion, and, afterward, longeing to God. But in this I
desired never bodily sight nor sheweing of God, but compassion as a kinde soule
might have with our Lord Jesus that for love would beene a dedely man, and
therefore I desired to suffer with Him.
IV
Here begynnith the first revelation of the pretious crownyng of Criste etc.
in the first chapter, and how God fullfilleth the herrte with most joy, and
of His greate meekenesse; and how the syght of the passion of Criste is
sufficient strength ageyn all temptations of the fends, and of the gret
excellency and mekenesse of the blissid Virgin Mary. The fourth chapter.
In this sodenly I saw the rede blode trekelyn downe fro under the garlande hote
and freisly and ryth plenteously, as it were in the time of His passion that the
garlande of thornys was pressid on His blissid hede. Ryte so, both God and man,
the same that sufferd thus for me, I conceived treuly and mightily that it was
Himselfe shewed it me without ony mene.
And in the same sheweing sodenly the Trinite fullfilled the herte most of joy;
and so, I understood, it shall be in Hevyn withoute end to all that shall come
there. For the Trinite is God, God is the Trinite. The Trinite is our maker and
keeper, the Trinite is our everlasting lover, everlasting joy and blisse, be our
Lord Jesus Christ; and this was shewed in the first and in all, for where Jesus
appereith the blissid Trinite is understond, as to my sight. And I said, "Bene-
dicite, Domine." This I said for reverence in my meneing with a mighty voice,
and full gretly was astonyed for wonder and mervel that I had, that He that is so
reverend and dredfull will be so homley with a synfull creture liveing in wretched
flesh. This I tooke for the time of my temptation, for methowte by the sufferance
of God I should be tempted of fends or I dyed. With this sight of the blissid pass-
sion, with the Godhede that I saw in myne understonding, I knew wele that it
was strength enow to me, ya, and to all creturers leving, ageyn all the fends of
Hell and ghostly temptation.
In this He browght our blissid Lady to my understondyng. I saw hir ghostly in
bodily likeness, a simple mayde and a meke, young of age and little waxen above
a child, in the stature that she was wan she conceived with child. Also God
shewid in party the wisedam and the trueth of hir soule, wherein I understood
the reverend beholding that she beheld hir God and maker mervelyng with
greate reverence that He would be borne of hir that was a simple creature of His
makeyng. And this wisdam and trueth, knowyng the greteness of hir maker and
the littlehede of hirselfe, that is made, caused hir sey full mekely to Gabriel,
"Lo, me, Gods handmayd." In this sight I understoode sothly that she is mare
than all that God made beneath hir in worthyness and grace. For aboven hir is
nothing that is made but the blissid manhood of Criste, as to my sight.
V
How God is to us everything that is gode, tenderly wrappand us;
and all thing that is made, in regard to Almighty it is nothing;
and how man hath no rest till he nowteth himselfe and all thing for
the love of God. The fifth chapter.
In this same time our Lord shewed to me a ghostly sight of His homely love-
ing. I saw that He is to us everything that is good and comfortable for us. He is
oure clotheing, that for love wrappeth us, halsyth us, and all becloseth us for
tender love, that He may never leeve us, being to us althing that is gode as to
myne understondyng. Also in this He shewed a littil thing the quantitye of an
hesil nutt in the palme of my hand, and it was as round as a balle. I lokid there
upon with eye of my understondyng and thowte, What may this be? And it was
generally answered thus: It is all that is made. I mervellid how it might lesten, for
methowte it might suddenly have fallen to nowte for littil. And I was answered
in my understondyng, It lesteth and ever shall, for God loveth it; and so all thing
hath the being be the love of God.
In this littil thing I saw three properties: the first is that God made it, the
second is that God loveth it, the third, that God kepith it. But what is to me
sothly the maker, the keper, and the lover I canot tell, for till I am substantially
onyd to Him I may never have full rest ne very blisse; that is to sey, that I be so
festined to Him, that there is right nowte that is made betwix my God and me.
It needyth us to have knoweing of the littlehede of creatures and to nowtyn
allthing that is made for to love and howe God that is unmade. For this is the
cause why we be not all in ease of herete and soule, for we sekyn here rest in
those things that is so littil, wherin is no rest, and know not our God that is al
mighty, al wise, all gode; for He is the very rest. God will be knowen, and Him
liketh that we rest in Him. For all that is beneth Him sufficeth not us. And this
is the cause why that no soule is restid till it is nowted of all things that is made.
Whan he is willfully nowtid for love, to have Him that is all, then is he abyl to
receive ghostly rest.
Also our Lord God shewed that it is full gret plesance to Him that a sily soule
come to Him nakidly and pleynly and homely. For this is the kinde yernings of
the soule by the touching of the Holy Ghost, as be the understondyng that I have
in this sheweing: "God of Thy goodnesse, give me Thyselfe, for Thou art enow
to me, and I may nothing aske that is less that may be full worshippe to Thee.
And if I aske anything that is lesse, ever me wantith; but only in Thee I have
all." And these words arn full lovesome to the soule, and full nere, touchen the
will of God and His goodness. For His goodness comprehendith all His creatures
and all His blissid works and overpassith without end. For He is the endleshede,
and He hath made us only to Himselfe and restorid us be His blissid passion,
and kepith us in His blissid love; and all this is of His goodness.
VI
How we shold pray; and of the gret tender love that our Lord hath to mannes
soule, willing us to be occupyed in knowing and loveing of Him. The sixth chapter.
This sheweing was made to lerne our soule wisely to clevyn to the goodnes of
God. And in that time the custome of our prayeing was browte to mende, how
we use for lak of understonding and knowing of love to make many menys. Than
saw I sothly that is more worshippe to God, and more very delite, that we
faithfully pray to Himselfe of His goodness and clevyn thereto be His grace with
trew understondyng and stedfast be love, than if we made all the menys that
herte can thinke. For if we make all these menys, it is to litil and and not full
worshippe to God, but in His goodnes is all the hole, and there failith right
nowte.
For thus as I shall say came to my minde: In the same time we pray to God for
His holy flesh and for His pretious blode, His holy passion, His deareworthy
death and wounds; and all the blissid kindenes, the endles life, that we have of
all this, is His goodnes. And we pray Him for His sweete moder love, that Him
bare, and all the helpe we have of her is of His godeness. And we pray by His
Holy Cross that He dyed on, and all the vertue and the helpe that we have of the
Cross, it is of His godeness. And on the same wise, all the helpe that we have of
special saints and all the blissed company of Hevyn, the dereworthy love and
endles freindshippe that we have of them, it is of His godenes. For God of His
godenes hath ordeyned meanys to helpe us, wole faire and fele, of which the
chiefe and principal mene is the blissid kinde that He toke of the Mayd, with all
the menys that gone aforn and cum after which belongyn to our redemption and
to endless salvation.
Wherefore it pleaseth Him that we seke Him and worship be menys, under
stondyng and knoweing that He is the goodness of all. For the goodness of God is
the heyest prayer and it comith downe to the lowest party of our nede. It quick-
yth our soule and bringith it on life and makyth it for to waxen in grace and
vertue. It is nerest in kind and ridiest in grace. For it is the same grace that the
soule sekith and evir shall, till we know oure God verily that hath us all in
Himselfe beclosyd. For He hath no dispite of that He hath made ne He hath no
disdeyne to serve us at the simplest office that to our body longyth in kinde, for
love of the soule that He hath made to His owne likness. For as the body is
cladde in the cloth, and the flesh in the skyne, and the bonys in the flesh, and
the herte in the bouke, so arn we, soule and body, cladde in the goodnes of God
and inclosyd; ya, and more homley, for all these may wasten and weren away, and
the godenes of God is ever hole, and more nere to us withoute any likenes, for
treuly our lover desireth that our soule cleve to Hym with all the might and that
we be evermore clevand to His godenes. For of all thing that herete may thinke,
it plesyth most God and sonest spedyth, for our soule is so specially lovid of
Him that is heiest that it overpassyth the knoweing of all creatures. That is to
seyen, there is no creature that is made that may wetyn how mekyl, and how
swetely, and how tenderly our |
because - while the film was released 10 years ago - the technology is even older as it took four years to make.”
Hollander also revealed that Ratatouille, which like The Incredibles was directed by Brad Bird, also looks set for re-release in 3D.
“We have a version of Ratatouille, which works really well in 3D and we’re trying to figure out exactly what the release strategy for that will be,” he told delegates.
They would follow 3D re-issues of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 as well as Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc.
Hollander’s teams are also working on the 3D for Inside Out, the animated feature set inside the mind of a young girl, which is the next film from Up and Monsters Inc director Pete Docter.
“The movie is just pure magic,” said Hollander of the film, set for a June 2015 release. “We’re looking at how translucency and opacity is used, which plays really well in 3D.
“There’s not much more I can share about it but it will build upon our use of 3D, supporting ‘emotions’ and emotional moments.”
Hollander, who joined Pixar in 2000 as a modelling coordinator on Finding Nemo, has been working on 3D for the animation studio since 2008. The first film released by Pixar in 3D was Up, in 2009.
Regaining audience confidence
Outside of Pixar, he acknowledged that films unnecessarily released in 3D had hurt the medium.
“I think that we as an industry may have lost some of our audience for 3D with releases that didn’t beg for the medium or didn’t warrant the medium or didn’t use the median in a nuanced and sophisticated and comfortable way,” said Hollander.
“I think it’s possible that we drove some folks away from 3D with the higher ticket price or whatever else. But I also think that as the industry settles on a more nuanced approach, I really hope and believe that the audiences will return.”
New tech
He added that Pixar are investigating three new technologies: High Frame Rate, Ultra High Definition 4K and High Dynamic Range.
“Of those, the High Dynamic Range seems most interesting to us because there are entire worlds of colour that we’ve not been able to show you and not be able to represent in our films because of the limited colour space of the display technologies,” added Hollander.
“4K is also interesting to us - that added clarity. High Frame Rate isn’t something we’ve been digging into yet, we doing some testing but it’s not banging down our door and begging for us to use it right now.”
Young tool
He added: “[3D] is still a young tool and just as with colour or sound or any other thing we as a community have been learning how to apply it in the most effective way and we’re getting more sophisticated.
“Our usage of it is getting more nuanced and more delicate which doesn’t necessarily mean more conservative. I think we are as a studio are expanding our usage of it and we in an industry are kind of meeting it at a nice middle place which is working really well.”
Hollander was interviewed on stage at London’s BFI Southbank by Screen International.Conservatives bullied Ala Buzreba on social media when she was just 16 years old calling her “raghead slut” who should “go back to where she came from”, which prompted the Liberal candidate for Calgary Nose Hill to post the offensive tweets that eventually forced her to drop out of the race, according to her sister.
“These were grown up men and women well over the age of 35 year old picking on a 16 year old kid – telling her that she is invalid, a terrorist, corrupt, worth nothing, a raghead slut who doesn’t deserve life and has no place in Canadian society – that she should ‘go back to where she came from.’” Zehra Tajouri said in a Facebook posting. “These grown up adults with kids of their own were picking on a high school student and when that student replied to them in the same anger, they screenshot her response and victimized themselves as if they were innocent.”
Buzreba stepped down on Tuesday, a few hours after apologizing unreservedly for her offensive tweets, including telling a staunch defender of Israel: “Your mother should have used that coat hanger.”
In another occasion she responded to a racist tweet with “go blow your brains out you waste of sperm.”
“I apologize without reservation for the comments I made a long time ago, as a teenager, but that is no excuse,” Buzreba had tweeted in her apology before stepping down. “They do not reflect my views, who I am as a person, or my deep respect for all communities in our country.”
Buzreba has been receiving messages of support from the members of the public who have been critical of the way mainstream media failed to provide context for Buzreba’s offensive tweets.
“I was pissed they never reported why she went off,” Patrick Bell of Calgary said. “Typical mainstream media just gives you little bits of the story. You know she was provoked. She was also at a very tough age for a teenaged girl.”
“A classic example of quotes being taken out of context,” Calgarian Danny Hogg said. “I knew Ala at the University of Calgary, and she seemed like a very nice person. She has been completely misrepresented by the media. Who hasn’t said offensive things as a teenager?”An Ohio teen who sparked headlines from coast to coast when he asked a judge if he could have one last joint before going to jail was convicted Monday of marijuana possession, but acquitted on an additional charge of distribution.
During Monday’s courtroom hearing, Damaine Mitchell, 19, told Ohio Judge Melba Marsh that he needs “to cut back on smoking marijuana,” according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Cut back?” the judge reportedly asked. “Stop,” he replied. “I need to stop. I need treatment.”
The judge also asked if Mitchell was working in the jail’s kitchen to earn a reduced sentence. “I was just wondering if you were making brownies or something,” she reportedly said, drawing laughs from the audience.
Mitchell was arrested in June in possession of a single marijuana cigarette. Although he’s now clear of any marijuana charges due to his time already served, the teen is still in jail for trespassing after being arrested on his grandmother’s property. He was reportedly kicked out of her home for refusing to quit smoking marijuana.
Although marijuana withdrawal symptoms are relatively minor compared to harder drugs like cocaine or heroin, long-term users can expect to feel irritable, have trouble sleeping, and may experience sweating and weight loss as a result of quitting. Despite the drug itself being less toxic than aspirin, tar from smoke inhalation is known to cause bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer and other respiratory ailments.
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Photo: Shutterstock.com, all rights reserved.sport, local-sport, BFNL, grand, final, day, 2017, live, coverage, bendigo
– Refresh your browser for updates – Related – Dominant Dragons win A-grade flag Related – Senior footy grand final photo gallery Related – Strath storms to flag Related – Storm celebrations photo gallery Related – A-grade netball photo gallery Related – Under-18 football photo gallery Related – Reserves football photo gallery Related – A-reserve netball photo gallery Related – B-grade netball photo gallery Related – 17-and-under netball photo gallery Related – B-reserve netball photo gallery Related – Faces in the crowd Related – Wilson’s dream finish Related – Hawks rue missed chance Related – Lester gets his medal Related – First reserves flag for Storm Related – Strath young guns dominate 5.16pm: That’s it for the live blog, but keep checking the Addy website tonight for all the news and photos from a big BFNL grand final day. 5.15pm: The Bendigo Advertiser Premiership Cup is in Strathfieldsaye’s hands. 5.14pm: Wilson congratulates Eaglehawk and Josh Bowe. Wilson said the Hawks are on track to win a flag in next couple of years if they stick together. Wilson admitted he thought his team was shot. 5.12pm: co-captains Shannon Geary and Jayden Donaldson up on stage. The coach Darryl Wilson gets a huge cheer as well. 5.10pm: Massive cheer for Ben Lester. He missed the Storm’s first two flags because of injuries. 5.09pm: Now the individual premiership medals for the Storm. 5.07pm: Nalder Medal for best on ground goes to Strath Storm’s Kallen Geary. AFL Victoria Medal goes to Strathfieldsaye’s Lachlan Sharp. 5.04pm: Eaglehawk coach Josh Bowe congratulates Storm on victory. Thanks his team for the effort put in this year. “So proud of he way our boys went about it.” 5.02pm: Umpires presented with medals first. 4.59pm: Here we go with the presentations. They are live on Bgo Addy Sport Facebook page as well. 4.55pm: Eaglehawk players dejected, while the Storm players have been flooded by hundreds of fans. 4.52pm: The QEO is a sea of blue and white. 4.51pm: Lachy Sharp kicks five goals in final term and finishes with six for the match. 4.49pm: SIREN. Storm wins flag. Storm 13.10 (88) d Eaglehawk 7.14 (56). Storm kicked 9.1 to 0.3 in final quarter. 4.38pm: McPhee’s set shot for Hawks goes out of bounds on the full. Storm go coast to coast and Stringer goals in square. Storm by 14 points, 21 mins gone. 4.35pm: Sharp takes a big pack mark in the square. He kicks his 3rd for the final quarter and fourth for the game. Storm by 8 points. 19 mins into last term. 4.34pm: Storm by 2 points, 58-56, 17 mins gone. 4.31pm: Margin back to one point after another Hawks behind. 4.30pm: Sam Harper marks on the lead for Eaglehawk. His set shot from 30 out in front is a point to the right. Storm in front 57-55. 14 mins gone. 4.28pm: Storm in front. Ball spills to Sharp who slides home his 3rd from 10m out. 4.26pm: Sharp has been well held today, but when it counts he steps up with a brilliant left-foot snap. Hawks by just 3, 9 mins into last. 4.25pm: Sandhurst defeated Golden Square 45-40 to win A-grade netball premiership. 4.20pm: Bad turnover from Hawk Trent Bacon leads to Kallen Geary set shot. He goals and the Storm have all the momentum. Hawks by 8, 53-45. 4.19pm: Josh Formosa wins free kick for Storm inside 50. His set shot is a beauty. Storm get all-important first goal of last term. Hawks lead 53-39 after 2 mins. 4.18pm: Storm have moved Kallen Geary forward in a bid to add some class and run inside 50. 4.16pm: Ready to go for final quarter. Hawks with no loose man in defence. Can they win their first flag since 2008? 4.11pm: Big question is do the Storm have the legs after a tough finals series to generate a final term comeback? 4.10pm: Matt Filo misses a tough set shot from the boundary after the ¾ time siren. Eaglehawk goes into final term holding a 20-point lead. 7.11 (53) to 4.9 (33). 4.08pm: Sandhurst look home in the A-grade netball. 9 goals up on Square with a quarter to play. 4.04pm: Storm have steadied the ship, but they can’t find a way to score. Hawks by 19, 23 mins into 3rd. 3.57pm: Hawks teenager Joel Mullen calmly slots a 45m set shot and from the centre clearance the ball spills to Gretgrix who snaps his 4th. Hawks all of a sudden out to 51-32 lead. 3.55pm: Dubious free kick goes to Gretgrix and he kicks his 3rd. Hawks lead 39-32. 14 gone in 3rd. 3.52pm: Lachlan Wallace misses for Storm on run from 40. Margin back to 1 point. 3.51pm: Sharp marks on lead for Storm. Tough shot from deep in pocket, so he passes to Harry Conway. Conway misses to the right. Hawks 33 to Storm 31. 10 mins into 3rd. 3.50pm: Both teams making heavy work of it. Turnover after turnover. 3.48pm: Daly finds Saunders on the lead. Saunders kicks from 45 and misses to the right. He has 1.2. Hawks lead 33-30. 3.47pm: 5 mins into 3rd term. Hawks 32 lead Storm 30. 3.42pm: Back underway in third quarter. Hawks with the breeze. 3.39pm: Teams back on the ground for third term. Wind still strong to the city end. 3.30pm: Players in the running for Nalder Medal after first half. Eaglehawk – Josh Bowe, Jesse Collins, Tim Hill, Lachie Atherton. Storm – Kallen Geary, Jamieson Sheahan. Not many Storm players had big impact in first half. 3.29pm: Four goals kicked at each end of the ground so far. 3.26pm: It’s going to be a war of attrition today. Temperature around 30 degrees and the strong breeze making it tough on players. Might suit the Hawks better because of their fresh legs. 3.23pm: Half-time. Eaglehawk 4.7 (31) to Strathfieldsaye 4.6 (30). 3.21pm: Gretgrix marks for Hawks 30m out. His set shot is a point to the left. 31-29, close to half time. 3.16pm: 22 mins gone in 2nd term. Hawks 30 to Storm 29. 3.12pm: Another one to the Storm. Centre clearance kicked straight down Sharp’s throat and he goals from 35. Hawks by 2 points. 3.10pm: Much needed goal for the Storm off the boot of Brad Stringer. Ran into open goal off a stoppage. 30-22, Hawks in front, 16 mins gone. 3.07pm: Lachy Sharp misses an easy set shot. He has 0.3 and the Storm trail by 13. 3.05pm: Gedd Hommelhoff marks 15 out on a slight angle for the Hawks. Kicks the goal. Hawks out to game high 14-point lead. 29-15. 3.04pm: Congratulations to Kangaroo Flat on winning the A-reserve netball premiership. 3.02pm: Hawks doing everything right so far in 2nd term. Running hard into the breeze and defending stoutly when required. 3pm: 7 mins into second term, Hawks 22 to Storm 15. 2.55pm: Great running goal by Eaglehawk’s Riley Saunders to open second term. Hawks out to 7 point lead. 21-14. 2.52pm: Huge quarter coming up for Hawks. Can’t afford to let the Storm get the jump with the breeze. 2.47pm: Quarter-time: Eaglehawk 2.3 (15) to Strathfieldsaye 2.2 (14). Hawks in front, but Storm hold upper hand after restricting Hawks with the breeze. 2.46pm: Gretgrix marks and goals for Borough. He has 2 and his side is back in front 15-14. 2.44pm: Huge goal against the wind by Storm’s Matt Harvey. On the run from 40 out. Storm in front 14-9 late in first term. 2.42pm: Lachlan Sharp’s first shot for goal hits the post from 35 out. 9-8 Hawks up. 2.39pm: Brenton Conforti marks and has set shot from 45 for Borough. Misses to the right. Hawks up 9-7. 23 mins gone. 2.36pm: Advantage Storm after first 18 minutes. Held the Borough to just one goal. 2.32pm: Brad Stringer marks 15 out and kicks the Storm’s first. Hawks up 8-7, 14 mins gone. 2.30pm: Storm’s Fergus Payne couldn’t make distance from 40m with set shot because of the strong wind. 2.27pm: Borough champ Matt Gretgrix kicks first goal of grand final via a free kick in fwd pocket. Hawks up 8-1 and kicking with strong breeze. 11 mins gone. 2.25pm: wind playing havoc with kicking skills. It’s only early, but it looks like we’re in for low scoring day. Goal posts are shaking in breeze. 2.22pm: Eaglehawk’s Riley Saunders plays on from a mark, but his shot from 50 misses to the left. Hawks up 2-1. 2.20pm: Eaglehawk star Ben McPhee marks strongly on 50m line, but his set shot is wide. 1-1. 2.19pm: first score of the grand final is a point to the Storm. 2 mins gone in first term. 2.15pm: Eaglehawk captain Tim Hill wins the toss and Hawks will kick with the breeze. 2.11pm: Eaglehawk’s Matt Gretgrix having practice shots at city end. His shots from 45m out sailing through comfortably. 2.10pm: The wind has picked up even more. Crucial toss of the coin coming up. 2.07pm: National anthem time as the sun bursts through the clouds. 2.03pm: Both teams on the ground for senior grand final. 2pm: Bad news. The weather has turned. wind has really picked up. The team that kicks to city end will have a distinct advantage. 1.55pm: reserves presentation done and dusted. Now time to prepare for the big one. 1.50pm: Best on ground in reserves grand final goes to Strath Storm’s Zeb Murrell. 1.44pm: The presentations for the reserves grand final will be broadcast live on Bgo Addy Sport Facebook page. 1.43pm: Final siren. The Storm are reserves premiers. Strath 11.15 (81) d Eaglehawk 6.5 (41). 1.41pm: Couple of minutes to go before the Storm celebrate their second flag of the day. 1.37pm: 23 mins gone in final term of reserves. Strathfieldsaye 80 to Eaglehawk 40. Some great photos from Sandhurst’s 17-and-under netball grand final win over Maryborough. 1.32pm: 18 mins into final term and it’s the Storm 78 leading the Borough 40 in reserves footy. 1.27pm: two goals in a minute to the Borough. Storm’s lead back to 38 points, 14 mins gone in final term. Photo gallery from Kangaroo Flat’s B-reserve netball premiership. 1.23pm: 10 mins into final term of reserves grand final. Storm 72 to Eaglehawk 22. 1.21pm: Sandhurst leads Eaglehawk by 4 goals in extra time of the B-grade netball grand final. 1.17pm: Eaglehawk breaks drought with the first goal of the final term. Storm 70 to Borough 20. 1.16pm: Big crowd building at the QEO. Hopefully, we don’t get the high winds that have been forecast. Pretty steady at the minute. 1.13pm: Check out a photo gallery of Strath Storm’s under-18 grand final win. 1.09pm: ¾ time in reserves grand final. Strath Storm 10.9 (69) to Eaglehawk 2.2 (14). 1.05pm: Martyn snaps another and the Storm are running all over the Hawks. 69-14, 27 mins into 3rd. 1.02pm: Josh Martyn goals on the run and Storm lead is out to eight goals. Martyn has 3 today and 88 for the season. 1pm: Put down the glasses. Shaun Dwyer bangs another one home for the Storm. 55-14, 20 minutes into third term. 12.52pm: Storm look home now. Martyn goals from a set shot. Storm 47 to Eaglehawk 14. 12.45pm: Zoltan Smyth kicks his second goal to give the Storm a handy 26-point lead, 5 mins into the third term of reserves grand final. 12.44pm: Check out the faces in the crowd on grand final day. 12.40pm: Keep an eye out on the Addy website for photo galleries from today’s action. 12.32pm: Eaglehawk senior players meet in middle of the QEO. It’s pretty warm out there. Most players carrying a bottle of water. 12.28pm: Half time in reserves grand final. Storm 5.4 (34) to Eaglehawk 2.1 (13). 12.26pm: Josh Martyn kicks his first goal to extend Storm lead to 20 points. 12.22pm: The reserves game has come to life. The Storm 4.2 (26) to Eaglehawk 2.1 (13), 16 mins into second quarter. 12.14pm: Horror turnover from Keelan Payne leads to Tom Pontell kicking Eaglehawk’s first goal. 7-7. 12.12pm: Brenton Sharp kicks the first goal of reserves grand final, 4 mins into second term. Storm 7 to Eaglehawk 1. 12.05pm: Final team news for Strathfieldsaye. Tom Dowd channeled Collingwood’s Simon Prestigiacomo and made the decision he couldn’t play. Jack Neylon will play in his place. 12.03pm: quarter time in the reserves. It’s close, but it’s not a classic. Storm 0.1 (1) v Eaglehawk 0.1 (1). 12.01pm: 19 mins into first term and still no goals. Skills not great under grand final pressure. 1-1 the score. 11.53am: Eaglehawk 1 leads Storm 0, 11 mins into reserves grand final. 11.48am: No scores in first 7 minutes of reserves. 11.43am: First bounce in the reserves grand final. 11.31am: Ground being cleared as we wait for the reserves grand final teams to hit the turf – Strathfieldsaye warm favourites to defeat Eaglehawk. 11.27pm: The premiership cup is in the hands of the Strath Storm and the young fellas are loving it. Could it be the first of three flags for the Storm today? 11.22am: Rod Ashman Medal winner – Wade Donnan from Strathfieldsaye. AFL Vic Country Medal – Hunter Lawrence from Strathfieldsaye. 11.20am: Presentations now underway. 11.17am: Presentations held up by technical issues with microphone. 11.15am: To watch the presentations, go to the Bendigo Addy Sport Facebook page. 11.14am: 3 flags in a row for the Storm at under-18 level. Dominated from the first bounce today. 11.11am: SIREN. Strath Storm wins under-18 grand final. Storm 9.12 (66) d Sandhurst 5.4 (34) 11.05am: Another goal to Perez. This time a set from the Rifle Brigade pocket. 4 goals in a losing grand final side is a good effort. 11.03am: Consolation goal to Perez. He has 3. Storm 9.10 (64) to Sandhurst 4.4 (28). 10.57am: 17 mins into final term and the fizz has well and truly gone out of under-18 decider. Storm 64 to Sandhurst 22. 10.51am: A rare highlight for the Dragons. Oscar Perez with a brilliant left foot snap from the boundary. 64-19, 11 mins into last term. 10.41am: Storm’s Lachlan Gill caps a fine game with the first goal of the final term. Storm 62 to Sandhurst 13. 10.35am: Goals to ¾ time in under-18s. Strath: Sheahan 3, Forte, Lawrence, Cheesman, Donnan, Webster. Sandhurst: O’Farrell, Perez. 10.33am: ¾ time in under-18 footy and the Storm are on track to win a third-straight flag. Storm 8.8 (56) to Sandhurst 2.1 (13). Scoreless quarter for the Dragons. 10.25am: Tyson Webster nails a long set shot goal for the Storm. 55-13. 10.20am: Sandhurst premiers in the 17-and-under netball. 10.17am: Wade Donnan goals on the run from 45m out for the Storm. Storm 48 to Sandhurst 13. 15 mins into 3rd. 10.13am: 10 mins into third term and Storm leads 41-13. 10.08am: Caleb Sheahan snaps his 3rd goal and this game looks done and dusted. Storm by 27 points, 5 mins into third. 10am: Goals to half time – Strath Storm: Sheahan 2, Cheeseman, Lawrence, Forte. Sandhurst: O’Farrell, Pereze. 9.59am: Hard to see the Dragons reeling in the Storm in second half. Storm too much depth. 9.48am: 50m bomb from Sean O’Farrell seconds before half-time gives Sandhurst a lift. Storm 5.4 (34) to 2.1 (13) at half-time. 9.42am: Cooper Forte adds Storm’s fifth goal after a horror turnover by the Dragons. 34-7. 9.38am: Caleb Sheahan bangs home his second for the Storm. Strathfieldsaye 28 to Sandhurst 7. 9.34am: Oscar Perez finally gets Sandhurst’s first goal at the 6 minute mark of the second term. Storm up 22-7. 9.32am: Sandhurst struggling to break through Storm’s zone. Mitch Cheeseman goals from a downfield free kick and the Storm out to 21 point lead. 22 to 1. 9.20am: Quarter time in the under-18 footy and it’s all Strathfieldsaye. The Storm leads Sandhurst 2.4 (16) to no score. Lawrence and Sheahan the goal scorers. 9am: We’re up and about at the QEO, with the under-18 footy grand final and 17-and-under netball games underway. WELCOME to today’s live coverage of Bendigo Football-Netball League grand final day at the QEO. If you missed any of the Addy’s coverage throughout the week leading up to the big day, here’s a chance to catch up: SHARP BLOWN AWAY BY MEDAL HONOUR BOROUGH’S GREAT ESCAPE HAWKS HIT TRAINING TRACK AT QEO | PHOTOS PINS IN SUPPORT OF HOMELESSNESS GRAND FINAL A FIRST SINCE 2001 McGLASHAN’S SHOT AT 2017 BOROUGH FLAG DOUBLE UMPIRES SET TO TAKE CHARGE HAWKS FAVOURED AMONG COACHES HARD WORK PAYS OFF AS LESTER GETS HIS FLAG CHANCE STRATHFIELDSAYE GRAND FINAL TRAINING | PHOTOS BFNL GRAND FINALIST – EAGLEHAWK BFNL GRAND FINALIST – STRATHFIELDSAYE BFNL GRAND FINAL TEAMS THREE ADDED TO STORM SQUAD BFNL GRAND FINAL DAY SCHEDULE FINAL FLURRY FOR STORM COACH STORM, DRAGONS YOUNG GUNS TO BATTLE FOR FLAG FORWARD CONFORTI NOT A FISH OUT OF WATER HAWKS AND STORM SET FOR BFNL FLAG SHOWDOWN BENDIGO ADDY BFNL TEAM OF THE YEAR DRAGONS’ OLIVER WINS SECOND LEAGUE MEDAL SANDHURST NETBALL TRAINING | PHOTOS BULLDOGS STAR PREDICTS DRAGONS WIN TRANTER’S EYES ON ANOTHER BIG PRIZE MARYBOROUGH UNDER-17 NETBALL TRAINING | PHOTOS TOP HAWKS COACHING APPOINTMENTS SET NETBALL GRAND FINALS SQUADS GOLDEN SQUARE NETBALL TRAINING | PHOTOS IT’S TIME, SAYS DRAGONS PREMIERSHIP COACH MARYBOROUGH CHASING DROUGHT-BREAKING FLAG DRAGONS A STEP AWAY
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/shjDWP57NvFsN4SYJTNkJk/75fad7fc-10e9-435c-845b-c824aa9e0857.JPG/r0_650_3733_2759_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgVoter participation in Ferguson, Missouri, has been poor of late, with just 12% turnout in the most recent election. As the Rev. Al Sharpton, host of msnbc’s “Politics Nation,” said at the Greater Grace Church’s during Sunday services, “You all have got to start voting and showing up. 12% turnout is an insult to your children.”
With this in mind, as we discussed yesterday, some in the community have set up a tent in Ferguson to host a voter-registration drive. As one volunteer put it, “We’re trying to make young people understand that this is how to change things.”
When I noted this on Twitter yesterday, I was surprised by conservatives complaining about the voter-registration efforts. Apparently, I wildly underestimated how upset the right would be about this. Breitbart.com, a prominent far-right website, reported this morning, “Republicans are criticizing efforts by liberal organizers to set up voter registration booths at the site where Missouri teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by a local police officer.”
In an interview with Breitbart News, Missouri RNC executive director Matt Wills expressed outrage about the reports. “If that’s not fanning the political flames, I don’t know what is,” Wills said, “I think it’s not only disgusting but completely inappropriate.”
Wills is described by the RNC as the executive director of the Missouri Republican Party.
I’ll confess, it never occurred to me conservatives would describe a voter-registration drive as “disgusting.” It’s worth fleshing out how and why some on the right have reached this conclusion.
If I understand the Republican argument, the concern is one over exploitation – for Ferguson residents to host a voter-registration drive in the midst of protests is, as one critic put it, evidence of “liberals” using “racially divisive controversies for political gain.”
I’m not sure if there’s any evidence that “liberals” are responsible for registering people to vote, but that’s certainly one way to look at it.
That said, I hope those who are “disgusted” by the voter-registration drive will take a moment to consider a different perspective.
It’s become clear over the last week or so that many in Ferguson feel powerless and alienated in their own community. It’s led to a disengagement in public affairs, as evidenced by 12% voter turnout, and a powder-keg of frustration.
But some in the community have decided that this crisis can also be a wake-up call – those who want to make a meaningful difference have to overcome cynicism and complacency when it comes to civic affairs. Indeed, for all the anger that’s evident in this St. Louis suburb, some have decided to tell their friends and neighbors that it’s time to direct their frustrations into positive, constructive action.
And that starts with getting registered to vote.
That’s not exploitation. That’s also not “using” a crisis for “partisan gain.” If officials from the DNC were walking along Florissant Avenue, telling people to vote Democratic while avoiding tear-gas canisters, Republican criticism would be understandable.
But that’s not what we’re talking about here.
When it comes to civic engagement, there’s a small barrier to entry: getting registered to vote. Some in Ferguson believe it’d be helpful to channel local anger into a more engaged citizenry, all the while telling them that real change can and should come at the ballot box.Tech Report
Since Democracy was created, the voting system’s integrity is called into question. We have access to new technology, so why hasn’t the way we’ve voted changed? That is where Follow My Vote comes in. Follow My Vote is a block chain voting software that provides a secure online platform that aims to add complete transparency to the voting process.
Follow My Vote is voting software that can save taxpayer money and allows you to see the election in real-time. Voters log on with their unique voter ID and select the candidate they are voting for. Once that is done they can open the ballot box at any time, locate their vote and make sure it was cast as intended. But it goes a step further. The voter can return to the system at any time and change their vote before the election closes. This voting software could cut costs, increase voter turnout, make voting more accessible, and ensure that elections remain honest. What’s more is this process allows for real-time results so we can see the votes roll in as they occur, totally removing human error in tallying. Think about it for a second- this would completely change the way we experience an election. No more re-counts, no more bad integrity, just what the people want in real-time. More people would feel like their voice was actually being heard by the government. Follow My Vote is even an open source software which means the code can be audited. Their intention is to totally revolutionize the electoral voting process and weed out corruption by creating a digital paper trail.
Are you on board for changing the software we use to vote? For more information on Follow My Vote software go to followmyvote.com or search for Follow My Vote on Kickstarter.
Want to learn more about NewsWatch on the Discovery Channel? Like us on Facebook!By Jerry Jordan, Editor
The deal is finally done as Kurt Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing agree on an extension that will keep him behind the wheel of the No. 41 Ford Fusion, sponsored by Monster Energy.
“Having my hard work pay off by winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and the 2017 Daytona 500 has given me the drive to continue conquering the NASCAR world,” Busch said. “I am excited to enter the 2018 racing season as a Monster Energy athlete where I will continue to drive my favorite manufacturer, the Ford Motor Company. Knowing that SHR is committed to optimum performance, I believe that I have everything I need to win races this season and take home the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup. I look forward to taking on next year with my team, sponsors and determination.”
Busch, 39, has competed in the Cup series since 2001 on a full-time basis. Busch joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. During his time at Stewart-Haas, Busch has collected five wins, including the 2017 Daytona 500, 31 top-fives, 68 top-tens and six poles.
While inking a deal to continue racing at the top-level of NASCAR, Busch has recently signed with Livewire Entertainment in Orlando, FL to serve as his management agency.
“I am thrilled to be a part of Kurt’s team and to help elevate his career in and out of the NASCAR world where he has already made a big splash,” says Founder of Livewire Entertainment Joe Mulvihill, who assisted his long time clients Boyz II Men with their Las Vegas residency and hit Geico commercial.
Co-manager Whitney Fatone says, “Working with Kurt over the last few months, I’ve seen the incredible talent he has on the race track, and in so many other areas, that I look forward to sharing with his fans as we continue to grow his brand”.
Busch has also decided to harbor his burgeoning media career by hiring Hollywood agency ICM Partners. He will begin to appear on air through 2018 and has already met with a number of prominent networks to discuss roles in and outside of NASCAR.
Kurt will be represented by Matt Sorger and Lou Oppenheim who issued the following statement: “We are thrilled to be working with a premier talent such as Kurt and believe he has a long and great future in television ahead of him”.JACKSON, Miss. The recent Transportation Security Administration pat-down of a foreign diplomat at Jackson-Evers International Airport has upset state hosts and elected officials. Meera Shankar, Indian ambassador to the United States, was in Jackson last weekend as a guest of the Janos Radvanyi Chair in International Security Studies at Mississippi State University. While in town, Shankar met with Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, representatives from the Mississippi Development Authority and members of the Indian community in Jackson, and she spoke to more than 100 people at the Executive Lecture Forum of Jackson. But her departure is what has many concerned. New TSA regulations went into effect Nov. 1 allowing federal security officers at airports to switch to more thorough — but often controversial — "pat-downs" for passengers who require hand searches. Shankar presented her diplomatic papers to officers and was escorted by an MDA representative and an airport security officer, but witnesses said she was subjected to the hands-on search. "The way they pat them down — it was so humiliating," said Tan Tsai, a research associate at MSU's International Security Studies center who witnessed the screening. "Anybody who passed by could see it." Calls and e-mails to the Indian Embassy in Washington were |
instruments tackle housing cycle risk from different perspectives and can be seen as complements. The LVRs, which are already in place, help to reduce the impact of mortgage defaults on bank earnings by increasing the security coverage on housing loans. LVRs also tighten up banks’ lending conditions, potentially leading to a slow-down in credit growth and house price inflation for a period.
Debt-to-income ratios have been used internationally but not yet in New Zealand. DTIs aim to improve the safety of borrowers’ balance sheets, thereby reducing the likelihood of mortgage defaults in a downturn. In particular, debt-to-income limits are intended to better equip borrowers to continue servicing mortgages in the face of income losses and/or increases in interest rates. DTIs, like LVRs, tighten credit conditions, resulting in some brake on credit and house price inflation.
Capital overlays, like LVRs, improve the capacity of banks to absorb losses from mortgage defaults in a downturn. Additional capital requirements might also slow credit growth as banks adjust to higher equity funding.
How might these macro-prudential instruments assist in the context of the current housing market imbalances?
The original 2013 LVR restrictions (requiring a maximum 80 percent LVR for most mortgage borrowers) and the Auckland investor LVRs brought in last year (reducing Auckland investor LVRs to a maximum of 70 percent), have had the intended effect of making bank balance sheets more resilient to a potential housing downturn. Together with the Government’s October 2015 tax measures, the Auckland investor LVRs also helped to reduce Auckland house price inflation from its peak of 27 percent pa in September 2015 to 12 percent in May 2016.
As discussed earlier, we have recently seen spill-over effects in the regions close to Auckland and a more general resurgence in housing market pressures across the country. The proportion of sales to investors nationally has grown from 34 percent in January, to 39 percent in May this year. LVRs on new investor lending have reduced significantly, but new credit commitments to investors have recently been growing about twice as fast as for the overall market. Investors have effectively used equity generated by increased valuations on their existing portfolios to raise the larger deposits needed for new acquisitions.
The Reserve Bank has a range of policy options available. One is tighter LVRs to counter the growing influence of investor demand in Auckland and other regions, and to further bolster bank balance sheets against a housing market downturn. Given the growing housing market pressures across the country, one approach would be to adopt a single national LVR limit for investors. Given that the banks have much of the relevant systems work in place, we expect that such a measure could potentially be introduced by the end of the year.
Another option is a new debt-to-income (DTI) speed limit to complement the LVR requirements by improving the resilience of household balance sheets to income or interest rate shocks. A DTI limit would make defaults less likely in a downturn. Furthermore, a DTI and LVR in combination would constrain credit growth and house price pressures on a more sustainable basis than would LVRs alone. A DTI would be a new instrument that would need to be agreed with the Minister of Finance under the Memorandum of Understanding on Macro-prudential Policy. Adoption would require more analysis and systems preparation than an extended LVR. We intend to consult with the banks on the viability of a DTI policy and data issues before making a decision on implementation.
A third option is a housing capital overlay. The Reserve Bank has already indicated that it will be conducting a full review of bank capital requirements over the coming year. We will consider whether macro-prudential overlays have a role to play as part of that process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Reserve Bank is concerned about the risks to financial and economic stability inherent in the growing housing market imbalances. Auckland pressures are re-emerging following an easing in the market from late 2015, and house price inflation has accelerated in a number of regions.
The causes of the imbalances are complex with a number of important drivers on both the demand and supply side. Addressing these imbalances will require policy action by a variety of agencies on a number of fronts. The underlying housing shortage needs to be urgently addressed, particularly in Auckland where population growth continues to outstrip housing construction. A step up in supply is required and finalisation of the Auckland Unitary Plan will be a key opportunity to facilitate such a step.
On the demand side, the key drivers are population growth and easy credit. The low cost of credit is making higher debt levels affordable, particularly for investors who can deduct interest costs from taxable income. Residential investors are accounting for an increasing share of house sales and new mortgage credit.
The Bank’s interest rate policy must have regard to financial stability concerns, but the global environment is likely to keep interest rates low for some time yet. Macro-prudential policy can assist in containing the growing risk to financial stability as the current housing market reaches new extremes. In light of the growing risk, the Reserve Bank is closely considering measures that could be progressed in the coming months.
References
Cox, W and Pavletich, H. ‘12th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. Rating Middle-Income Housing Affordability’ Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey (2016 Edition: Data from 3rd Quarter 2015)
Mohommad, A., Nyberg, D., and Pitt, A. ‘New Zealand: selected issues’. IMF Country Report 16/40, February 2016
Andrews, D., Sanchez, A.C. and Johansson, A. ‘Housing Markets and Structural Policies in OECD Countries’. OECD Economics Department Working Paper No. 836 January 2011
Spencer, G. ‘Action needed to reduce housing imbalances’. Speech delivered to the Chamber of Commerce in Rotorua, 15 April 2015.
Cox and Pavletich (2016)
3 Mohommad, Nyberg, and Pitt (2016)Update: Right after posting this I received quite a bit of feedback in defense of regular loading spinners. Some valid arguments in favor are summed up nicely in this Hacker News thread:
Cursors won’t work on touch devices of course.
Wait cursors might be too easily associated with a frozen browser/system.
A spinner may indicate more clearly which part of the interface is updating.
So think carefully before applying the following technique on a large scale. It might be suited in specific conditions though.
There are loads of funky “loading” animated gifs out there, and these days I also encounter a few CSS spinners. But a technique I haven’t seen a lot is simply using the cursor property to convey the message.
Desktop apps usually use the cursor to indicate that users have to wait. Most of the time the cursor is exactly where the user is looking, so they won’t miss the message. Browser support for cursor is very good too.
You shouldn’t solely rely on the cursor – graying out the loading parts of the interface works well too – but for your next web app you could try slapping a loading class to your body, or any other element, and using
body.loading { cursor: wait; }
You might have to explicitly add form elements and links to the selector, so they don’t trigger the default or pointer cursor. Adding!important won’t work. So something like this:
body.loading, body.loading input, body.loading a { cursor: wait; }
Here’s a quick demo. You can use other cursors as well, or even a custom one with the url(...) value – although animated images won’t work, and other restrictions apply.
cursor tricks cssA little more than a year since the Republican Women's Policy Committee officially launched, Chairwoman Renee Ellmers of North Carolina on Monday announced the committee's new Web presence and social-media platforms.
"We are proud to introduce an engaging platform for people across the country to learn about our work in Congress and how we are bringing a women's perspective to the important issues facing our nation," Ellmers said in a statement of what she hoped to accomplish through a more active Facebook page,
, Twitter handle and
and YouTube repository of the 19 members' TV spots. "I'm dedicated to growing this committee."
Ellmers ascended to the helm of the Republican Women's Policy Committee at the start of the 113th Congress. It was founded several months earlier, in May 2012, by then-Rep. Mary Bono Mack — the seven-term California Republican was, incidentally, defeated for re-election several months after that, in November.
According to its official mission statement, the purpose of the committee is for "influencing, advancing, leading, and communicating the Republican agenda in the House of Representatives... from a woman's perspective."
from a woman's perspective
Republican leaders have been working to close the gender gap at the higher levels of the leadership rungs: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., was named chairwoman of the House Republican Conference at the start of this Congress, and Reps. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., and Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., were elected conference vice chairwoman and secretary, respectively.
But as far as activity from the Women's Policy Committee, things have been fairly quiet, something Ellmers said in her statement Monday she hopes to correct in the months ahead.
It would likely be greeted with enthusiasm from Bono Mack in particular: In a recent CQ Roll Call interview, she said the House GOP needs to make a more concerted effort to bring women to the negotiating table to influence and weigh in on the issues of the day.
"Leadership needs to engage all of the women in the conference and get their opinion and input on every bill," Bono Mack said. "There was never an effort that I was aware of — and I was chair of the Republican Women's Policy Committee — to come to the women in the House and talk about a bill, how it could be improved."(CNN) -- Religious groups in favor of health care reform have launched a national campaign to offset the loud opposition to President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's health care system, organizers announced.
Health care reform opponents have confronted lawmakers at town halls, including this one in Tampa, Florida.
"This is as much a crisis of faith as it is a crisis of health care," said the Rev. John Hay Jr., an Indianapolis, Indiana, evangelical leader.
"We just believe there is a better way."
He and others spoke in a telephone news conference Monday announcing the campaign.
"As a pastor, I believe access to health care is a profoundly moral issue," said the Rev. Stevie Wakes of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kansas.
The campaign, called "40 days for Health Reform," includes a national television advertisement, a "sermon weekend," prayer meetings and a nationwide call-in with Obama on August 19, organizers said.
Prayer meetings emphasizing health care as a moral issue were taking place Tuesday in 45 cities across 18 states, organizers said. They expected about 4,000 people to participate.
"Healing and health are fundamental religious issues," said the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners, one of the sponsors of the campaign along with PICO National Network, Faith in Public Life, Faithful America and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.
Wallis stressed that participants in the campaign are not going to weigh in on particular policy questions. "It isn't political in a partisan way," he said. "This is a fundamental moral issue.... You're going to hear the moral drumbeat of the faith community."
Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, who also spoke on the conference call, said the current system "doesn't work for everyone."
Other groups, such as the Christian Coalition of America and the Family Research Council, are strongly opposed to Democratic proposals to overhaul the health care system, saying, among other things, that they would lead to government-funded abortion.
"We don't want abortion to enter this debate and sabotage health care reform," Wallis said. He noted the legislation now being discussed on Capitol Hill is far from a final version.
Opponents of health care reform proposals have confronted U.S. lawmakers at town hall meetings in recent days, drawing heavy media attention with their boisterous protests.
All About Health Care Policy • Health Care Issues • Health Care CostsGame of Thrones star Peter Dinklage may be headed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor who plays Tyrion Lannister is being eyed for a pivotal role in the upcoming epic crossover event film Avengers: Infinity War. Hit the jump for more info on the possible Peter Dinklage Avengers: Infinity War casting.
Variety has learned that Dinklage is in talks to join both Avengers: Infinity War and the yet-to-be-titled Avengers sequel (which we will just refer to as Avengers 4 for now). The fact that Game of Thrones moved its eighth season shoot from summer to fall has created an opening in Dinklage’s schedule. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 are expected to film back-to back begining sometime in early summer 2017.
As for what character Peter Dinklage will play, that is unknown at this time as plot details are being kept tightly under wraps. Josh Brolin is on board to play mega-villain Thanos, and we would assume that Dinklage is playing another antagonist in the film. Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld, who we should note is not involved in the production, took to Twitter to predict that Dinklage may be playing Pip in the upcoming films:
Peter Dinklage/PIP Makes ALL THE SENSE!! pic.twitter.com/SNegWRiUha — robertliefeld (@robertliefeld) January 11, 2017
Pip the Troll was introduced by Jim Starlin in Strange Tales vol 2 #179 which was published in February 1975. He was created to be an antagonist of Adam Warlock, but he went on to cross path with other Marvel superheroes. In fact, Pip played a role in the 1991 Infinity Gauntlet crossover which Infinity War is loosely based upon, and returned for the Infinity War, Infinity Crusade, and Blood and Thunder crossovers. According to Wikipedia:
Pip was once Prince Gofern of the planet Laxidazia, in the Dolenz System. He was originally an alien of the Laxidazian race who became physically and psychologically mutated into a morally degenerate, stunted, satyr-like form known as a “troll” during a bout of drunkenness brought on by a mutagenic hallucinogenic ale. Like all Laxidazian trolls, After his transformation, his people, also sick of his lewd, lecherous, and hedonistic behavior, strip him of his office and rank. He stows away on a spaceship and continues his life of debauchery. Pip meets Adam Warlock, whose alternate future self the Magus would become the leader of the Church of Truth. Pip teamed up with Warlock to escape and go on adventures. Pip then meets the green-skinned Gamora. Pip meets Thanos, and alongside Warlock, Gamora, and Thanos, he battles the Magus and the Universal Church. Pip revealed how he was transformed into a troll. … Pip explored one of Thanos’ old hideouts and discovered not Adam, but Thanos himself. Thanos destroyed Pip’s mind, but Adam was able to absorb Pip’s soul into the Soul Gem (killing his mindless body, but restoring full mental function to his soul), reuniting him with the spirits of Gamora and eventually Adam Warlock in Soulworld within the Soul Gem.
Other fans believe that Dinklage may be playing supervillain MODOK (Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing), but that’s probably an assumption based on his size.
It is worth noting that Peter Dinklage would join a select group of actors which includes Chris Evans who have worked on Marvel movies on both sides of the Fox/Marvel Studios divide. Dinklage played Bolivar Trask in X-Men: Days of Future Post, a doctor who develops the Sentinels.Supporters cheer US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on September 21, 2012.
Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/GettyImages
The economic policy failures of the Obama administration are real enough, especially in terms of how they’ve dealt with housing and foreclosure policies, so it was a little surprising to me that Mitt Romney released a new housing policy document during the Friday afternoon news dump period.
But when you read the plan, their motivation gets clearer. This for example is just embarassing:
End “Too-Big-To-Fail” And Reform Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac: The Romney-Ryan plan will completely end “too-big-to-fail” by reforming the GSEs. The four years sincetaxpayers took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, spending $140 billion in the process, is toolong to wait for reform. Rather than just talk about reform, a Romney-Ryan Administration will protect taxpayers from additional risk in the future by reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Macand provide a long-term, sustainable solution for the future of housing finance reform in our country.
The idea of “ending” “too-big-to-fail” is a great political slogan since it’s super-popular and nobody’s ever quite sure what it means. But there’s no possible meaning under which this makes sense. Back in 2008, the feeling among leaders in both parties was that if something terrible happened to Citi or JP Morgan or Bank of America or Goldman Sachs the best policy response was to inject new public money into the capital structure rather than liquidate the enterprise. If in 2018 the same thing happens again is something different going to happen?
Reforming the GSEs has literally nothing to do with this. It’s as if the Obama administration were claiming that they’re going to end traffic jams with their new health care bill.
And yet this is a really crucial question. Obama’s answer is that, yes, something different will happen in 2018. Their answer is that under the new Dodd-Frank regulatory regime it will be possible to liquidate such an enterprise without unduly damaging the economy. Whether or not they’re right about this is a critical issue, as is whether or not there’s a better path forward. Romney’s take on the better path is this:
By replacing the Dodd-Frank Act with sensible regulation, a Romney-Ryan Administration will usher in a new era of responsible lending with sensible regulation to allow banks to approve loans to families with good credit rather than rejecting their mortgage application.
That’s just bad writing, you can’t say “sensible regulation” twice in one sentence. And more to the point, if you don’t tell the public anything about the content of the regulations you’re proposing how are we supposed to assess whether or not it’s sensible?
The trajedy here is that GSE reform is a fine idea. Conservatives have been pushing it for years and they’re right. The virtue of this proposal is that it was as right in 2002 or 1992 as it is today. But that’s also the problem. There’s nothing wrong with pushing your team’s Old Faithful policy ideas during an election, but given the economic context you’d expect to hear some ideas that are tailored to the particular circumstances of today. Instead we’re just getting a copy-and-paste approach to policy, where evergreen conservative ideas are plopped in to address whatever the topic is.The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been enmeshed in an internal staff battle for more than two years, with accusations of racism, document tampering and the hoarding of information from committee members flying back and forth, according to interviews with current and former committee staffers backed up by emails and memos leaked to the Huffington Post.
The drama has unfolded as Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has made a virtual punching bag out of the White House and Treasury Department. Democrats have made a campaign issue of Issa, warning that if Republicans take the House he'll have subpoena power and his staff will double.
The main dispute is between a subcommittee staff director and a subcommittee clerk, with partisans of each dragged into the dispute, according to emails reviewed by HuffPost. The clerk, Jean Gosa, who has been a Hill staffer for more than 35 years, is now the subject of a personnel complaint and could be terminated within the week, according to a memo she wrote to the committee's chairman, Ed Towns (D-N.Y.). "Jaron Bourke filed a personnel complaint against Jean Gosa. The complaint is currently under investigation. No decisions have been made," said committee spokeswoman Jenny Rosenberg in a statement to HuffPost, declining to comment further.
Gosa, responded in a June memo to Towns with accusations that staff director Bourke kept documents from the chairman and ranking member of the committee during one hearing, though the documents were provided to the press, according to emails signed by Gosa and obtained by HuffPost. Bourke, through an attorney, denies the accusations.
Bourke has a long and distinguished record as a top progressive staffer. "She's totally not credible. She's basically making things up to smear him," Bourke's attorney Betty Grdina said, arguing that printing Gosa's accusations would constitute libel. "It's a totally bullshit charge."
Indeed, the credibility of at least one of Gosa's charges is questionable. Gosa, in her memo to Towns, denies that she called another staffer an "ass." HuffPost spoke with the staffer in question, who asked not to be named: The aide said that Gosa did indeed swear at her, but called her an "asshole."
While making her accusations in the memo, Gosa admitted, perhaps accidentally, that she proposed doctoring testimony submitted as part of the congressional record. According to Gosa's recollection as laid out in the memo she sent to Towns on June 17, 2010, Towns had allowed material to be submitted for the record within five days of a particular hearing. When materials came in beyond that timeframe, Gosa suggested changing the dates to allow it to be submitted, she wrote.
"Jaron made a false claim that I wouldn't insert appropriate materials into the hearing record," she wrote in the memo. "The incident that he is referring to was when the Chairman stated that there was 5 days to submit additional testimony after a hearing. Materials would come in months later with the wrong dates and I explained to Jaron that they would have to change the date closer in the range of the 5 days that the Chairman allotted not several months later." There is no evidence that Bourke allowed her to change the dates.
Gosa was considering airing the committee's laundry in the press by May of this year, according to the emails reviewed by HuffPost. "I called my 1st Member and he thinks I should give all of this documentation to Mr. Issa and my cousins in Dennis district to give to the papers and even the Hill papers," she wrote in an email, reviewed by HuffPost, to Linda Good, deputy chief clerk on the committee. The discord had gotten to the point where Gosa, in the emails to coworkers, would complain that the panel was run as a "plantation," and make repeated use of terms such as "slave" and "overseer."
The tension stretches back at least to March 2008, according to an email reviewed by HuffPost that was written by then-new staff assistant Charisma Williams. She told the staff director of a separate subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), that "[t]here seem to be some really shady things going on in here and I'm fearful that if I even casually associate with the wrong person, even for a brief moment of time, that I may be sucked into whatever madness is going on over my head." (Williams declined to comment.)
The feud between Bourke and Gosa goes back at least to February 2009, when Gosa complained to her friend and fellow staffer Noura Erakat -- then counsel on the committee and now a professor at Georgetown and a HuffPost blogger -- about the office environment, a complaint Erakat sustained in response according to the emails. Both Gosa and Erakat -- an African American and Palestinian American, respectively -- complained of racial tensions on the committee in emails to each other that were among those obtained by HuffPost.
The infighting has been going on while the committee's ranking Republican, Issa, has been making a name for himself by targeting the White House in probe after probe. A front-page New York Times story on Issa as Obama's "Annoyer-in-Chief" doesn't include mention of Towns, who has largely been absent from the national conversation.
That's a sharp departure from the legacy left by former Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who used the committee's gavel to flatten Bush administration officials and heads of corporations that found themselves subject to his scrutiny. In general, it's easier to make public headway with the committee when the opposing party controls the White House. Sensing that the committee's usefulness to Democrats was nearing its end, and hoping to lead the legislative charge, Waxman gave up the chairmanship in pursuit of the Energy and Commerce Committee gavel following Obama's election.
Towns was next in line to take over. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) jockeyed for the chairmanship, but Towns' seniority trumped them, despite a past that would not make him the obvious choice to run a committee dedicated to investigating corruption.
Towns, who represents Brooklyn, was once himself the subject of a federal investigation. Though never indicted, Towns was caught on camera pocketing $1,300 during a covert meeting with Salini Construction Company executives, back when he first ran for Congress in 1982. He returned the cash a few days later, after reportedly being tipped off that the construction company executives were actually undercover cops. Towns has offered a number of explanations for returning the money, initially claiming it exceeded the $1,000 limit for corporate campaign contributions, and later asserting he returned the money because it was given in cash, which violates federal law.
The oversight committee has little interest in embarrassing a president of its own party, but that doesn't preclude a chairman from investigating corporate abuses. On the committee website under investigations related to "corporate accountability," the most recent link sends users to a January 13, 2010 press release inviting Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to testify at an AIG counterparty hearing. Since then, Goldman Sachs has been charged with defrauding investors and subsequently settled that case with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Towns' defenders are quick to note that his committee has held more hearings since January than the Senate's oversight panel and far more than Waxman's Energy and Commerce Committee. But the panel has lost the media battle to Issa, a fight for attention that has real consequences: The more media attention one side or the other can win, the more likely it is the press will focus its attention following one side's preferred path.
Marcy Wheeler, an investigative blogger for Firedoglake.com, told HuffPost that she think the panel under Towns "lack[s] Waxman's talent for driving media narratives, which can be an effective part of getting the press involved."
Wheeler, who hoped Cummings would have taken over the panel from Waxman, praised the committee for its work on Toyota's safety problems and had kind words for Cummings' investigation into AIG bonuses, though she questioned the follow-through on both.
Towns' insistence Monday that corruption in Afghanistan was waning also casts doubt on his credibility as an investigator. "He's out today declaring that corruption in Afghanistan is over in what seems like it could have been a joint propaganda venture with General Petraeus. That, even though I believe he still has an outstanding request for contracting info from Gates," said Wheeler.What are we to make of the "dark passages" in the Bible?
Pope Benedict on the "Dark Passages" of Scripture
NOTE: This post is part of a series. Click here to see all of the posts in the series.
There are certain Bible passages, particularly in the Old Testament, that are disturbing. The question of how these are to be interpreted has been with us for a long time, and apologists and Bible scholars--not to mention Church Fathers and theologians--have made many suggestions.
Recently Pope Benedict provided some guidance. Here's what he had to say...
Verbum Domini
The document in which he made his remarks is titled Verbum Domini, which is Latin for "The Word of the Lord."
It was prepared as an exhortation following the 2008 meeting of the Synod of Bishops, a select group of Catholic bishops from all over the world who meet periodically to discuss particular issues.
In 2008 their topic was the word of God in the life and mission of the Church, and as is customary following such synods, the pope prepared a concluding document offering his perspective on the results of the meeting and how it can benefit the Church.
God's Plan Unfolds in Stages
In referring to the "dark passages" of Scripture, he began by saying:
42. In discussing the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments, the Synod also considered those passages in the Bible which, due to the violence and immorality they occasionally contain, prove obscure and difficult.
Here it must be remembered first and foremost that biblical revelation is deeply rooted in history.
God’s plan is manifested progressively and it is accomplished slowly, in successive stages and despite human resistance.
In other words, when reading the Bible we must bear in mind the particular stage of God's plan that a passage deals with. We cannot simply take a passage at random and claim that it is a direct expression of God's will for all ages or for our own.
This is what Pope Benedict means when he stresses (the italics are in the original) that biblical revelation "is deeply rooted in history" and that God's plan "is manifested progressively... in successive stages."
Man Resists God's Plan
Pope Benedict also notes that God's plan is accomplished "despite human resistance."
In other words, men resist God's plan, and this has left traces in Scripture as well. Therefore, if we read a passage in the Bible that is disturbing, it may be a result of man's resistance to God, not an expression of God's ultimate will.
As we will see in coming posts, there were a variety of practices in the Old Testament that we would regard today with horror, and the Law that God gives the Israelites is meant to regulate and mitigate these practices--to limit their harmful effects.
They aren't what God ultimately wants, but for the moment he is willing to try to regulate and limit the damage men are doing.
Why would he do this?
God's Plan in Outline
The reason concerns the basic outline of God's plan. Pope Benedict explains:
God chose a people and patiently worked to guide and educate them.
In other words, he chose the Hebrew people at a particular stage in their cultural and moral development and met them where they were at.
He did not demand of them instant conformity to the fullness of his will. He didn't ask them to be perfect overnight.
Instead, he was willing to tolerate some of the things they were determined to do, though the hardness of their hearts, and over the course of time educate them to a higher level of understanding and acceptance of his will.
At first, he was trying to simply limit the damage done by some of their practices.
Jesus Gives an Example
Jesus himself gives us an example of this in the Gospels, when he is asked about divorce.
At the time, Jewish Law permitted a man to give his wife a written bill of divorce, send her off (i.e., "put her away"), and then he could marry someone else. Here is what happened:
Mark 10
[2] And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
[3] He answered them, "What did Moses command you?"
[4] They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away."
[5] But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
[6] But from the beginning of creation, `God made them male and female.'
[7] `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
[8] and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh.
[9] What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
Jesus thus teaches that lifelong monogamy was God's intention for marriage. Nevertheless, because of the hardness of the Israelites' hearts--the fact that they were determined to divorce their wives and marry other women--God was willing to tolerate this practice for a time.
But he regulated it. He insisted that a man arrange for his wife to have a written bill of divorce. This meant that a simple, verbal repudiation of one's spouse did not constitute a divorce.
There were not to be offhanded remarks--or ambiguous offhanded remarks--that would be read as legal divorces. What a nightmare that would result in!
If divorce was to happen at all, there was to be proof of the divorce: an unambiguous, written statement.
And since many people were illiterate at the time, that would mean going to a scrivener and paying him to write out the document.
Having to write out the document would give the man a chance to think twice about the divorce, and even moreso if he had to pay a scrivener for his services.
The net effect of all this was to make women less at-the-mercy of their husbands. They could not simply be cast off in the instantaneous, casual manner that is permitted in some societies (including under Muslim law).
Eventually, though, even this practice was disallowed, and Jesus now proclaims the permanence of marriage for his followers despite what Moses said.
(And, it's worth noting, that even though civil divorce is permitted today for adequate reasons, remarriage is not. A valid, consummated, sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved by anything but the death of one of the parties. It is a lifelong union.)
Pope Benedict Offers Examples
Although he did not stop to dwell on particular passages, as we just have, Pope Benedict went on to illustrate the kinds of "dark" passages and how they must be understood:
Revelation is suited to the cultural and moral level of distant times and thus describes facts and customs, such as cheating and trickery, and acts of violence and massacre, without explicitly denouncing the immorality of such things.
This can be explained by the historical context, yet it can cause the modern reader to be taken aback, especially if he or she fails to take account of the many “dark” deeds carried out down the centuries, and also in our own day.
Here Pope Benedict points out that the Bible is written according to the cultural and moral level of the periods it deals with. It records what people did in these periods but "without explicitly denouncing the immorality of such things."
There are two important points here: First, as we have already noted, the progressive nature of God's plan may mean that the time had not yet come for an explicit denunciation of the acts. If you were living between the time of Moses and Jesus, when divorce followed by remarriage was tolerated, the time for the explicit denunciation that Jesus provided had not yet come.
But secondly, Pope Benedict notes that there is not an explicit denunciation of the acts. Sometimes, if you are sensitive to the way the text is written, there is and implicit denunciation of them.
This is clear, for example, in the book of Judges, where the judges of Israel are presented as very flawed figures. God may have worked through them to help protect Israel, but they are not presented as paragons of virtue and there is an implicit denunciation of some of their actions.
Historical Comparisons
Pope Benedict also notes that a modern reader may be taken aback if he "fails to take account of the many 'dark' deeds carried out down the centuries, and also in our own day."
In other words, all ages of history contain dark deeds, including violence and massacre. Even our own day does, with the many slaughters that we hear about in the news (or that we don't hear about because the news media isn't interested in them).
And the ancient world was even worse (with the exception of abortion, which has become refined to a high-tech, industrial process in our own day).
By accurately reflecting the violence and crime of the ancient world--by honestly recording what people in biblical times did--the Bible holds passages that can cause us to be taken aback--particularly if we forget the violence and crime that occur in all ages, including our own.
But this is honesty on the biblical authors' part about the ages in which they lived.
Stage Two
The majority of the "dark passages" that people are taken aback by are in the Old Testament, and the majority of those are found early in the Old Testament--either in the Law of Moses (at the nation's founding) or during or very early after Israel's entrance into the Promised Land (Joshua, Judges).
They thus represent "stage one" of God's dealing with the Israelites, when he had not yet led them far down the path of understanding the fullness of his will.
But he did not leave them there. As Pope Benedict explains:
In the Old Testament, the preaching of the prophets vigorously challenged every kind of injustice and violence, whether collective or individual, and thus became God’s way of training his people in preparation for the Gospel.
Pope Benedict thus names "stage two" of God's process--the period of the prophets, in which God sent messengers to denounce injustice and violence and further educate his people in his ways.
A classic example of this is in the book of Jonah, when God sends the prophet to the pagan city of Nineveh (now Mosul, in modern Iraq) to preach against it. When the people repent, God spares the city, and Jonah pouts. But God tells him: "And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons?" (Jonah 4:11)
This represents a dramatic broadening of horizons for one brought up in the Ancient Near East, where the system of tribal loyalties led to bitter group rivalries.
The thought that God would care about--and spare--the enemies of his chosen people, the ones who had conquered his people--this was a dramatic thought!
And it was a further broadening of the moral horizons of God's people.
But the matter did not stop there...
Stage Three
Pope Benedict notes that the prophets did their work as "God’s way of training his people in preparation for the Gospel.
The Gospel announced by Christ thus represents the end point of God's program of revelation. As the book of Hebrews tells us:
Hebrews 1
[1] In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets;
[2] but in these last days he |
school graduation.
The Rising Costs of College
The high costs of a college education have forced many high school graduates to consider alternative paths to college and work careers. According to the College Board, the expenses of an undergraduate degree for an incoming freshman circa 2016 will exceed $100,000 at a public school. While many students pursue merit- and need-based scholarships, the National Center for Education Statistics calculates that grants and scholarships for students attending a four-year college are less than $5,500 annually.
Unfortunately, the majority of college students – even those with scholarships and grants – must depend upon parental assistance and loans to pay for college. With the average family earning a median income of $56,516 in 2015 (according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), parents find themselves in a predicament, where they are forced to choose between their child’s education, spending their savings, borrowing, or subsisting near poverty level. Families with more than one child are especially burdened.
With little choice, those seeking a college degree either rely upon part-time work, student loans, or a combination of both. A report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that 70% to 80% of college students work full- or part-time jobs. Even so, working full time at minimum wage “isn’t enough to pay tuition at most colleges, much less room and board and other expenses,” according to the report.
Not surprisingly, the average graduate left college in 2016 with more than $37,000 in debt according to figures compiled by financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz for The Wall Street Journal. Sadly, many learn that a college degree does not guarantee either a good job or a bright future. A 2014 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that those graduating in the lower 25% of their college class earn about the same or less than the typical worker with a high school degree. Fortunately, there are alternatives to a bachelor’s degree for those students who are uncertain about incurring the expense of a four-year school.
Benefits of Enlisting in the Armed Forces
As the costs of college continue to escalate, many high school graduates are considering enlistment in the military service as their “only hope to study beyond high school,” according to Alternet. Enlisting in the military is also a way to do the following:
1. Find Yourself
In his book, “Emerging Adults in America: Coming of Age in the 21st Century,” psychologist Jeffrey Arnett says that those between the ages of 18 and 29 are in a transitional period from adolescence and adulthood. The task of determining one’s identity and where they fit in a complex society is daunting for many. Almost half of students entering college drop out before getting a degree and those who get degrees average more than four years of study.
While there are a variety of reasons that affect the dropout rate, Jordan Weissman of The Atlantic claims a significant cause is “not every student is prepared. Nor do they necessarily want to be at college, or have a clear notion of what they’re doing there.” Becoming a successful adult requires the right combination of independence and support – and serving in the military provides that combination for many.
2. Serve Your Country
Stanton Coerr, a Marine officer who served in Iraq, wrote in The Federalist, “No one is in the military against his or her will. A veteran’s service in a war is significant not because we are special, but precisely because we aren’t. We volunteered, we went, we did what the nation asked.” Patriotism – love for one’s country – is a powerful incentive to join the military, and veterans are among those most respected by a thankful nation.
For decades, U.S. citizens have ranked the military as the institution in which they have the most confidence. According to a Gallup poll, the military has ranked above the church, the medical system, and banks. The number of those polled were 9 to 12 times more likely to have confidence in the armed services than big business and Congress respectively. A Pew Research Center poll ranked the military’s contribution to society higher than teachers, doctors, scientists or engineers, and Army veteran Jason Nulton noted for Task & Purpose that “troops today are held in high esteem by the public no matter how much the war itself might be hated.”
3. Attend College Without Crushing Debt
In an article for TIME, Mark Kantrowitz claims that excessive debt has significant lifetime consequences, delaying the purchase of homes, marriage, and children. To pay off the education debt, graduates often accept jobs outside their field of interest, work longer hours, or take second jobs to supplement their income. Entering the military does not preclude a college degree, but defers college entry.
4. Receive Valuable Training in Different Fields
Each of the five branches of the military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard – offer training programs that enhance your career opportunities as a civilian. Career paths include arts and photography, news and media, aviation, engineering, healthcare, human resources and meteorology, as well as other fields.
During their service commitment, enlistees can receive college credits for their experience and training which are accepted by more than 2,300 colleges and universities. Soldiers can receive professional and technical training to meet licensing and credentials for civilian jobs such as electrical work or software engineering.
5. Travel Across the Country and Overseas
According to Politico, the various branches of the U.S. military maintain bases in 44 of the 50 states, and have more than 800 bases in 70 countries. Active-duty service members receive 30 days of paid vacation each year, in addition to two free days per week for most assignments, and can use their off-duty time to travel to other bases for rest and recreation if desired.
Also, service members and their immediate families can fly free on military aircraft, as space is available. Many commercial airlines, Amtrak, car rental companies, hotels, and cruise lines offer military discounts. Finally, service members are automatically enrolled in the Armed Services Vacation Club that offers week-long stays in luxury resorts around the world for a low price of $349.
An Armed Services Commitment
Military service is not for everyone – some people aren’t interested, and others do not qualify. In 1973, the United States abandoned the military draft and instituted an all-volunteer military. The days where social delinquents faced jail or enlistment are long past.
Today’s military enlistee is an 18-year-old (or older) man or woman in good physical shape who possesses a high school diploma or a GED. Also, each soldier has passed the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test with elements of arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, and mathematics knowledge.
Legal immigrants living in the U.S. can enlist, but must obtain their citizenship before reenlisting. About 8,000 non-citizens enter the military each year and receive the same benefits as citizen enlistees. Immigrants in the service are eligible for an expedited process of citizenship. Non-citizen recruits are more likely to remain in service as a career and are increasingly valuable as the military’s global agenda expands.
Service Commitment
All enlistees, regardless of service branch, commit to a minimum of eight years of service including active-duty and inactive reserves. Most enlistees should expect four years in each category, recognizing that an inactive reservist can be recalled to active duty at any time due to a national emergency.
Each military branch offers special programs that may require a higher proportion of active service, such as the Navy’s Nuclear Field. Recruits entering that program will spend five years on active service and three years in the inactive reserves. While Congress has directed each service branch to offer shorter active duty options, opportunities for shorter terms are extremely limited.
Enlistment Bonuses
To attract recruits for jobs that are hard to fill, require higher qualifications, or require specialized training with high dropout rates, each of the five services can offer up to $40,000 (depending upon branch and job) to those who complete their training and are permanently assigned to those jobs. The bonus is typically paid annually, and is prorated over the years of active service. The bonus is in addition to other standard benefits offered to all service members.
Recruits who enlist to fill those hard-to-fill jobs may also be entitled to the following:
Extra College Funds. This money is in addition to the funds available through the G.I. Bill.
. This money is in addition to the funds available through the G.I. Bill. Advanced Enlistment Rank. Enlistees with college credits or participation in ROTC programs may be eligible for advance rank immediately or accelerated promotion with higher pay. For example, a typical recruit has an E-1 ranking, while a Navy recruit with college credits might have as high as an E-3 ranking.
. Enlistees with college credits or participation in ROTC programs may be eligible for advance rank immediately or accelerated promotion with higher pay. For example, a typical recruit has an E-1 ranking, while a Navy recruit with college credits might have as high as an E-3 ranking. College Loan Repayment Program. All of the services repay all or a part of a publicly funded college loan in exchange for enlistment.
. All of the services repay all or a part of a publicly funded college loan in exchange for enlistment. Buddy Program. All of the branches offer a “buddy enlistment” program where two people of the same sex can enlist together and be guaranteed to go through basic training together. If they have the same job, they may also go through job training and be assigned to the same duty base together.
Basic Armed Service Benefits
All members of the armed services are entitled to specific benefits during and after service, including:
Basic Pay. Enlistees typically enter the service at the E-1 service grade with monthly pay of $1,566.90. The typical recruit advances to the E-4 level within three years of service earning $2.267.10 monthly according to the basic pay rates effective January 1, 2016. Rates are automatically increased each year by a cost-of-living adjustment.
. Enlistees typically enter the service at the E-1 service grade with monthly pay of $1,566.90. The typical recruit advances to the E-4 level within three years of service earning $2.267.10 monthly according to the basic pay rates effective January 1, 2016. Rates are automatically increased each year by a cost-of-living adjustment. Special Pay. Military members receive special and incentive pays based upon their assignment, location, or skills. This pay can include hazardous duty, the ability to speak foreign languages, or special duty assignments. In some cases, such as serving in a combat zone, basic pay and special payments are tax-exempt.
. Military members receive special and incentive pays based upon their assignment, location, or skills. This pay can include hazardous duty, the ability to speak foreign languages, or special duty assignments. In some cases, such as serving in a combat zone, basic pay and special payments are tax-exempt. Free Room, Board, and Uniforms. Enlisted members who are unmarried without children live on the base in barracks. When recruits share a single room, they receive extra pay, and soldiers who live off base receive a tax-free housing allowance. Also, all active-duty members receive a tax-free monthly food allowance that can be used for on-base meals in a base dining hall, as well as off-base. Finally, all recruits are given a complete set of uniforms during initial training. Thereafter, they receive a clothing allowance to replace items as they wear out.
. Enlisted members who are unmarried without children live on the base in barracks. When recruits share a single room, they receive extra pay, and soldiers who live off base receive a tax-free housing allowance. Also, all active-duty members receive a tax-free monthly food allowance that can be used for on-base meals in a base dining hall, as well as off-base. Finally, all recruits are given a complete set of uniforms during initial training. Thereafter, they receive a clothing allowance to replace items as they wear out. Free Healthcare and Dental Care. Active-duty members receive free care through a program called Tricare Prime, usually provided through an assigned primary care provider or the base hospital. Also, veterans with more than two years of active service who have a service-related disability can qualify for lifetime Veteran Administration benefits.
. Active-duty members receive free care through a program called Tricare Prime, usually provided through an assigned primary care provider or the base hospital. Also, veterans with more than two years of active service who have a service-related disability can qualify for lifetime Veteran Administration benefits. Low-Cost Life Insurance. Service members can purchase up to $400,000 in coverage for a monthly cost of $29 through Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI). The policy automatically includes up to $100,000 for traumatic injury, independent from any disability benefits due. When soldiers leave the service, they can convert to coverage under Veteran Group Life Insurance.
. Service members can purchase up to $400,000 in coverage for a monthly cost of $29 through Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI). The policy automatically includes up to $100,000 for traumatic injury, independent from any disability benefits due. When soldiers leave the service, they can convert to coverage under Veteran Group Life Insurance. Disability Benefits. Service members with a service disability can qualify for benefits in excess of $3,300 per month by the Veterans Administration.
. Service members with a service disability can qualify for benefits in excess of $3,300 per month by the Veterans Administration. Educational Benefits. All military service members are eligible for tuition assistance while on active duty or in the Reserves. The assistance is not a loan, but is considered part of basic pay and can cover up to $4,500 in tuition and fees each year. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill or the Montgomery GI Bill, service members and veterans can receive up to 36 months (four regular school years) of financial assistance for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and housing. Service members seeking to use the Montgomery Bill must contribute $100 per month for the first 12 months of active duty, but will receive $1,857 (plus an annual increase) for 36 months of school.
. All military service members are eligible for tuition assistance while on active duty or in the Reserves. The assistance is not a loan, but is considered part of basic pay and can cover up to $4,500 in tuition and fees each year. Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill or the Montgomery GI Bill, service members and veterans can receive up to 36 months (four regular school years) of financial assistance for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and housing. Service members seeking to use the Montgomery Bill must contribute $100 per month for the first 12 months of active duty, but will receive $1,857 (plus an annual increase) for 36 months of school. Home Financing. Current members and veterans of the armed services are eligible for Federal Government-guaranteed housing loans under the Veterans Administration. The program provides for 100% financing of homes up to $417,000 or more under certain conditions. There is no limit to the number of times a veteran can use the VA benefit, although the maximum amount that can be outstanding at any time is limited. In addition, many states provide housing and land purchase financing at below-market rates to veterans.
Dangers of the Armed Services
One should never overlook nor underestimate the commitment and courage of the thousands of young men and women who willingly volunteer to go into harm’s way to defend their country. The military not only fights America’s wars, but assists in times of catastrophic emergencies such as earthquakes, floods, and outbreaks of disease. This burden falls on the shoulders of less than 1% of the population – more U.S. students attend foreign schools each year than enlist in the military.
Since only a small percentage of Americans serve in the military, the public’s perceptions of the dangers faced by the typical service man or woman may be grossly exaggerated. According to figures compiled by the Congressional Research Organization (CRO), less than 1% of those on active duty between 1980 and 2010 have died while in service, and most of the deaths were accidental. The U.S. Army has accounted for the greatest number of fatalities and wounded in every war, followed by the Marines.
According to the CRO report, about 31% of active service members served “in theater” – the land, sea, and air area directly involved in war operations – during the Persian Gulf War (Desert Shield and Desert Storm). However, the majority of the military personnel in-theater serve in noncombat roles in HQ/administration, logistics, and life support. Stanton Coerr claims that “most of us who have gone overseas, even into a combat zone, have never heard a short fired in anger. We volunteered, we went, we did our jobs, we came back. And that is pretty much it.”
Only 25% of military personnel were in a combat role in Iraq in January 2005, though supplemented by nonmilitary contractors, according to John J. McGrath’s analysis “The Other End of the Spear: The Tooth-to-Tail Ratio (T3R) in Modern Military Operations.” Though the risks of death or injury are often exaggerated in the public’s mind, they are nevertheless real.
And such risks can extend beyond the enlistment period. According to a study by the Veteran Administration, male veterans were 18% more likely to commit suicide than their civilian counterparts, while female veterans were 2.4 times more likely than a civilian woman. Almost two-thirds of veteran suicides were aged 50 and older.
Final Word
In an era where corporations maximize income by eliminating employee benefits and transferring jobs overseas, the security of pensions has disappeared, and continued education is a prerequisite to job security, the advantages of military enlistment can be significant. For many, the military is the only path to a college degree and professional status. For others, a stint in the armed services is a chance to test one’s self, gain valuable maturity, and see the world. Even with its potential dangers, a career in military provides the life and security some people seek for themselves and their families.
Do you believe the benefits of military service are worth the commitment and risk?If someone asks me what the primary source of energy is here on planet earth. My prompt reply without thinking would be Sun, yes our star Sun. We use car, bus, electric trams for transportation, fuel for burners, computers for computation likewise and we all power these machines with fossils energy, heat energy, electrical energy, mechanical energy likewise. We can convert one form of energy into the other. But from where do we get the energy? We have Fossils fuel in the form of higher hydrocarbons, hydro energy in the form of potential head of water, wind energy in the form of air current, geothermal energy from earth, oceanic energy from wave velocity, nuclear energy from atom, thermal energy from sun rays likewise. Have your ever thought what originated these energy sources? Fossils fuels we obtain from conversion of organic matter or hydrocarbons under pressure in the earth, hydro energy from flow of river, wind energy from differential atmospheric pressures, geothermal energy from heat inside the earth, oceanic waves from tidal forces, nuclear energy from the existence of elements. Existence of hydrocarbons, flow of water, flow of air, heat inside earth, oceanic tidal waves, existence of elements all are accrued to the sun. It is the sun which create hydrocarbons from photosynthesis by sunlight, flow of water from evaporation resulting into rain by sun rays, atmospheric pressure diifrence due to uneven heating at two places, heat inside earth by earth separation from sun, oceanic tidal waves due gravity of earth created by sun. There is a beautiful dynamic balance maintained between incoming heat from the sun and outgoing heat to the space and if this balance is upset, it may lead to Ice Age or Fire Age on earth. Surprisingly, we are not sure whether the earth’s temperature is changing downward or upward. But it is certain an upset in this dynamic balance will result in catastrophe.
But today the world is facing severe energy deficit. Our sustenance depends upon our basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. All these primary needs can only be met when we have energy to produce agricultural commodities, run factories, extract building materials and do other allied activities essential for human survival. If we want to lead a comfortable life, we need further energy.
Today, the European Union imports more than 50% of its energy, mostly in the form of oil and gas, from outside the Union. Many of the regions of the world that supply our energy are geographically remote and some may be politically unstable. With current trends, it is predicted that by 2030 the EU will depend on imported energy for 70% of its total needs. Over the next 50 years, the global demand for energy may double in some developing countries.
Eighty two percent of Europeans acknowledge that the way they consume and produce energy has a negative impact on climate. At the same time, 50% perceive climate change as one the most serious problems our world faces and call for immediate action. Therefore it is urgent that alternate source of clean energy may be found out.
Sun as has been stated, is the main source of energy here on the earth. I am not considering that energy contributed by nuclear fission of heavy elements since these elements owe their existence not to sun but Supernovae explosions. Can’t we generate energy as the sun generates by making a miniature sun here on earth which can supplement our energy needs. After all what is there in the sun that generates energy and can we not replicate it here on the earth? It is a known fact that the sun is a vast and enormous ball of hydrogen which is being fused to helium under high pressure and temperature. Temperature at the core of the sun is six million degrees centigrade.
Surface Area Of Earth (Image Courtesy Google)
We also have sufficient hydrogen on the earth, 70 percent of the earth surface is covered with water. A molecule of water contains 11 percent hydrogen. For fusing hydrogen, our worry would be to achieve this high temperature in the range of hundred millions degree centigrade. Such reactions involve nuclei of hydrogen atoms which fuse with one another and form helium. Such reactions are called nuclear fusion and liberate tremendous amount of energy.
But when a nucleus under certain favourable conditions breaks, it also liberates huge energy equal to mass difference of the reactants from the products. In such nuclear fission reactions, smaller atomic elements are produced from higher ones. Since such nuclear fission also liberate energy equal to mass difference multiplied by velocity of light squared. And velocity of light is 30000000000 cm per second, therefore, its square would even be more huge, the energy thus given out from such reactions is extremely large.
But why can’t we resort to nuclear fission which does not necessitate huge temperature and pressure for its reaction to take place? It is submitted that we have plants based on nuclear fission with adequate safeguards. Even then adequate is not always adequate in case of accident and natural calamities. Inherently, nuclear fission reactions involve emission of alpha, beta, gamma rays or all these rays together. However hard one attempts, danger of leakage of these emissions can not be ruled out. Alpha rays are in fact energetic nuclei of hydrogen atoms, beta rays energetic moving electrons and gamma rays high energy neutral particles or photons. These rays are invisible but fatal. In addition to emission of these rays, elements of lower atomic number are also ejected and these radio active elements go on emitting fatal radiations for years together depending upon their half life period. Half life period is that period which is taken by the radio active element for its decay to half of its original mass. The half life time of some radio active elements is hundreds of years and that means radio active emission will prevail hundred of years making the area unfit for habitation.
Nuclear fission power plants due to natural calamities or otherwise suffered leakages of radio active emissions and also elements. On March 11, 2011, a major earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, producing a massive tsunami. As of August 2011, the tsunami alone was estimated to have killed over 15,000 people, with another approximately 4,600 missing. The tsunami also swamped the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant complex on Japan’s eastern coast, which had three of its six reactors operational when the earthquake occurred. Within a matter of days, the three originally operational reactors were in full meltdown, and fire had swept through a fourth (previously-idle) reactor. Radiation spewed from some of the crippled reactors, prompting the evacuation of many tens of thousands of people who were living within 12.5 miles (20 kilometres) of the Fukushima 1 plant.
Besides loss of human lives, there were also, of course, huge economic costs. The financial costs of the Fukushima nuclear disaster alone were enormous. Estimates publicized in June 2011 concerning costs stemming from the nuclear catastrophe ranged from a low of $71 billion to a high of $250 billion.
In November 2011, for instance, instruments at Fukushima detected radioactive xenon leaking from one of the damaged reactors, indicating that nuclear fission was still occurring within the reactor, although probably at a low level. A survey of radioactive contamination issued in November 2011 indicated that 10 percent of Japan was contaminated with low levels of radioactive cesium (Cs). The radioactive contamination consists of the isotopes 134 Cs and 137 Cs, with half-lives of approximately 2 and 30 years, respectively. This means it will take about 30 years for half of the radioactive 137 Cs to disintegrate. Learning lessons from these disasters, most countries abandoned their pending projects of power from nuclear fission.
It is, therefore, our requirement that nuclear reactions should be clean, secure and energy-full. Therefore we will have to resort to nuclear fusion which is taking place in the sun. We will have to make a miniature sun. We have sufficient hydrogen along with its isotope deuterium. We need isotope tritium for facilitating nucleus fusion. An Isotope of an element is that which has lower or higher number of neutrons than required in its nucleus. Another interesting characteristic of isotopes is that these exhibit same chemical properties as those of parent atom meaning thereby that isotopes of Hydrogen will have same chemical properties as those of hydrogen. That means atomic structure wise these isotopes differ from parent atom but chemically these are same.
Hydrogen has a proton in its nucleus and also has a lone electron moving around in orbit. If hydrogen atom has an additional neutron in its nucleus or two additional neutrons in its nucleus, then these are called isotope deuterium and tritium or simply deuterium and tritium respectively. It is estimated that one litre of water contains.033 gm of deuterium. Tritium is generated from the nuclear fusion reaction and is also supplemented from element lithium. The element lithium is also plentiful in nature. The lithium which is being used in your laptop battery, would be sufficient to produce energy equivalent to 40 tonnes of coal.
There are two types of nuclear fusion reactions, one from deuterium, deuterium and the other from deuterium, tritium.
Deuterium, Deuterium Fusion reaction is given below.
Deuterium + Deuterium —————–> Isotope of He + n + 3.27 MeV
Deuterium, Tritium Fusion reactions are given below.
Deuterium + Deuterium ————–> Tritium + H + 4.03 MeV
Deuterium + Tritium ———–> He + n + 17.59 MeV
Tritium is also generated from He as given in the reaction below.
Li + n —————–> He + Tritium + 4.8 MeV
where symbols n is neutron, MeV is mega electron volt, (electron volt is a unit of energy), He helium, Li lithium.
Nuclear Fusion Reaction Between Deutarium And Tritium (Image Courtesy Google)L
It is reiterated here that energy liberated in these reactions is mass difference between reactants and products multiplied by the velocity of light c squared and is huge. It is clear from above reactions that we get neutron as byproduct and this neutron is again utilised for conversion to tritium.
It is submitted that neutron is not radioactive and is thus innocuous. Second byproduct is tritium which is radioactive but its half life time is only ten to twelve years which is small. Further, tritium is also utilised as fuel for fusion. Therefore, energy liberated from fusion is clean, controlled and without the hazards of radioactivity.
As already stated, for fusion reaction to take place the temperature must be hundred million degree centigrade. Such a huge temperature will burn the container of reactor to ashes. Therefore, we need such a vessel which can withstand such huge temperature and pressure but even Titanium can not withstand such temperature.
The detonation of the first thermonuclear bomb, codenamed “Mike,” took place on November 1, 1952, on the Eniwetok atoll, a small coral island in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S.-built bomb consisted of a cylinder 20 feet (6 meters) tall and 6 feet, 8 inches (2 meters) in diameter, weighing 164,000 pounds (61,212 kilograms). Even the bomb’s designers were amazed by its explosive force. Its fireball was 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) wide. Within 90 seconds, the mushroom cloud had risen 57,000 feet (over 17,000 meters) into the air. Eventually, after five minutes, the cloud reached a height of 135,000 feet (over 41,000 meters), with a “stem” 8 miles (13 kilometres) across.
People on ships 100 miles (161 kilometres) away saw the flash. The explosion completely destroyed the island of Elugelab, carving out an underwater crater that was 6,240 feet (1,902 meters) wide and 164 feet (50 meters) deep and lifting 80 million tons of soil into the air. A bomb of this type would devastate any city on Earth.Thereafter the then USSR also tested fusion bomb in August 1953. In such fusion bomb, isotopes of hydrogen are subjected to at least fifteen million degree temperature with the help of nuclear fission bomb placed at the centre of the fuel. Such fusion bombs are uncontrolled unclear fusion reactions which result into uncontrolled vast devastation.
But we are considering controlled fusion. Before I proceed further, I explain the necessity of millions of degree temperature for nuclear fusion. I submit that like all atoms, isotopes of hydrogen have also election moving around the nucleus. When an isotope comes in close proximity of the other, the electrostatic force repels them and their nuclei never come so close as to fuse with one another. But when temperature is raised, thermal energy is supplied to the electrons which free themselves from the nuclear attraction. In such a situation, the electrons after being ejected from nucleus move freely and so move positively charged nuclei. It thus becomes a soup of free moving electrons and nuclei. Such a state of matter is called plasma which consists of free moving electrons and ions. Free motions of these charged particles (electrons and ions) constitute electric field and electric field is always associated with magnetic field. Thus at this high temperature plasma exhibits magnetic field. It is therefore apparent that we can control plasma by applying external magnetic field over it.
In order to accomplish this, the plasma is surrounded by magnetic field toroidal and poloidal generated by the magnets placed around the torus shaped tube which contains the isotopes deuterium and tritium of hydrogen. These isotopes are fully separated from the walls of the tube by the repulsion of the magnetic fields. The solenoid coil at its centre acts as primary winding and the fuel isotopes as secondary windings. The isotopes of hydrogen gets heated by the current flowing in it due to its ohmic resistance to that stage where electrons are ejected out of nuclei and the electrons and nuclei move freely and nuclei fuse forming helium and liberating neutrons. Nuclear reactions as already discussed take place and energy in the form of heat is liberated from fusion reactions. This toroidal magnetic field repels the magnetic field created by moving charges in the plasma and plasma is contained inside.This is called toroidal magnetic confinement. Such a reactor is called Tokamak a Russian name for torus shape.
A Section Of Tokamak (Image Courtesy Google)
But such a confinement is also not free from the defect that when moving electrons and nuclei drifts from each other, they constitute electric field. To avoid such current, upper and lower part of plasma is connected to magnetic lines of force and separated charges is short circuited along these field lines. To avoid magnetic field generated from the moving charges, poloidal magnetic field is also applied. It is submitted that in spite of application of magnetic field, plasma still leaks out, this decreases the temperature in the reactor and decelerate the reaction. In addition, this also reduces the residence time for completion of reaction which further reduces the efficiency. A minimum time of one second is essential for best result for nuclear fusion reaction. The efficiency of reaction is assessed by Lawson Criterion which is product of fuel or isotopes density and residence time. For optimum results, it is essential that product of plasma density and residence time be maximised.
In toroidal magnetic confinement, plasma moves but an arrangement can be made where the fuel is used in the form of dense pellets which are kept stationary. These pellets are then bombarded intermittently by high energy photons or with laser gun which impart energy to fuel raising its temperature to the stage where the isotopes implode and fuse. Such an arrangement is called inertial Confinement System. Here there is no necessity of creation of plasma or its confinement or maintaining temperature.
However both systems of fusion as discussed above, are not efficient due to presence of impurities in fuel. Impurities lower the temperature of reactants which in turn retard the reaction rate. Thus more the impurities, lower the temperature and lower the fusion. Further, change in particle density from 1023 p/cubic metre, Confinement time less than 1 second and temperature less than 100 million degree centigrade decrease the efficiency of fusion reaction. Plagued with these difficulties, no fusion reactor has been successful so far. Regarding achievement of temperature as high as 100 million degree centigrade, secondary coil heating as already discussed proves insufficient, it is therefore supplemented with radio frequency heating to maintain the temperature.
Seven partners countries China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the United States, and the European Union has agreed to construct an advanced tokamak fusion reactor called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER at Cadarache, north of Marseille, France. This reactor will produce 10 times more power than that is fed into it. If all goes as planned, a 50-megawatt input of electrical power into the ITER fusion reactor will result in an output of 500 megawatts of power. The purpose of this experimental reactor is to show the world that clean, adequate and cheap power is available for alleviating global poverty.
How then can we transport the energy which is 1000 times more than what we generate from nuclear fission? I submit that energy generated from fusion reaction is mainly heat energy. This heat energy then can be used in boiler for producing steam to run turbine to generate electric energy. This electric energy can then be transmitted through transmission* lines to far away places for its utilisation. I want to bring this fact to the notice of my learned readers that the electrical energy generated at an instant will have to be consumed immediately because first it is alternating in nature and can not be stored in a battery. Second, if we want to store it by rectifying it to direct current, we need heavy rectifiers and heavy storage batteries. Unluckily, such storage and rectification at the cost of power loss are not yet available except in emergent cases. Further such high energy storage batteries are also not in existence. Therefore when we need less power, we will have to shut down the generator and when we need extra power, the generators kept running freely, will have to be connected to the load.
What are the bottlenecks in obtaining energy from fusion? There still exists technical problems of leakage of particles from hot plasma, impurities in fuel, difficulties in achieving the huge temperature, retention of this temperature for period more than one second likewise. Though consistent efforts are being made yet commissioning of ITER is not in sight.
A report published in the month of June, 2016, broke the news of further delay upto the year 2025. That too not for production but for generation of plasma. French Physicist Bernard Bigot, former head of France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, was brought in as ITER director-general in 2015 to shake up the organization and draft a credible schedule. Independent assessments of ITER, however, question whether the 2025 target can be met for the first experiment using “burning” fusion fuel – a mixture of deuterium and tritium (D–T) – will have to wait until 2032.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that ITER managers were pushing for the five-year delay and had asked for an additional cash injection of €4.6bn. While the delay has been granted, the project’s seven partners – China, the EU, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US – have announced they are unlikely to raise the additional finances. This means that completion of the project could slip even further beyond 2025, a worry that was expressed earlier this year in a report from the US Department of Energy (DOE) entitled “US Participation in the ITER Project”.
A day which is “tomorrow of tomorrow—–” never comes. In fact it expresses that tomorrow which is infinitely away. Never ending delays prompted those connected with the progress of ITER to say, “Fusion is the energy of the future and will ever remain the energy of future.” I pray, the subscribers to this saying may prove wrong. I hope USA which has always stood for the countries in trouble and also projects in trouble, may come forward with funds.
It reminds me of nineteen sixties when India’s agriculture produce was insufficient to feed its population. Great Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri advised Indians to observe weekly fast on Monday to tide over that difficult situation. It was ‘Great’ America that came to India’s rescue by providing wheat under PL 480 Programme. PL 480 or Public Law 480 also known as “Food for Peace” is a funding avenue by which US food can be used for Overseas Aid. With these positive thoughts in my mind, I hope Department of Energy (DOE) of USA will fund this experimental fusion reactor in larger global interest and “Secure, abundant, cheap energy will be available to help feed all.”
I opened this article by introducing the role of the Sun in providing us ever pervading energy which humans are striving to generate here on the planet earth. I often think, our existence is attributed to the Sun. Even Hindu religion has primordial ‘Gayatri Mantra’ which is dedicated to Lord Sun. It makes mention in Rig Veda. It is recited as
“om bhūr bhuvaḥ sva |
FX pricing that aims to commoditize consumer value exchange across currencies. Over the long run, we believe that the ‘spread’ paid by consumers when exchanging value across currencies will not only approach zero, but reach zero, just as the cost of a voice chat, a text message and an email have reached zero.
A New User Experience for Money
All of this is expressed with a delightful consumer experience, accessible via the Web and through native iOS and Android Apps. Customers can easily connect any bank debit card to fund and receive payments. Money is available instantly to send and instantly upon receipt, even across currencies. Circle brings all of this together in a manner that combines payments with familiar messaging behaviors and features (contacts, emoji, messages, images, conversations linked to events, etc).
Further, with our recent Circle for iMessage launch, any iOS 10 customer can use Circle directly from within iMessage, in the context of conversations with friends and family, without leaving iMessage and without launching a separate app.
Our product launches in Spain and Ireland take another step toward realizing our vision of instant, global, free and fun consumer payments. As an EU-licensed E-Money Issuer, Circle is committed to serving all of the 500M+ European consumers in the EU/EEA, and we will be adding more countries over the next several weeks and months.
Download the apps for Android or iOS, or add Circle for iMessage on iOS10, and let us know what you think!
Jeremy & Sean, Circle Co-Founders100 Beautiful and Ugly Words By Mark Nichol - 2 minute read
One of the many fascinating features of our language is how often words with pleasant associations are also quite pleasing on the tongue and even to the eye, and how many words, by contrast, acoustically and visually corroborate their disagreeable nature — look no further than the heading for this post.
Enrich the poetry of your prose by applying words that provide precise connotation while also evoking emotional responses. (Note the proportion of beautiful words to ugly ones in the compilation below; it’s easier to conjure the former than the latter, though I omitted words associated with bodily functions, as well as onomatopoeic terms.)
Notice how often attractive words present themselves to define other beautiful ones, and note also how many of them are interrelated, and what kind of sensations, impressions, and emotions they have in common. Also, try enunciating beautiful words as if they were ugly, or vice versa. Are their sounds suggestive of their quality, or does their meaning wholly determine their effect on us?
Beautiful Words
Amorphous: indefinite, shapeless
Beguile: deceive
Caprice: impulse
Cascade: steep waterfall
Cashmere: fine, delicate wool
Chrysalis: protective covering
Cinnamon: an aromatic spice; its soft brown color
Coalesce: unite, or fuse
Crepuscular: dim, or twilit
Crystalline: clear, or sparkling
Desultory: half-hearted, meandering
Diaphanous: gauzy
Dulcet: sweet
Ebullient: enthusiastic
Effervescent: bubbly
Elision: omission
Enchanted: charmed
Encompass: surround
Enrapture: delighted
Ephemeral: fleeting
Epiphany: revelation
Epitome: embodiment of the ideal
Ethereal: celestial, unworldly, immaterial
Etiquette: proper conduct
Evanescent: fleeting
Evocative: suggestive
Exuberant: abundant, unrestrained, outsize
Felicity: happiness, pleasantness
Filament: thread, strand
Halcyon: care-free
Idyllic: contentedly pleasing
Incorporeal: without form
Incandescent: glowing, radiant, brilliant, zealous
Ineffable: indescribable, unspeakable
Inexorable: relentless
Insouciance: nonchalance
Iridescent: luster
Languid: slow, listless
Lassitude: fatigue
Lilt: cheerful or buoyant song or movement
Lithe: flexible, graceful
Lullaby: soothing song
Luminescence: dim chemical or organic light
Mellifluous: smooth, sweet
Mist: cloudy moisture, or similar literal or virtual obstacle
Murmur: soothing sound
Myriad: great number
Nebulous: indistinct
Opulent: ostentatious
Penumbra: shade, shroud, fringe
Plethora: abundance
Quiescent: peaceful
Quintessential: most purely representative or typical
Radiant: glowing
Redolent: aromatic, evocative
Resonant: echoing, evocative
Resplendent: shining
Rhapsodic: intensely emotional
Sapphire: rich, deep bluish purple
Scintilla: trace
Serendipitous: chance
Serene: peaceful
Somnolent: drowsy, sleep inducing
Sonorous: loud, impressive, imposing
Spherical: ball-like, globular
Sublime: exalted, transcendent
Succulent: juicy, tasty, rich
Suffuse: flushed, full
Susurration: whispering
Symphony: harmonious assemblage
Talisman: charm, magical device
Tessellated: checkered in pattern
Tranquility: peacefulness
Vestige: trace
Zenith: highest point
Ugly Words
Cacophony: confused noise
Cataclysm: flood, catastrophe, upheaval
Chafe: irritate, abrade
Coarse: common, crude, rough, harsh
Cynical: distrustful, self-interested
Decrepit: worn-out, run-down
Disgust: aversion, distaste
Grimace: expression of disgust or pain
Grotesque: distorted, bizarre
Harangue: rant
Hirsute: hairy
Hoarse: harsh, grating
Leech: parasite,
Maladroit: clumsy
Mediocre: ordinary, of low quality
Obstreperous: noisy, unruly
Rancid: offensive, smelly
Repugnant: distasteful
Repulsive: disgusting
Shriek: sharp, screeching sound
Shrill: high-pitched sound
Shun: avoid, ostracize
Slaughter: butcher, carnage
Unctuous: smug, ingratiating
Visceral: crude, anatomically graphic
What did I miss? Add to these lists in a comment below.
Recommended Articles for YouBrian Kelly says Notre Dame's goal for this season has always been a national championship. (1:05)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Mike Elko doesn't love to yell. He will do it, if needed, but he would rather teach defense through the whys and the hows.
Elko is an inquisitive coach who likes inquisitive players. He wants Notre Dame defenders to ask why a play worked or how to read a certain formation, why a position switch will help or how to leverage an offensive lineman. Elko's goal is a defense that takes the field with comfort in the scheme and the calls and with detailed understanding of opposing offenses.
"How are we doing things? Why are we doing things? You have to be able to teach these kids conceptually," Elko told ESPN.com this summer. "If they can't learn concepts, they're constantly going to be seeing things that they don't understand. You're asking them to do things that make sense to them. You're explaining why.
"[If] they feel they can do what you're asking, then they start having success."
Notre Dame's success on defense under Elko is the single biggest reason the team finds itself in the top 10 and in the hunt for its first College Football Playoff berth, a year after going 4-8. Elko, plucked from Wake Forest by coach Brian Kelly to repair a disjointed unit, has the Irish taking the ball away (17 turnovers forced, tied for eighth nationally), keeping rushers out of the end zone (one rushing touchdown allowed, first nationally) and limiting points (16.4 PPG allowed, 12th nationally).
Brian Kelly, left, came away impressed after Mike Elko's Wake Forest defense held Notre Dame to 282 yards and 15 first downs in 2015. Matt Cashore/USA TODAY Sports
Through seven games, the Irish already have three more takeaways and four more sacks than all of last season. They are one of six FBS defenses to allow opponents to score touchdowns on less than 40 percent of their red zone possessions. They are thriving with a depth chart not packed with future NFL draft picks.
"For those that watched us last year compared to this year, we didn't trade for anybody," Kelly said after Notre Dame's 49-14 win over USC on Saturday. "There was nobody on the waiver wire."
Only Elko. The upgrades for Notre Dame's defense continue to grow. But it's important to know why and how things have changed. Not to mention: Who is this guy pulling the strings?
Knowledge seeker
For 15 minutes at every practice, every Notre Dame defender goes through ball-disruption drills. Even the linemen.
"At first, we were like, 'Aw, that's kind of nitpicking,'" defensive end Khalid Kareem said. "But then it showed in the games. It worked."
Elko doesn't do the drills to torture players. He structures everything with an educational purpose.
He has found that if players know why they're drilling something, even something basic, they respond better. When they make great plays, they need to differentiate between being lucky to be in the right spot and visualizing how and why they got there.
"Players buy into what he says because it's not just about the moment," said linebackers coach Clark Lea, who came with Elko from Wake Forest. "It's about the teachable moment. And he always circles back with a lesson involved."
Kelly's response Tuesday to a question about linebacker Te'von Coney's improvement -- "He's trusting the teaching" -- could apply to just about any of Elko's players.
Elko came to Notre Dame as one of only two FBS defensive coordinators with top-40 defenses in each of the past five years (at Wake Forest and Bowling Green). He's quick to note he had more talent than many think, especially at Wake -- linebacker Marquel Lee is starting for the Oakland Raiders as a rookie, Duke Ejiofor is the No. 3-ranked senior defensive end on Mel Kiper's board.
"We had lower-recruited players, but we had some good players," Elko said. "We taught a defense that they understood, and we weren't asking kids to just make plays and do things that they weren't capable of doing."
Going from Wake to Notre Dame would seem like a no-brainer for a coach, but before accepting Kelly's offer, Elko studied the personnel. He wouldn't come if the defense looked years away from breaking through. He saw enough potential, especially among the younger classes, to make him believe he could flip it.
After arriving, he made some key adjustments. He shifted Drue Tranquill, the team's No. 2 tackler in 2016, from strong safety to rover, a safety/outside linebacker hybrid, where his skills better fit. Tranquill, slightly heavier but actually faster, leads the team in tackles for loss (5.5) and fumble recoveries (three), adding a forced fumble, an interception and a sack.
There were also more subtle tweaks. Kareem, one of three players with three sacks, is playing more on the outside, rather than alternating from an interior position.
"It lets me be the edge rusher I was before," Kareem said. "It allows me to play my game."
An evolving scheme
Coaches who studied Notre Dame's defense the past few years saw a unit lacking identity. One head coach told ESPN.com last fall that the Irish ran so many styles, he didn't know how the players could keep it all straight.
Here's what offensive coordinators are saying about the Irish defense now:
"Tremendous. Great scheme. Guys play hard. Few busts. Makes you earn any scoring drive."
"They are very sound in what they do. The big thing is that the players understand it and they can play fast."
After Notre Dame held USC to 14 points and forced quarterback Sam Darnold into mistakes when he wasn't running for his life, the easy response would have been to dial up the same plan for NC State. That's not Elko.
"Mike's greatest strength is his ability to adjust," said Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson, who had Elko on staffs at four schools. "He always understood how players dictate the scheme; the scheme doesn't dictate the players. With [Ejiofor], he constantly moved him to get a good matchup with the pass rush. It wasn't, 'He's an end. He's gotta win.' It was, 'Hey, we're going to find a way to get him isolated.'"
Elko's system is constantly changing. He expects coaches to come to meetings with opinions and ways to challenge him on certain strategies.
If Lea doesn't feel good about how a linebacker is being used or how to fit a certain run play, he immediately goes to Elko.
Linebackers coach Clark Lea says Mike Elko's defensive philosophy is "about the teachable moment. And he always circles back with a lesson involved." Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire
"You have to be a thinker; you can't just be OK with the status quo if it's not going to help your players," Lea said. "We don't ever want to put our players in a position where the answer is: Just play faster or play harder."
Added Elko: "What [players] appreciate is a scheme that they can understand, a scheme they felt confident in their ability to execute, a scheme that allowed them to get lined up quickly and play."
Elko sees game plans as a constant chase. The influx of run-pass option, spread concepts and tempo has offenses running more plays and rarely repeating them. Offenses don't show as many tendencies, but he latches on to the ones he sees.
Notre Dame defenders knew Darnold was "loose with the football," end Daelin Hayes said. When Darnold dropped the first snap of the game, Coney was there to pounce on it. Kareem said he knew USC's offensive tackles were "leaners," allowing him to beat them to the outside. Hayes saw USC right tackle Chuma Edoga had been repeatedly beaten on the inside the week before against Utah, so he used speed to get Edoga to overset, allowing Hayes to scoot by.
"Guys are truly buying into the process," Hayes said, "becoming a great, detailed defense. That has been huge."
Book smart, street smart
In 2015, Notre Dame had a strong, balanced offense. The Irish averaged 7 yards per play and eclipsed 400 yards in every game but one. Elko's Wake Forest defense held Notre Dame to 282 yards and 15 first downs, also a season low.
It stuck with Kelly.
The coach also tracked how Elko's defenses forced takeaways and pressured quarterbacks, areas in which Notre Dame struggled in 2016. Kelly liked how Elko came up through college football's back roads, the FCS and lower divisions. Kelly didn't reach the Power 5 until his 25th year in coaching.
"It really is an indicator of your ability to teach and communicate," Kelly said, "and do more with less."
After finishing college at Penn, where he played safety, Elko started his career at Stony Brook, which he calls one of two true destinations (Albany is the other) for aspiring East Coast coaches who want to get their feet wet. His title read graduate assistant. In reality, he coached the linebackers.
In 2001, he landed his first coordinator job at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, a Division III program on Long Island, before joining Clawson at Fordham the following year.
"That was the first glimpse of where my vision of football was going to go," Elko said. "That staff was living in the Bronx. We were young, hungry, smart, willing to work."
In Elko, Clawson saw a curious, instinctive coach who could relate to anyone. Sure, Elko had an Ivy League degree, but he didn't hang out with "the eating club group." He spent most of his free time playing pickup basketball around Philly.
Elko spent 12 of the next 15 years with Clawson, who saw Elko in various roles: position coach, recruiting coordinator and defensive coordinator.
"Mike is book smart and street smart," Clawson said. "A lot of coaches can get up there and draw plays up and tell you what they do. They can't understand why they do it. Mike always understood that."
Because of the mostly off-the-radar path, Elko, 40, wasn't a splashy hire at Notre Dame. But much like Don Brown at Michigan, the move resonated in coaching circles. There's less surprise about Notre Dame's surge among those in the know.
The Irish players aren't shocked, either. They understand how they got here, where they're going and why they'll get there. Elko wouldn't have it any other way.
"The roof," Kareem joked when asked about the ceiling for Notre Dame's defense. "We're just playing free, just going after the ball and playing our ball."I am Jamie Redman and I am a big believer in Bitcoin. My family revolves their lives around Bitcoin and there is not a day that goes by without us not talking about the virtual currency.
As a cryptocurrency and fintech journalist, my wife hears my preliminary stories and she is my number one proofreader. My wife and two lovely sons, Joshua, 6, and Franklin, 2, could tell you a thing or two about Bitcoin and blockchains and they most certainly know more about this technological revolution than most adults.
Joshua and Bitcoin
I teach my children about Bitcoin openly; they know all the lingo involved and it's funny hearing their little voices say "cryptocurrency". Joshua can explain Bitcoin along the following line:
"Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. It's a kind of computerized money you use online...Like numbers being traded."
Joshua knows that the numbers cannot be duplicated. He will also tell you that Bitcoin is a big orange B from seeing me make Bitcoin memes.
Every night Joshua and I also design some of the most popular cryptocurrency memes and visuals.
Joshua helps me with the designs, however he does not like the Bitcoin logo too much. According to him, it's too boring and plain. He actually likes the Dash logo when it used to be Darkcoin. He also likes the Peercoin and Litecoin logos.
I first introduced Joshua to Bitcoin when he was 4 during our drive to the local Bitcoin ATM in Boston. Arriving at the MIT co-op around noon, we walked to the Bitcoin ATM where I added some bills into the machine with Joshua eagerly watching the whole time.
When I was done, Joshua asked me the following, "Dad, where are the bitcoins?", expecting to see some actual coins coming out from the machine. I told him that there will not be any physical bitcoins coming out as they are now stored as digits my phone.
Joy of Homeschooling
My children are homeschooled and get a different education than most. Joshua and Franklin are taught arithmetic and reading well before normal schooling starts publicly. We believe learning happens all the time, at any age and even during play time.
Technology is allowed in our home and Joshua is especially crafty with Minecraft and computers. While listening to me ramble about Bitcoin everyday, he often takes a keen interest in the subject at hand.
Together with me, he watches charts on BitcoinWisdom and sees transactions being sent when we purchase something. He gets really excited when we received our Trezor and wanted to learn how the virtual currency was stored there. We talked about the whole process of setting up a hardware wallet and it gives me great joy to see Joshua adapt so fluidly to emerging technologies.
Phasing out Fiat Currency
Our family has begun phasing out the use of fiat currency. We still use it, but we are cutting back drastically. This means being paid in bitcoin, as well as buying groceries and paying bills with it.
This is not a dreadful experience as some bill paying is, but a fruitful learning experience filled with excitement and adventure. We are the kind of family that tries our very best to build our surroundings by living counter-economically. This means we do things like barter and pay bills using bitcoin.
Living with the basic concepts of agorism has brought a new meaning to our lives. We believe that using our dollar to "vote" is not the route we as a family would want to go.
We believe that fiat currencies are meant to drive our extended family into a debt spiral which leads to dependency and the loss all individuality. We believe that we are all natural sovereign humans, who want the best for our futures. Bitcoin offers the solution to achieve our goal as family unit.
My kids are very much acclimatized to Bitcoin around their everyday lives. Joshua is losing a tooth and knows that under his pillow there may be a paper QR code containing bitcoin. As each day goes by, both my children will learn the basics of economics through the use of Bitcoin.
We are a very passionate family ideologically but using Bitcoin can happen to any family. We owe it to ourselves to offer financial inclusion for all the children of the world, free from borders and divisive methods of force.Luke 7:36-50 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”Census: 2010 Saw Poverty Rate Increase, Income Drop
toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The nation's poverty rate rose last year to 15.1 percent, the highest level in 17 years, according to new data from the Census Bureau. The agency's latest poverty report, released Tuesday, shows that 46 million people were poor and that the median income dropped last year by more than two percent to about $49,445.
Not unexpectedly, the continued lack of jobs was the main cause.
Economist Rich Burkhauser of Cornell says income declined for just about everyone and — surprisingly — at a faster rate overall than it did in 2008, when the recession was in full swing. Burkhauser says the main reason is a big decline in the workforce.
"The number of males who are working has fallen by over 3 million workers since 2007, and last year it fell by another 650,000. So that's very disturbing," he says.
Employment among women also shrank, and the percentage of the employed who are only working part-time also grew. This pushed more and more people below the poverty line, which the Census Bureau defines as a family of four with income below about $22,314 a year.
'I'll Take Anything'
For certain groups, the news was especially bad. The poverty rate for Hispanics was about 27 percent. It was about the same for African-Americans, like Andre Colter of Washington, D.C.
"No one dreams of becoming homeless. No one dreams of becoming unemployed," Colter says.
Real Median Household Income
But Colter is both. Since May, he's lived on a bench on Pennsylvania Avenue, halfway between the White House and the Capitol, where lawmakers are trying to reach some agreement on what to do to create more jobs. Colter is looking for a job in construction, where he worked until earlier this year, but he's not having much luck.
"I would take an office job. I'll start in the mailroom. I'll work on your trash truck. Right now, I'll take anything," Colter says.
The Census Bureau says short of sleeping on the streets, many more people are doubling up — living with friends and relatives. Since the start of the recession, the number of doubled-up households has grown about 10 percent to almost 22 million. And this past spring, almost 6 million young adults ages 25-34 were living with their parents — more than a million more than before the downturn began. The bureau says almost half of these young adults would be considered poor if their parents weren't supporting them.
Another disturbing figure is the continued rise in child poverty. Last year, 22 percent were poor. Sheldon Danziger, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan, says this does not bode well for future prosperity.
"We know that children growing up in poverty are more likely to drop out of high school than non-poor children, and they're less likely to go onto college, which will contribute to lower wages in the next generation," Danziger says.
Both he and Burkhauser note that government spending on things such as unemployment insurance kept the poverty rate from going even higher. But, like the politicians, they differ over what should be done now. Danziger thinks unemployment benefits need to continue to prevent more people from dropping below the poverty line. Burkhauser prefers cutting marginal tax rates to encourage more businesses to hire.The Australian citizenship affirmation is a short statement that enables Australian citizens to publicly display their pride in being Australian.
The affirmation is based on the pledge of commitment made by new citizens at their Australian citizenship ceremony. It allows Australian-born citizens to publicly make the same commitment.
Citizenship is a unifying symbol in Australia's culturally diverse society. The affirmation provides a means of expressing that unity.
Text [ edit ]
The Australian citizenship affirmation states:
As an Australian citizen† I affirm my loyalty to Australia and its people, Whose democratic beliefs I share, Whose rights and liberties I respect, And whose laws I uphold and obey.
† People who are not yet Australian citizens but feel a strong connection to Australia may join in at the second line.
History [ edit ]
Affirmation ceremonies were introduced in 1999 as part of the 50th anniversary of Australian citizenship celebrations. Until then, the only Australian citizens who made a pledge of commitment to Australia, its people and its civic principles were those who became citizens at Australian citizenship ceremonies.
The affirmation proved popular with ceremony participants and the Australian Citizenship Council (1998-2001) received submissions from members of the public who supported the continuation of affirmation ceremonies beyond the 50th anniversary celebrations. The council recommended that affirmation ceremonies be included in appropriate formal civic occasions hosted by state, territory and local governments and noted that the Centenary of Federation in 2001 would provide further appropriate opportunities for affirmation ceremonies to be conducted.[1]
The 1999 National Schools Constitutional Convention delegates also expressed support for the concept of voluntary affirmation ceremonies for all Australians as a means of enhancing awareness of Australian citizenship.[1]
The Australian Government supported the continuation of affirmation ceremonies for Australian citizens beyond the 50th anniversary of Australian citizenship (1999) and Centenary of Federation (2001) celebrations, noting that participation in affirmation ceremonies should be voluntary, have no legal status and be conducted with dignity and respect.[2]
Australian citizenship affirmation ceremonies [ edit ]
Australian citizenship affirmation ceremonies can be hosted by any Australian citizen. They are often held in conjunction with an Australian citizenship ceremony but can also be celebrated as a separate ceremony.
Affirmation ceremonies may be included as part of civic occasions, community events, school assemblies or on days of national significance such as Australia Day (26 January), Harmony Day (21 March), Constitution Day (9 July), Wattle Day (1 September) and Australian Citizenship Day (17 September).
The National Australia Day Council encourages the inclusion of Australian citizenship affirmation ceremonies as part of Australia Day celebrations.
Affirmation ceremonies are conducted according to the guidelines outlined in the Australian Citizenship Ceremonies Code.[3]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]"A note from the authors:
After having many difficult and problematic conversations with family or friends who were committed to voting Conservative in the upcoming general election on the 8th June, we wanted to examine the truth behind the last 7 years of Tory government and condense it all into a simple, accessible and widely sourced investigative report.
The report explores the impact of Conservative government in almost every aspect of life in the UK.
We hope it can become a useful tool for anyone hoping to educate, inform and persuade their friends and family to vote in a fashion that does not condemn them and future generations to a poorer quality of life and the inevitable suffering that will arise from another Conservative victory.
The report can be accessed free online or downloaded here: https://thekidsmanifesto.wordpress.com
With love,
The KM Collective''
With perhaps one of the most important elections in a generation arriving on June 8th, Britain is preparing itself for what is sure to mark a major historical shift in the trajectory of its social and political destiny. Yet throughout the last 7 years, there is one dominant party that has implemented and executed a programme of systemic vampirism, preying on the vulnerable and the poor, draining the public sector and consistently inflicting further impoverishment upon the population of Britain – the Tories – or the party otherwise known, as the Conservative Party.
The truth of Tory Britain is the truth of austerity. It is a truth of unimaginable human cost resulting from massive cuts to the very systems of life-giving the state proclaims to provide; this includes cuts to funding for education, health services, welfare and indeed across all public sectors. Their policies have seen higher education become increasingly unaffordable, the wealth inequality gap grow further and further, the NHS begin to buckle under new pressure and the cycle of terrorism and international conflict continue.
So why do the Conservatives have such broad support? Even with working class voters? Is it simply an electorate often living in blissful ignorance or privilege, or one that has been deceived by rhetoric and false promises? It is a question many people are asking themselves; especially amongst the younger generation of the UK.
Knowing that this election will decide the fate of many generations in the UK to come, many young people – and indeed people of all ages – have likely felt incredibly disheartened at conversations shared with family or friends who have decided to take it upon themselves to support the Conservatives in the upcoming election; we all know those uncomfortable dinner-time debates, the slowly boiling rift of opinions, the side-eyes and sighs of consternation.
With many young people wondering exactly how to explain the truth of the Conservative party in such situations, beyond the shallow realm of opinions and into the deep oceans of facts, we took it upon ourselves to demonstrate how to use 'The Kid's Manifesto: A Guide to Not Voting Conservative' by offering 7 simple reasons as to why a vote for Theresa May is a vote against your children’s future and the future of generations to come.
All information listed below is compiled and referenced in ‘The Kid’s Manifesto: A Guide to Not Voting Conservative’, available for free online or downloadable here: https://thekidsmanifesto.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/the-kids-manifesto/
1. Education
In 2015, the Tories cut £3 billion to public education funding. Theresa May will continue with this pledge. It is also predicted that almost half of Britain’s teachers will leave their jobs due to overworking, chronic under-funding and stress.
Theresa May has also pledged to scrap free school dinners for over 900,000 children, putting greater strains on families already struggling to make ends meet. The Prime Minister claims this will save up to £3.5 million of public money. (It is interesting to note that as recently as 2015, politicians were been enjoying five-course meals in luxury restaurants and the Parliament bar at a public cost of £3.7 million a year.)
Under the Coalition government tuition fees were increased to £9000 a year, last year the Conservatives have granted permission to Universities to lift the cap with inflation. That is set to raise fees as high as £11,697 by 2025 - tipping the price of a top degree over £35,000, the price without additional living costs. Additionally, the Conservatives have scrapped the maintenance grant replacing it with another loan, adding greater financial pressure for young people from lower-income backgrounds.
This future will likely be one where any schools will be understaffed and underfunded, and where the quality of education will have drastically declined. It is also a future where young people will likely choose not to apply for university degrees and where only the richest will be educated, whilst universities will become even more of a market for private profiteering.
A vote for Conservative is a vote for the continued attack on every child’s right to learn.
2. NHS / Healthcare
With George Osbourne already scrapping the £6000-a-year grant unveiled in 2015, with changes imposed to junior doctors’ contracts, and with severe underfunding and budget cuts, the NHS is already reaching a crisis point. Adult social care and mental health service cuts have increased pressure on many hospitals, all of which are already over-stretched and lacking in resources.
The Conservatives have promised increased investments whilst also reducing and redefining what services are provided by the NHS. This has seriously undermined what should be considered a national institution to be cherished and protected.
This is all mainly thanks to Jeremy Hunt – the current Secretary of Health – a Conservative politician who has already co-authored a book advocating for the privatization of the NHS. Hunt has also flown to the U.S.A to meet private healthcare companies and advertise the NHS, and he has already sold off and privatized sectors of the NHS, even those that were making money (whilst pocketing £17 million for himself after selling off his own private health company). The insidious privatisation of the NHS has made young people, as well as most of the adult population, fearful of the imposition an American-style health system that would leave those unable to afford healthcare to die.
For many young people, the NHS is not something to be whittled away and thrown into the fire. With the possibility of the eventual collapse of the NHS is a looming reality in the wake of a Conservative victory, a vote for Conservative is a vote for the likely destruction of free healthcare in Britain.
3. Housing
Under the Conservatives, the UK has experienced a housing crisis unlike any other in living memory. Most young people already have no hope to own a house, with home-owning is at its record lowest in 29 years. Families are now increasingly dependent on renting properties with little to no tenant protections existing and since 2010 rents have also risen by 15%. All of this isn’t surprising when we realise almost a third of British MPs are private landlords.
The Conservatives housing policy has favoured the rich and allowed private property tycoons, from the UK and abroad, to buy huge swathes of land as well as previously council-owned housing in the UK, especially in London. This is also not surprising considering property developers have contributed upwards of £3.3. million to the Conservative party between 2008-2011 alone.
The result has been a marked rise in unaffordable housing and a lack of tenant rights that have exacerbated the homelessness crisis. In 2016, over 43,000 families were made homeless. In February 2017 alone, it was estimated that the equivalent of five families an hour were made homeless. In the UK, homelessness has actually doubled since David Cameron’s election in 2010. Despite this happening, the Conservatives have continued with their austerity measures, adding insult to injury by making spending cuts to council budgets and homelessness relief bodies.
Yet if the Conservatives continue to succeed in their plans, it is likely jobseekers aged 18 to 21 will also no longer get Housing Benefit to help with their rent. According to the homelessness charity, Centrepoint, this will likely force thousands of young people on the streets and adversely affect children from abusive homes.
Every child deserves shelter and warmth, yet a vote for Conservative is a vote for more precarious and unaffordable housing for your children. It is also a vote for the further likelihood of homelessness in Britain, at the cost of future lives.
4. Environment
With the natural world facing a crisis unlike anything ever known, future generations are staring down the barrel of immense ecological damage and a significant impact on human and animal populations – from mass extinction, to deforestation and oceanic pollution.
However, it is man-made climate change that is likely to have the biggest consequences for human civilization and for much of life on Earth. The existence of which is agreed by 97% of scientists and the cause of which is an enormous amount of carbon emissions – primarily due to the consumption of fossil fuels as well as the production of other gases such as methane.
The alternatives for a greener economy are available, however the fossil fuel industry is fighting tooth and nail to propagate lies about climate change and encourage countries to continue investing in dirty energy whilst also continue practicing the damaging resource extraction techniques involved with fossil fuels.
In the context of the UK, indeed, the fossil fuel industries have spent upwards of £39 million lobbying British and European policymakers. Moreover, as a party, the Conservatives have received over £390,000 from the oil industry in 2017 alone under the leadership of Theresa May.
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. “It was tough not to be out there with them.’’
The Bruins petitioned the NHL — successfully — to get Savard’s name etched on the Cup. They gave him a ring, and the trainers helped him onto a Duck Boat for the victory parade. He wore sunglasses because of his sensitivity to light. But it was a great day. He felt the love of Bruins fans.
“Oh yeah, I did, and they were great,” he said.
He said he’s having fun again, even while meticulously taping the kids’ hockey sticks, his tongue sticking out like Michael Jordan.
“Just doing this [coaching] has been a breath of fresh air for me,’’ he said. “Whether it’s around the coaching staff or these kids, it’s great to get out and joke and have some fun and compete.’’
Before the game, Savard scribbles notes on a Bruins lineup sheet given to him by Julien.
“I can’t say it enough,” he writes. “No passengers. Everyone pulling on the rope.”
The notes are cheat sheets for his short-term memory loss.
He credits his wife Valerie with being “phenomenal” in his recovery.
“If there’s a 7 o’clock practice,” he said, “I probably ask her several times a day, ‘Is it 7 o’clock?’ Just to double check.”
But that’s better than having panic attacks, when he thought he was dying and his wife had to calm him down. He’d stand in front of the TV, watching the game he once starred at, just trying to do one simple thing.
Breathe.
Medication has eliminated the panic attacks, but he still has some anxiety issues.
“A lot of stuff that I never dealt with before I wound up getting from all [the concussions],” he said.
But lately there has been plenty of good news.
Last month, the Oshawa Generals, his old junior hockey team, retired his No. 27. For Savard, it was a three-hanky night.
“I didn’t think I would get emotional practicing my speech at home, but as soon as I got out there, I cracked up,” he said. “It was a great night, something I’ll never forget, and thank the Lord I had all my family and friends there. It was special.”
Keith Srakocic/AP Marc Savard was knocked unconscious for almost a half-minute on March 7, 2010, after being hit by the Penguins’ Matt Cooke.
Fateful blow in Pittsburgh
Bryan Boyes, the longtime Generals athletic trainer, has known Savard since he was a teenager. He supervised him in high school, when Savard also was a co-op student with the Generals. The young Savard was ordering hockey sticks, meeting with Bauer representatives, learning the business.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person here that loved hockey as much as he did,’’ said Boyes. “He just loved doing that.’’
As a Bruin, Savard would call Boyes from the road to chat. But that stopped after Savard got concussed. When Boyes ran into him in Peterborough, the smile was still there but Savard was quiet.
“I don’t think he was very well for a couple of years, and it played a part in his whole lifestyle,” said Boyes. “Seeing him here the night they retired his jersey, he was his old self again and very happy.’’
Savard remains the Generals’ all-time scoring leader, his 413 points in 238 games surpassing even Bobby Orr and a new member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Eric Lindros, both of whom also have their Generals numbers hanging from the rafters.
Like Savard, Lindros was out of the NHL before age 35 because of concussions.
The beginning of the end for Savard came in Pittsburgh on March 7, 2010, when he was blindsided by Cooke, deliberately smashed on the side of his head by a stiff shoulder. Savard remembers it, sort of.
“Like everybody else, I see it in the video,’’ he said. “When it happened, I was out for 29 seconds. Straight. Cold.
“I remember going off on the stretcher and I remember thinking, ‘My kids are probably watching and they were probably worried,’ so I just gave a little wave that was to let them know that I’m OK.”
But he wasn’t.
“That’s the main one, because I never felt like that in my life,’’ he said. “I’ve had concussions; I remember in Calgary I slept for a week straight. But the one from Cooke was a nightmare. I went through a lot of dark days there. For a good three months I was a zombie.
“I was living in a backward kind of world. I was sleeping from 5 a.m. till 10 p.m. or midnight and kind of getting up in the nighttime, and I was very irritable, unbelievably irritable. Didn’t want to talk to anybody. I was alienating people that were trying to help. It was a tough time.”
Cooke called him after the game.
“I wasn’t in any mood to talk to him that night, so I never talked to him,” said Savard. “I never heard from him.”
There was no penalty called on Cooke for the hit. And Savard was frustrated when Colin Campbell, the NHL’s vice president of hockey operations, didn’t suspend Cooke. He was later surprised that Campbell called him a “fake artist” in an email that became public.
Campbell was Savard’s first NHL coach with the Rangers in 1997-98.
“I’ll take the high road,” said Savard when asked about Campbell. “He gave me my first opportunity to some degree. I don’t know where he gets all his hatred from because I played hard for him when I played for him. I don’t get it, to be honest.”
But the Cooke hit was instrumental in the NHL outlawing blind-side hits. Now there are automatic penalties and ejections.
“That’s a winning situation for the rest of the players in our league,” said Savard, “so in a roundabout way and a tough way, I’m glad I can help out the league.”
The hit didn’t knock Savard out of the game for good. He returned after missing the last 18 games of that regular season and the first round of the playoffs.
“I had been through a lot and it was an opportunity to battle that inner demon,’’ he said. “You’re not ready, but I wanted to play.”
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia, Savard netted the game-winner in overtime. It was his own Miracle on Ice.
“The Philly goal was huge,’’ he said. “Huge because personally for what I went through all those months and then to get back on the ice for my first game and be able to score in OT was actually very, very special.”
But after teammate David Krejci broke his wrist in Game 3, Savard faded from pure exhaustion.
“I was out there all the time and I was done,” he said.
The Bruins won the first three games of the series, then lost the last four and were eliminated.
From then on, Savard’s playing days were numbered. He started the 2010-11 season on injured reserve. Then in January, Hunwick — who was a Bruins defenseman on the ice when Cooke freight-trained Savard — delivered the final shot.
“Hunwick wasn’t doing anything harmful there,’’
said Savard.
“I was coming down at a high speed and he just cut me off. And I can remember him banging my head and my head jerking off the window. I think it had more to do with the glass there; they have seamless glass and it’s rock-hard.’’
Missed in Boston
Back in Boston, at Warrior Ice Arena, Zdeno Chara remembers Savard’s last agonizing moments on the ice.
“It’s the worst,’’ said the Bruins captain. “Obviously he couldn’t see, he couldn’t get his balance. I saw him in the shower shortly after the game and he was just struggling.
“It’s very sad. It’s very unfortunate. You feel bad obviously, you feel for the [team’s] loss and we miss him. We miss him in the locker room still today.”
Chara, like legions of Bruins faithful, misses Savard’s velvety hands, the way he ran the power play and the way he made pinpoint passes.
“Some of the stuff he did, you were like, ‘Wow!’ ” said Chara. “There’s only a handful of guys in the league who can do that.”
Patrice Bergeron agrees.
“I miss his talent,” said Bergeron, describing Savard’s no-look, behind-the-back passes that were somehow right on target.
Plus, everybody misses his sense of humor.
“He was a fun guy to be around,” said Bergeron.
But Bergeron, who has suffered four concussions, understands Savard’s plunge into darkness more than most.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “You’re second guessing everything that you’re going through and wondering if you are going to come out of it.”
Barry Chin/Globe Staff Seventeen days after the Matt Cooke hit, Marc Savard addressed the media at TD Garden.
Savard had his day with the Stanley Cup on Aug. 1, 2011, in his hometown of Peterborough. His son Tyler turned the trophy into a cereal bowl and ate Froot Loops from it. Savard brought the Cup to his local golf club, where fans lined up to pose for pictures with him.
Savard loves golf and has won several local tournaments. He hopes to play in the senior pro circuit after his four children get older. Chipping and putting are his forte.
“What golf has done for me the most is when I get out there for the four hours,’’ he said. “When I’m out there, I’m able to just clear my head.
“It’s a different kind of feeling because you’re all by yourself, it’s all on you... but it’s not the same as being around all the guys.”
The Petes love him, even though he makes the players wear ties for travel to both home and away games. He buys them pizzas when they play well and he tells them the biggest sin in the world is unused ice time.
“He’s a great coach and teacher,” said Petes player Evan Brault. “He doesn’t yell, he jokes around a lot and tells us a lot of NHL stories.”
“Yelling is not going to do anything there,” said Savard. “It’s just like the NHL: You take a night off, and you’re going to get beat.”
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Tyler Savard’s uniform, as well as those of his teammates, bears a “Stop” patch to remind opponents not to hit from behind.
Studying the effects
The Petes’ uniforms have patches on the back that say “STOP,” a reminder to avoid hits from behind. Savard would like to see the lookup line — an orange warning track on the ice in front of the boards — tested in junior hockey before being implemented in the NHL.
He has decided to let his two boys decide for themselves whether they want to play hockey. Eldest son Zachary played AAA hockey, quit, and is playing again in high school. But Tyler recently got picked to play at a higher level. Savard said he had butterflies watching him.
He doesn’t really talk concussions with them. “I don’t want to scare them,” he said.
“I’ve always told them from Day 1, you don’t have to play hockey because I did. [But] I don’t discourage it. Hockey has given me everything in my life that I have, so it would be tough for me to do that.”
Tyler knows what happened to his father. He has seen the videos.
“But if you worry about getting hurt, you’re going to get hurt,” said Tyler. “I like to hit.”
When Savard puts on skates for practice, he always wears a helmet, per doctor’s orders.
He has decided to donate his brain to science so it can be studied for the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease that has affected hockey players, football players, and wrestlers who have suffered repeated head trauma.
Savard is a board member of the Canadian Concussion Centre headed by brain injury expert Dr. Charles Tator of Toronto Western Hospital. His friend and former NHL teammate Steve Montador, who also suffered multiple concussions, died at age 35 in 2015 and had his brain donated to the Centre. Tests confirmed Montador had extensive CTE damage.
“That was tough,” said Savard.
Tator, in a telephone interview, could not discuss Savard’s case but said that postconcussion syndrome does not necessarily lead to CTE.
“We do see people recovering from postconcussion syndrome,” he said. “We’ve seen total recovery. It can take years.”
Savard said he would love to coach in the Ontario Hockey League but not the NHL, although he won’t rule it out.
“We’ll see,” he said. “ I don’t want to cut off any lines now.”
His Devils contract expires at the end of this season.
“I’d love to retire a Bruin,”Bergoglio insists that the Church cannot transcend culture. He is unafraid to illustrate how the Church has changed in response to shifting cultural trends, pointing to, for instance, its recent acceptance of divorcees as full members. He takes this point further by suggesting that more changes might be necessary. In an astonishing concession, he opines that the Church’s sensitivity to the course of human events might someday lead it to discard the celibacy requirement for the clergy. This suggestion is difficult to square with the Catholic catechism, which declares that those who follow the “consecrated life” bear the “obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience.” To Bergoglio, however, this obligation is not necessarily eternally binding. Moreover, “cultural reasons” might one day render it unwise.
To be sure, Bergoglio does not embrace modern society wholeheartedly. He condemns its excessive attention to material concerns as “narcissistic, consumerist, and hedonistic.” Moreover, he argues that the theological precepts formulated by the Church Fathers in the third and fourth centuries—Catholicism’s “inheritance”—are “nonnegotiable.” However, he indicates that Church’s deeply-held precepts were “deepen[ed]” and “refine[d]” over time in response to social pressures. In his view, even our understanding of God is culturally specific, as every society takes the divine image and “translates it in accordance with the culture, and elaborates, purifies and gives it a system.” He therefore expresses satisfaction that many of his seminarians are college educated, as the “cosmopolitan perspective” they developed in the academy will attune them to cultural change.
Bergoglio’s concern with culture makes him wary of disrupting it. To that end, he hesitates to wield his religious authority in contemporary political debates. He proudly declares that he rarely spoke out on political matters during his tenure as a bishop in Buenos Aires, and that when he did, his objections were procedural, not philosophical. For instance, he denounced the government’s decision not to appeal judicially authorized gay marriage based solely on his determination that the judge had overreached and that the government was preventing appeals. Believing that appeals to religion in the public sphere are inherently intrusive, he refused to invoke scriptural authority.
Bergoglio therefore reserves special criticism for religious leaders who rejoice in imposing their views on the public. He lambasts the phenomenon of “clericalism,” when priests make religious demands of their followers in regards to political or social questions. Bergoglio rejects these priests because he believes religion exists to serve the people and thus cannot issue edicts that the people do not seek out. In fact, Bergoglio believes that the separation of civil and ecclesiastical authority reflects divine intent. Since God grants humanity “freedom to sin,” Bergoglio reasons, the Church must “defend the autonomy of human events,” even if doing so encourages widespread violation of Catholic doctrine. Religious leaders, in Bergoglio’s view, must not mistake their obligation to encourage their parishioners with a mandate for coercion. They must accept the limits of their position.Share
The drive toward electrified vehicles will come faster and easier for some countries and cultures than others. If legislation pending in Norway is enacted, it will be the first country to mandate the shift from cars with gas engines. Four major Norwegian political parties are in favor of laws to ban sales of new gasoline-powered cars starting in 2025, according to Electrek.
Let’s skip right by the irony that, according to a government report, Norway is a major oil producer and the world’s third-largest natural gas exporter. In 2015, oil and natural gas represented 39 percent of the country’s total export value. Though Norway is a big fossil fuel supplier, there are good reasons why it makes sense that the Scandinavian country could become the first to legislate in favor of all-electric vehicle sales.
Almost all of Norway’s oil and natural gas is exported to Europe, primarily to Germany, Belgium, France, and the U.K. Most of the natural gas is used for heating homes, factories, and office buildings and to fuel electrical power plants.
Norway isn’t the only country considering vehicle electrification. There are proposals to stop fossil fuel-powered car sales in The Netherlands also by 2025. The government of India is considering an all-electric fleet by 2030. However, according to Electrek, Norway’s proposed laws have the best chance of being enacted. Passage would make the country the first to halt gas car sales and require zero emissions for all new car sales.
Electric cars aren’t as revolutionary or unusual in Norway as they are in most countries. With 24 percent of the new vehicles sold in Norway already powered by electricity, currently the highest percentage in the world, e-vehicles aren’t a brand new concept for Norwegians to get their heads around.
Right now there aren’t many all-electric vehicles on the market. Consumer choices are limited in Norway as everywhere else. With the worldwide shift in the direction of electric cars, however, many more choices will be available in just a few years.
The new gas-powered car sales legislation passage in Norway isn’t a slam dunk, but even getting the proposal on the table is noteworthy and a likely sign of legislative agenda in other countries.It’s official. Wendy Davis is running for governor of Texas. The state senator who shot to fame in June by staging an 11-hour filibuster to defend abortion rights announced Thursday that she will run for the Democratic nomination in 2014.
By all rights, Senator Davis’s campaign is a long shot. Texas is solid red and has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994. It last elected a Democratic governor in 1990, the late Ann Richards. As of July, Davis's likely Republican opponent, state Attorney General Greg Abbott, had raised $22 million; Davis had about $1 million. Mr. Abbott’s big money lead will allow him to define Davis early as he embarks on his fifth statewide race.
In her announcement speech, Davis portrayed herself as a uniter who will work across party lines to “get things done” to improve public education, health care, and economic development.
"Texans don't want to sit back and watch Austin turn into Washington, D.C.," Davis said, speaking in her hometown of Haltom City, Texas, according to The Associated Press.
Davis, a two-term state senator and former member of the Fort Worth City Council, is a novice as a statewide candidate. And we’re not talking just any state. This is Texas, once an independent, sovereign nation (a status some Texans would like to recapture). Those are big cowboy boots to fill, being governor of the Lone Star State.
But Davis, a Harvard-trained lawyer, has something that few newbies to big-league Texas politics have: mojo. She captured an instant national following when she put on her pink Mizunos and took on Gov. Rick Perry (R) last June over abortion restrictions. Her filibuster killed the legislation, though it passed in the next special session.
Governor Perry is retiring at the end of his term. After considering her options and holding some fundraisers, Davis is taking the plunge. Perhaps her best shot centers on the fact that it’s an open seat, analysts say.
“The fact that Abbott is not an incumbent is the real ray of hope for Davis and why it is the best time for her to run,” says Republican strategist Ford O’Connell.
More than a year before Election Day, the race is wide open. A nonpartisan Texas Lyceum poll released Wednesday shows Abbott beating Davis, 29 percent to 21 percent, with 50 percent saying they “don’t know.” Clearly, it’s early, and the campaign hasn’t started in earnest.
“Wendy Davis is an intriguing candidate, and I think she’ll be a good campaigner, so it’s possible she increases turnout, especially among young people,” says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Though “it’s not clear why Hispanics would be entranced by her.”
Notably, two rising Democratic Hispanic political stars in Texas opted not to run for governor – identical twins Julian and Joaquin Castro, one the mayor of San Antonio (and keynote speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention), the other a member of Congress.
Hispanics make up 38 percent of the Texas population, and are projected to become the majority by around 2030. In part for that reason, Obama campaign operatives have started the Battleground Texas political-action committee, which aims to turn Texas purple – putting its 38 electoral votes in play. But for Davis, running in a nonpresidential year, it will be especially challenging to get significant minority turnout.
If Davis is to have a shot, she will need to woo Hispanic voters, who are underrepresented in the Texas electorate relative to their share of the population. She also has work to do among women. In the Lyceum poll, women showed a slight preference for Abbott. She may need to “mute the abortion message and go with education and health care,” says Mr. Jillson.
At an appearance in August at the National Press Club, Davis spoke passionately about education, in part because of her personal story. She was raised by a single mother with a sixth-grade education, and by the age of 19 was herself a divorced mom. She enrolled in community college, transferred to Texas Christian University – and ultimately wound up at Harvard Law School.
But Abbott has his own compelling narrative. At age 26, he was hit by a falling tree, injuring his spine, and has been in a wheelchair ever since. He describes himself as a fighter for Texas with a spine of steel – literally, given the two permanent steel rods in his back. As attorney general, he says he has sued the federal government 27 times. That’s a big applause line in Texas.
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For Davis, running isn’t a no-risk proposition. If she loses, the margin will matter. Lose small, by four to six percentage points, and she has a potential future in state politics. Lose big, and her options are more limited. But maybe Abbott makes a mistake, or a tea party independent named Debra Medina enters the race and splits the conservative vote. There are no sure things in politics.
At her press club appearance in August, Davis was asked what Democrats must do to win statewide. Her reply: “First of all, people have to run.”In Port Hope, the smell of hotdogs fills the air, and the colourful lights of the midway flicker in the night sky. Chris Gray, 34, long brown hair slicked back with conditioner for a sweaty effect, stands quietly behind a tent, a brawny figure in camouflage accessories. A little girl in a polka-dot dress, roughly the size of his leg, finds him, and they high-five. This day started hundreds of kilometres away, in Park Hill, Ont., where Gray awoke before his children to work out. Then he drove to London to teach English literature at an adult high school, and then another four hours in the car, to tell the oldest story in the world: good versus evil.
Cody Deaner gets his young fans and spectators excited before his match with Todd Shaw at the Port Hope Fairgrounds. ( Vince Talotta / Toronto Star ) Chris Gray, his daughter, River, and son, Abel, in Parkhill, Ont. When Gray comes home from teaching, Abel asks to wrestle. ( Dave Chidley / For the Toronto Star ) Cody Deaner talks to a girl just before his match in Port Hope. He has mastered the art of winning a crowd over, whether in the ring or the classroom. ( Vince Talotta / Toronto Star )
Gray is an independent wrestler, and works for more than a dozen companies performing everywhere from small-town fairs to large arena shows. Tonight at the Port Hope fall fair, he is wrestling for Classic Championship Wrestling, an Ontario company that takes its family-friendly soap opera of body slams on the road. The promoter has a narrative arc in mind but relies on Gray to help fill in the wrestling parts — he’s like a producer. Gray sits down with each pair of wrestlers as they arrive in the locker room to chat about ideas that match their shticks — maybe a head butt here, an over-the-top insult there. He makes sure there isn’t repetition. A wrestling match has to go up and down. Sometimes bad guys have to win. Tonight, Gray is fighting in the title match against Todd “The Law” Shaw. Shaw is the villain tonight, a cop with a nightstick. Both men are in their 30s, with two kids at home: Gray — wrestling as lovable redneck Cody Deaner — is known for his deep connection with the crowd. Shaw, hair closely shaved, is the rookie, nervous about the talking parts, worried he might stutter if he thinks too much.
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Cody Deaner talks to a girl just before his match in Port Hope. He has mastered the art of winning a crowd over, whether in the ring or the classroom. ( Vince Talotta/Toronto Star )
Before the bout, the promoter, Jay McDonald, offers suggestions to Shaw to ease his nerves: “I’m going to hit Deaner with my finisher,” McDonald suggests, a mischievous smile on his face. “I’m gonna win my belt, and I’m gonna go home and celebrate with a dozen doughnuts.” Shaw hates doughnuts. Not just the cop cliché — he hates doughnuts. “Make sure you mention those doughnuts or you’re fired,” Gray chimes in, smiling. “I hate you,” Shaw says as he paces.
“Then I’ll DDT you,” Gray continues, referencing the inverted headlock impact move made famous by Jake the Snake, “and I’ll have 12 kids come in the ring and each one will shove a doughnut in your mouth.” Shaw shakes his head. Later, Shaw heads for the ring and tells the crowd his prediction for doughnut-laced victory. Gray waits for his cue on deck, which is just behind a tent with sunglasses for sale, and the little girl finds him.
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Hand in hand, they approach the ring, and more children follow, engulfing him. “He’s great at what he does, one of the best in Canada,” says Cyril Richards, a Halifax promoter. Gray circles the ring, and his voice turns into the friendly growl of Cody Deaner. This is the part that feels like jumping out a plane with a parachute, relatively assured of safety but not certain what will happen in tonight’s instalment of pile drivers and moral lessons. He asks the kids who they like and who they hate, and they follow him like the Pied Piper. This is the controlled adrenalin rush, the feeling he chases — despite the wear on his body, the long drives, the time away from his family. The fight hasn’t started, but the kids already know who to bet on. In Hulk’s loud footsteps When Chris Gray was a kid in the 1980s, Hulkamania was running wild, brother, in his family’s wood-panelled living room in the beachside village of Port Bruce, Ont. The second oldest of four children (another sibling would come years later), Gray was the ham who loved standing on his head, mimicking the outlandish wrestling announcers, and idolizing Hulk Hogan. He was wiry, but sure of himself. “He used to wrestle the teddy bear, throw that on the floor, jump on it from the couch, do holds on it and finally, the poor bear had no stuffing left in the middle,” says his mother, Susan Gibson. Gray made shirts out of No Frills grocery bags, and walked into his living room, ripping them off in homage to Hulk Hogan. “There didn’t have to be an audience necessarily, except in his head,” his mom says. Gray’s parents divorced, and he moved to Aylmer, where he excelled at high school sports, but he never went in for wrestling offered at school. It was too boring — a game of millimetres — compared to the wrestling he fell in love with as a kid. During his last year of high school the teachers were on work-to-rule. He took his extra free time as a sign, and every night he drove three hours to Niagara Falls to train to be a professional wrestler at a school there that has since closed. On his first day, 18-year-old Gray — much lighter, and with short hair — learned how to take a fall. The next day, he couldn’t get out of bed, and had new respect for his heroes. “Honestly, go down into your living room, on the hardwood floor, and throw yourselves backwards, and see if it knocks the wind out of you.”
Growing up in Port Bruce, Ontario, Chris Gray loved Hulk Hogan. For his 8th birthday, he got this Hulkamania workout set. ( Supplied )
Gray wanted to pursue his wrestling career full time, but compromised with his dad. He studied English and social science at Western while beginning his wrestling career. He then went to teachers college, following in his mother’s footsteps. In 2000, he started wrestling as Completely Cody Steele, an arrogant, high-flying bleach-blond wrestler who could be villain or hero. As Steele, he wrestled a few times for the WWE, once on television, in Rochester, N.Y., an unforgettable moment for the kid from Port Bruce. He never got a full-time contract, so he took a risk and changed his character. Cody Deaner, a mulleted go-hard who wouldn’t be out of place on the TLC show Duck Dynasty, came into the world in 2005. The character was closer to Gray’s own life growing up in rural Ontario. “All the most popular wrestlers are just extensions of their personality with the volume turned up,” he says. His voicemail doesn’t make a distinction: “You’ve reached Chris Gray or Cody Deaner,” the message says in his regular Chris Gray voice. As Deaner, he wrestled on Spike TV with TNA Impact Wrestling in 2009, and then returned to the independent wrestling scene, working across Canada and the U.S., with at least a different dozen companies, playing fairs, legion halls, hockey rinks and college campuses. As an independent wrestler, he books his own shows and sets his rates. When he was a rookie, he often wrestled for free and was happy to make $40, even if it barely covered his travel. But those days are gone. He’s a known draw, holds the championship belts with four different companies and he’s “well out of the $40 range,” he says. He has to be shrewd if he’s leaving his family. “I come home with a pile of cash that makes my wife smile,” he says. “It’s financially worth my while.” This past winter, he produced a video to get the attention of Global Force Wrestling, a new company founded by former WWE wrestler Jeff Jarrett. Gray has wrestled several matches as Cody Deaner. “Cody is a unique character who’s relatable and who really connects with fans,” Jarrett wrote in an email. Global Force is working on a television deal in North America, and Gray has a lot of faith in the growing league. He hopes he’ll be back on television again, which increases his demand and value. Getting back on television “means everything,” he says. ‘Cody Deaner is so hot’ When Chris Gray first met his wife in person, it was intermission in London, Ont., and he was wearing Daisy Duke cut-offs, the pockets drooping below the hem, and a fanny pack with a box of cigarettes poking out. “I gave her a free autographed picture of Cody Deaner,” he says, smiling at his wife in their Parkhill home, which backs on to farmland. Rachel was not a wrestling fan — “you still aren’t,” he says — but was struck by his gentle, kind eyes. A hairstylist, she saw past the mullet and handlebar moustache: “When he was wrestling it was different,” she says. “He was a character.” Gray’s mother understands. Her son likes the attention of the crowd, but there is a quieter, more sensitive side that not everybody sees. At social gatherings, parties, he doesn’t bring up his wrestling. If it comes up, he’ll talk about it. “This is work and I love it, but it still is work,” he says. Gray met Rachel online on Plenty of Fish back in 2007. She messaged him that she’d come to his match, but a lot of people say that and never do. So he was surprised when she showed up with most of her family holding a sign: “Cody Deaner is so hot right now.” He was in a tag team, and they were the bad guys. His partner wanted to rip the sign out of Rachel’s hands, but Gray stopped him “I pulled him aside under my breath so the fans didn’t hear, and said, ‘Don’t rip that sign. I might marry that girl.’” “Well, you didn’t say that,” Rachel says. “I said, date that girl. I like her, I might date that girl.” They eventually married, and settled into this house built by Rachel’s late father.
The very first time Chris Gray met his wife, Rachel. They had been messaging back and forth online and she said she'd come to one of his wrestling shows. He was surprised to see her turn up, and even more surprised that she saw past his mullet, even though she was a hairdresser. ( Supplied )
Wedding photos and drawings line the walls and the kids happily show off their fading temporary tattoos of princesses and superheroes. Life outside the ring is much more relaxed. Tonight, the only tension is whether Abel, 2, can have more pizza, and River, 4, less crust. And the spilled glass of milk that Gray saw coming. When they married, people assumed he’d give up wrestling. Same when his daughter, River, was born. He never considered it. Every day when Gray comes home from teaching, his son, asks to wrestle. Only 2, he has distilled it to its essence: “loud” and “bounce.” When he isn’t wrestling, Sundays are spent at church, and Gray volunteers with the youth group Monday night. He wrestles year round, and after the kids are in bed, he’ll shoot and edit his own videos at home or he’ll network on social media and talk to fans. In April, he was asked to come to Emalee Mayhew’s birthday party. Mayhew lives in Comber, and first saw Cody Deaner two years ago. He asked all the kids to dance around a wrestler he had body-slammed in a pile of dirt. Emalee, a little shy, joined in, chanting yeah, yeah, yeah. “He’s just a really fun guy to be around and stuff,” Emalee says. She has posters of Deaner on her walls, next to horse pictures and drawings made by her little sister. Her parents and grandparents thought they’d chip in to bring him to Comber as a birthday gift. When he came to the door as Deaner, Emalee — hair dyed a brilliant shade of red like her favourite female wrestling duo, the Bella Twins — started crying. Gray was taken aback: “In her mind, I’m Hulk Hogan. To me, I’m just Chris with my wife and kids.” The photos show him arm-wrestling Emalee, holding up his belts, and talking to the preteen girls on a couch. Emalee told him that sometimes other kids poke fun at her for liking wrestling. He told her to never give up on her dreams, to stick with them, no matter what anyone says. Grandmother Ellie Mayhew was impressed: “I could not believe this man could sit here and talk to these 11-year-old girls,” she says. He answered their questions, posed for photos, and stayed longer than he was meant to. “He is a very humble guy even though the outer layer of him is rough and tough and he’s got the grizzly beard … he’s just like one of us,” says Emalee’s mom, Deb Mayhew. “I know he’s not this ginormous huge celebrity, but in my kids’ eyes — me watching my kids get so excited brings tears to my eyes. It’s just totally worth it, bringing them to see him as many times as they want.” From singlet to Eng. lit In September 2012, Annett Filler, then 42, was sitting nervously in a classroom at the Strathroy Adult Learning Centre. She had moved to Canada from Germany more than a decade before, and she wanted to upgrade her skills and take a Grade 11 English class. Everyone was younger than she was, including the long-haired teacher at the front of the room who was trying to break the ice by getting the class to talk about their hobbies. He went first. Outside of the teaching world, he was a wrestler. Filler loved classical music. She was slightly terrified. Another student, Lee Keeler, remembers the same thing: “He said, ‘If you think getting in front of a whole room full of your peers is embarrassing, try getting in front of the world in a little pink Speedo.” Wrestling didn’t come up afterward, but the classroom learned pretty quickly that Gray was an outside-the-box kind of guy. He told the students that no matter what stage of life they were in, they were all on the same footing, Keeler says, and he read the room like the crowd at a match. Gray liked to make points with a long ruler in hand. When he saw Filler flinch, he stopped using it. “I have never |
tiger sisters recently were posted to the San Antonio Zoo's official Facebook page and show a zoo veterinarian examining them with a stethoscope during the cubs' first medical checkup.
The San Antonio cubs' birth came just a day or two before a pair of Sumatran tiger cubs were born Aug. 5 at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Castillo, spokeswoman for the San Antonio Zoo, said the cubs are healthy and weighed 8 pounds each at their checkup. They have yet to be named.
Sumatran tigers are a critically endangered tiger subspecies, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Less than 400 are estimated to exist worldwide.
For weeks, not even members of the zoo staff were allowed to be near the cubs while the mother tiger, Kemala, was acclimating to her new offspring. The father tiger, Raguno, has been kept out of the enclosure where the mother and her cubs are being held.
Dr. Rob Hilsenroff, executive director of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, explained why the mother and her cubs have been kept in relative isolation.
“They're not going to risk her rejecting the cubs,” Hilsenroff said from the AAZV offices in northern Florida. “They make behavioral judgments on the mother, and if (the mother) feels the stress of anyone getting closer, anyone other than keepers or anyone they're used to smelling, she'll oftentimes kill the cubs or abandon them.”
Zoos tend to rely on the mother's history with previous litters when making decisions about when to approach the babies and put them on exhibit, but this is Kemala's first litter.
Zoo officials said the public and the media likely wouldn't be seeing the cubs on display at the exhibit until late October or November.
The Facebook pictures are the first ones that clearly show the cubs. Previous photos were grainy images from the monitor outside the tiger enclosure.
stressler@express-news.net
Twitter: @sarahtressSkip to comments.
NASA: Quake Shifted Earth's Axis, Shortened Day
AOL News ^ | March 1, 2010 | David Knowles
Posted on by greatdefender
(March 1) -- Apart from claiming the lives of hundreds of people and wreaking enormous property damage, Chile's massive earthquake has likely altered the distribution of the Earth's overall mass, scientists from NASA say.
As a result, the length of a day is now a little shorter than it was before Saturday's magnitude 8.8 earthquake.
"The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds [millionths of a second]," Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Bloomberg. "The axis about which the Earth's mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds [about 8 centimeters or 3 inches]."
The speed that the Earth rotates also increased slightly in 2004 following the earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. That 9.1 earthquake shortened the length of an Earth day by 6.8 microseconds, scientists say.
The reason is that sudden changes in the dimensions of the Earth's tectonic plates, like those experienced in the earthquakes in Chile and Indonesia, can alter the velocity.
David Kerridge, the head of Earth hazards and systems at the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, likened the change in rotation speed to what happens when a figure skater draws her arms in close to her body while spinning. "As she pulls her arms in," Kerridge told Bloomberg, "she gets faster and faster. It's the same idea with the Earth going around: If you change the distribution of mass, the rotation rate changes."
TOPICS:
Education
Science
Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS:
axis
catastrophism
chilequake
nasa
space
To: greatdefender
The earth’s rotation currently slows at a rate of 1.4 milliseconds/century, so this quake and the Sumatra quake have erased a couple of years’ worth of frictional slowing.
To: Little Pig
"...so this quake and the Sumatra quake have erased a couple of years worth of frictional slowing..." So let me know when we need to add a February 30th.
To: greatdefender
Now how am I gonna get all my work done?
To: greatdefender
Is this theoretical or empirical data? I'm guessing theoretical. If an earth quake can accelerate the rotation with a certain movement or change in placement of mass, isn't it equally likely to slow the rotation with an opposing change from a different shift in tectonics? And how the heck does NASA measure this change so deep inside earth's crust? I'm a bit skeptical. Is GPS satellite data precise to the microsecond? I don't think so.
To: greatdefender
watch the UN and Obama will now say that if Global Climate Change Provisions willnot pass the world will come to an end. See the days are getting shorter because man caused the earthquake in Chile. They will say it was a man caused disaster. The same strategy for Universal Health care. better known as the New World Oreder one World Government
by 6 posted onby hondact200 (hondact200 No to Socialism - Michigan destroyed by Progressive Liberal Populism)
To: greatdefender
Maybe this Mayan thing isn’t so crazy.
To: greatdefender
earthquake has likely altered no proof as always....has likely...is a guess but is it educated?
by 8 posted onby Freddd (CNN is down to Three Hundred Thousand viewers. But they worked for it.)
To: greatdefender
Maybe, but was this expected?
by 9 posted onby An.American.Expatriate (Here's my strategy on the War against Terrorism: We win, they lose. - with apologies to R.R.)
To: greatdefender
I thought it was getting darker earlier.
To: skimbell
Assuming the earth continues to slow at the current rate, we will need to add a full day around the year 5,760,002,010 (give or take a few years).
To: greatdefender
“Likely” means a guess... or is this contrived and false science... like the ipcc practices. I hate BS and science has become a huge stinking pile. LLS
by 12 posted onby LibLieSlayer (hussama will never be my president... NEVER!)
To: greatdefender
Maybe they could get Mike Moore to move to Europe to balnace things out....
by 13 posted onby ASOC (In case of attack, tune to 640 kilocycles or 1240 kilocycles on your AM dial.)
To: Little Pig
Fascinating! I’m sure it hasn’t been a linear slow-down, but if it had been been then the Earth’s day would have been nearly 20 minutes shorter 4.5 billion years ago.
To: downtownconservative
I think they measure the rotation against the fixed stars. It wouldn’t be hard to get it to below microsecond precision.
To: An.American.Expatriate
Amo 8:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: Isa 24:1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down... Luk 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Luk 21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Isa 24:20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. Isa 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
To: greatdefender
I THOUGHT I felt more tired than usual when I got up this morning. Is there anybody I can sue?
To: agere_contra
It isn’t linear. That long ago, the earth’s day was actually less than 12 hours (closer to 7 hours).
To: greatdefender
Please tell me that it was the work part of the day that was shortened!!!
by 19 posted onby SoldierDad (Proud Papa of two new Army Brats! Congrats to my Soldier son and his wife.)
To: greatdefender
that’s definitely caused by man made global warming...
by 20 posted onby RaceBannon (RON PAUL: THE PARTY OF TRUTHERS AND TRAITORS!!!)
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FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John RobinsonThis undated booking photo provided by the Maricopa County Sheriff shows Wendy Lavarnia. Phoenix police say Lavarnia and her husband have been arrested following the shooting of their 9-year-old son, who police say remains on life support. Lavarnia told police she placed a loaded gun on a bed within reach of two of her young children while she turned to get a holster and that a 2-year-old shot the 9-year-old. She was arrested on suspicion of four counts of child abuse for allegedly endangering her children. (Maricopa County Sheriff via AP)
PHOENIX (AP) — A 9-year-old boy shot in the head by his 2-year-old brother with their mother’s handgun died Tuesday, and their mother told police she had previously let the toddler handle the gun when it wasn’t loaded, authorities said.
Landen Lavarnia was declared dead at a hospital, Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Vince Lewis said. Police had initially said the boy died on Monday when he was shot. But they corrected themselves and said he remained on life support earlier Tuesday before dying in the late afternoon.
The mother, Wendy Lavarnia, 28, told police she had put her loaded gun on a bed within reach of her 2-year-old and 4-year-old sons while she turned to get a holster, according to court records. That’s when the 2-year-old grabbed the gun and shot her 9-year-old son, who was playing video games a few feet away, police said.
Wendy Lavarnia told police she had allowed “the 2-year-old to practice pulling the trigger of this gun when empty on previous occasions,” the records showed.
Lavarnia had appeared in court briefly before the boy was declared dead, and asked the judge whether she could go to the hospital to see him, but the judge said she couldn’t get out of jail without posting a $25,000 bond. The judge also said she had to stay away from victims in the case as well as any children.
She didn’t have an attorney and spoke little during her brief appearance. She was jailed on suspicion of four counts of child abuse — one count for each of her four children in the home.
Lewis says investigators are examining whether to bring additional charges against the boy’s parents.
The father, 31-year-old Kansas Lavarnia, arrived home as police investigated the shooting. He was arrested because he was barred from having a gun in the family home because of a theft conviction, authorities said. He completed a three-year prison sentence in 2012.
Authorities say he knew there was a gun in his home.
He said only his name and date of birth in his court appearance.
He was ordered released on his own recognizance because he isn’t accused of directly causing harm in the shooting by the 2-year-old, said Maricopa County Court Commissioner Paula Williams.
He hasn’t been assigned a lawyer, and there’s no phone listing under his name.
A review conducted by The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network found that minors died from accidental shootings at their own hands, or at the hands of other children or adults, at a pace of one every other day during the first six months of 2016.
“It’s gun safety,” Jason Burns, a neighbor of the Lavarnias, told KPHO-KTVK-TV (https://goo.gl/qGMpyz ). “You need to keep it locked up and you need to educate your kids that this is not a toy.Lincolnshire gang operating modern slavery ring forced victim to dig his own grave
Lincolnshire gang operating modern slavery ring forced victim to dig his own grave
Eleven members of the Rooney family have been convicted of modern slavery
Members of a traveller family have been convicted of running a modern slavery ring, with one of their captives held in "truly shocking" conditions for decades.
The Rooney clan forced vulnerable people to work for little or no wages while they lived a life of luxury, which included holidays to Barbados and cosmetic surgery.
One of the victims, who worked for the family for 26 years, was ordered to dig his own grave and told "that's where you're going" if he did not sign a false work contract.
Image: Labourers were forced to live in shabby run-down caravans
Eleven gang members have been convicted of fraud and slavery charges and the full scale of their offending can only now be reported after a ruling at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.
Operating from sites in Lincolnshire, they targeted victims who were homeless, had learning disabilities or complex drug and alcohol issues.
Eighteen victims, men aged 18 to 64, were freed following raids by Lincolnshire Police and the National Crime Agency in 2014.
:: Modern slavery cases 'in every large town and city' in UK
Image: Eighteen men were forced to work at the sites or for the Rooneys' businesses
The gang also targeted four elderly homeowners, getting them to sign over properties into their names and then selling three on for a profit, one for £250,000.
One of these victims ended up dying without his family knowing, and it was only when relatives contacted police that they discovered they had missed his funeral.
The gang would search for victims on the streets and in hostels and shelters, offering work for food and accommodation at sites in Drinsey Nook and Washingborough.
Image: Many of the victims' bank accounts were controlled by the family
The men were forced to work at the sites or for the Rooneys' businesses, repairing properties and tarmacking drives.
But even though the offers of fair work for fair pay were quickly exposed as lies, they kept their victims "financially trapped" and under total control using false promises, drugs, alcohol and violence.
Labourers were forced to live in shabby run-down caravans or in stables next to kennels, with little or no access to heating, water or toilets.
Image: In contrast, the Rooneys lived a life of luxury
Police said the victims were poorly fed - often being given the family's leftovers - even though they worked for hours doing hard, manual tasks without safety equipment or the right clothing.
The gang controlled many of the victims' bank accounts, with the money being used to pay for gym memberships, football schools and building materials.
Image: The slaves had little or no access to heating, water or toilets.
The Rooneys also used "threats" and "violence", including punishment beatings, and the victims were denied medical help.
The impact on the victims was severe, with many suffering mental and physical torment during their "gruelling and emotional" ordeal, according to police.
By contrast, members of the gang enjoyed luxurious holidays to Australia, Egypt and Mexico, high-performance BMWs, spa days and cosmetic surgery.
Image: Police said many of the victims had now 'got their lives back'
As part of their operation to smash the slavery ring, police recovered £100,000 worth of stolen goods, including four caravans, three jackhammers, 70 packs of bricks, a labrador and Lincoln's cemetery gates.
It was a far cry from what Chief Superintendent Nikki Mayo, who led the investigation, described as the "suffering" inflicted on the men they employed, adding many of the victims had now "got their lives back".
The 11 family members convicted were:
:: John Rooney, 31, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby, Lincolnshire - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation and two counts of theft.
:: Patrick Rooney, 31, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, fraud by abuse of position, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and two counts of theft.
:: Bridget Rooney, 55, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
:: Martin Rooney, 35, of Sainfoin Farm, Gatemoor Lane, Beaconsfield - conspiracy to defraud, two counts of converting criminal property.
:: Martin Rooney, 57, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour and unlawful wounding.
:: Martin Rooney, 23, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
:: Patrick Rooney, 54, of Sainfoin Farm, Gatemoor Lane, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire - converting criminal property.
:: John Rooney, 53, of Chantry Croft, Pontefract, Yorkshire - two counts of conspiring to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
:: Peter Doran, 36, of Washingborough Road, Lincoln - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
:: Gerard Rooney, 46, of Washingborough Road, Lincoln - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
:: Lawrence Rooney, 47, currently in prison - conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.BEIJING (Caixin Online) — Global smartphone leader Samsung Electronics Co. 005930, +0.00% SSNLF, -3.07% had a harder time selling its gadgets in China in 2014 than in previous years, thanks to continued competition from Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.21% and up-and-coming Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi Inc.
About Caixin
Caixin is a Beijing-based media group dedicated to providing high-quality and authoritative financial and business news and information through periodicals, online and TV/video programs.
• Get the Caixin e-newsletter Caixin is a Beijing-based media group dedicated to providing high-quality and authoritative financial and business news and information through periodicals, online and TV/video programs.
Samsung’s market share fell by almost one-third in China last year. The country is the South Korean giant’s second-largest market after the United States, largely contributing to expectations it will see its first decline in profits since 2011.
Data from CCID Consulting Co. 8235, +0.47% showed that Samsung’s market share in China fell from 20% in January, to 13.7% in October. It remained No. 1 in China market share, but snapping at its heels are Lenovo Group 0992, +1.84% LNVGF, +4.30% (10.7%), Apple (9.4%), Huawei Technologies Co. 002502, -0.71% (8.5%) and Coolpad Group Ltd. 2369, +0.00% (7.7%).
Samsung’s sales decline continued in November, one of its dealers said. “Dealers sold 1.6 million Samsung phones in October, but in November the number was only 1.2 million,” he said.
Samsung’s decline comes as China’s smartphone market slowed last year, said Li Nan, vice president at the domestic budget-phone maker Meizu Technology Co.
Some 356.2 million smartphones were sold in January, but the figure fell to 307 million in October, CCID Consulting data show. The sales of smartphones costing more than 4,000 yuan ($645) remained at around 2 million a month.
Samsung continues to battle Apple in the high-end market and now faces Chinese firms in the low-end market, said Zhao Yang, who directs a research center at CCID Consulting.
Samsung’s Galaxy and Note smartphones have long been popular with consumers who like a larger screen, but Apple introduced the iPhone 6 in September. Versions of that device boast screen sizes of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, bigger than the 4 inch screen on the iPhone 5S.
Differing strategies
Meanwhile, Chinese smartphone makers grabbed market share from Samsung by improving the design and quality of their products, an industry analyst said. Many devices sell for less than 1,000 yuan. For 1,500 yuan a consumer could get a Xiaomi model called the Mi 3 that has similar specifications as the Samsung Galaxy S5, but which costs about 3,000 yuan.
Chinese smartphone makers, such as Xiaomi, were also trying to improve the Android operating system and provide more apps so users had a better experience, improvements Samsung was not making, the analyst said.
Samsung usually sets the price of its phone high and then brings it down, one of its dealers said. He mentioned the Galaxy Note 3, the price of which was slashed by 500 yuan within a week of it launch, something that would annoy people who bought the device early.
Chinese smartphone makers take a different approach: They start out with low prices, and months later unveil upgraded versions of the phones for the same price, a strategy that seems to agree with Chinese consumers.
Samsung had taken note of its new Chinese competitors, a source close to the South Korean company said. Apple was still a major competitor, but Samsung saw Xiaomi as its biggest rival, and is also closely watching Huawei and Lenovo.
Samsung might return to a strategy of selling low-end smartphones in China — an approach it abandoned in 2012 — if its sales numbers continue to flag, a source from one of its dealerships said. Consumers might find its devices more appealing if they were priced only a few hundred yuan more than smartphones made in China.
However, that would hurt Samsung’s brand, another dealer said, and a change could also affect its chip and screen businesses. Though the company’s sales fell in 2014, consumers still saw its smartphones as the iPhone’s equal, he said.
There are signs Samsung is trying to reverse its decline in China. In December, it started working with dealers in the country’s 31 provinces, regions and municipalities, and those dealers then acted as middlemen distributing the devices.
In the past, Samsung had worked with dealers that did business nationwide. The new model will help Samsung be more responsive to the market, Zhao said. He added that Samsung should streamline its operations to cut marketing costs and take steps to improve the Android operating system and offer more apps.
See this report at Caixin Online. Follow Caixin on Twitter at @caixin.
Get the top tech stories of the day delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Tech Daily newsletter. Sign up here.This is a syndicated repost courtesy of oftwominds-Charles Hugh Smith. To view original, click here. Reposted with permission.
This is how empires collapse: one complicit participant at a time.
Before an empire collapses, it first erodes from within. The collapse may appear sudden, but the processes of internal rot hollowed out the resilience, resolve, purpose and vitality of the empire long before its final implosion.
What are these processes of internal rot? Here are a few of the most pervasive and destructive forces of internal corrosion:
1. Each institution within the system loses sight of its original purpose of serving the populace and becomes self-serving. This erosion of common purpose serving the common good is so gradual that participants forget there was a time when the focus wasn’t on gaming the system to avoid work and accountability but serving the common good.
2. The corrupt Status Quo corrupts every individual who works within the system.Once an institution loses its original purpose and becomes self-serving, everyone within either seeks to maximize their own personal share of the swag and minimize their accountability, or they are forced out as a potentially dangerous uncorrupted insider.
The justification is always the same: everybody else is getting away with it, why shouldn’t I? Empires decline one corruptible individual at a time.
3. Self-serving institutions select sociopathic leaders whose skills are not competency or leadership but conning others into believing the institution is functioning optimally when in reality it is faltering/failing.
The late Roman Empire offers a fine example: entire Army legions in the hinterlands were listed as full-strength on the official rolls in Rome and payroll was issued accordingly, but the legions only existed on paper: corrupt officials pocketed the payroll for phantom legions.
Self-serving institutions reward con-artists in leadership roles because only con-artists can mask the internal rot with happy-story PR and get away with it.
4. The institutional memory rewards conserving the existing Status Quo and punishes innovation. Innovation necessarily entails risk, and those busy feathering their own nests (i.e. accepting money for phantom work, phantom legions, etc.) have no desire to place their share of the swag at risk just to improve sagging output and accountability.
So reforms and innovations that might salvage the institution are shelved or buried.
5. As the sunk costs of the subsystems increase, the institutional resistance to new technologies and processes increases accordingly. Those manufacturing steam locomotives in the early 20th century had an enormous amount of capital and institutional knowledge sunk in their factories. Tossing all of that out to invest in building diesel-electric locomotives that were much more efficient than the old-tech steam locomotives made little sense to those looking at sunk costs.
As a result, the steam locomotive manufacturers clung to the old ways and went out of business. The sunk costs of empire are enormous, as is the internal resistance to change.
6. Institutional memory and knowledge support “doing more of what worked in the past” even when it is clearly failing. I refer to this institutional risk-avoidance and lack of imagination as doing more of what has failed spectacularly.
Inept leadership keeps doing more of what once worked, even when it is clearly failing, in effect ignoring real-world feedback in favor of magical-thinking. The Federal Reserve is an excellent example.
7. These dynamics of eroding accountability, effectiveness and purpose lead to systemic diminishing returns. Each failing institution now needs more money to sustain its operations, as inefficiencies, corruption and incompetence reduce output while dramatically raising costs (phantom legions still get paid).
8. Incompetence is rewarded and competence punished. The classic example of this was “Good job, Brownie:” cronies and con-artists are elevated to leadership roles to reward loyalty and the ability to mask the rot with good PR. Serving the common good is set aside as sychophancy (obedient flattery) to incompetent leaders is rewarded and real competence is punished as a threat to the self-serving leadership.
9. As returns diminish and costs rise, systemic fragility increases. This can be illustrated as a rising wedge: as output declines and costs rise, the break-even point keeps edging higher, until even a modest reduction of input (revenue, energy, etc.) causes the system to break down:
A modern-day example is oil-exporting states that have bought the complicity of their citizenry with generous welfare benefits and subsidies. As their populations and welfare benefits keep rising, the revenues they need to keep the system going require an ever-higher price of oil. Should the price of oil decline, these regimes will be unable to fund their welfare. With the social contract broken, there is nothing left to stem the tide of revolt.
10. Economies of scale no longer generate returns. In the good old days, stretching out supply lines to reach lower-cost suppliers and digitizing management reaped huge gains in productivity. Now that the scale of enterprise is global, the gains from economies of scale have faltered and the high overhead costs of maintaining this vast managerial infrastructure have become a drain.
11. Redundancy is sacrificed to preserve a corrupt and failing core. Rather than demand sacrifices of the Roman Elites and the entertainment-addicted bread-and-circus masses to maintain the forces protecting the Imperial borders, late-Roman Empire leaders eliminated defense-in-depth (redundancy). This left the borders thinly defended. With no legions in reserve, an invasion could no longer be stopped without mobilizing the entire border defense, in effect leaving huge swaths of the border undefended to push back the invaders.
Phantom legions line the pockets of insiders and cronies while creating a useful illusion of stability and strength.
12. The feedback from those tasked with doing the real work of the Empire is ignored as Elites and vested interests dominate decision-making. As I noted yesterday in The Political Poison of Vested Interests, when this bottoms-up feedback is tossed out, ignored or marginalized, all decisions are necessarily unwise because they are no longer grounded in the consequences experienced by the 95% doing the real work.
This lack of feedback from the bottom 95% is captured by the expression “Let them eat cake.” (Though attributed to Marie Antoinette, there is no evidence that she actually said Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.)
The point is that decisions made with no feedback from the real-world of the bottom 95%, that is, decisions made solely in response to the demands of cronies, vested interests and various elites, are intrinsically unsound and doomed to fail catastrophically.
How does an Empire end up with phantom legions? The same way the U.S. ended up with ObamaCare/Affordable Care Act. The payroll is being paid but there is no real-world feedback, no accountability, no purpose other than private profit/gain and no common good being served.
That’s how empires collapse: one corrupted, self-serving individual at a time, gaming one corrupted, self-serving institution or another; it no longer matters which one because they’re all equally compromised. It’s not just the border legions that are phantom; the entire stability and strength of the empire is phantom. The uncorruptible and competent are banished or punished, and the corrupt, self-serving and inept are lavished with treasure.
This is how empires collapse: one complicit participant at a time.
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Are you like me? Ever since my first summer job decades ago, I’ve been chasing financial security. Not win-the-lottery, Bill Gates riches (although it would be nice!), but simply a feeling of financial control. I want my financial worries to if not disappear at least be manageable and comprehensible.
And like most of you, the way I’ve moved toward my goal has always hinged not just on having a job but a career.
You don’t have to be a financial blogger to know that “having a job” and “having a career” do not mean the same thing today as they did when I first started swinging a hammer for a paycheck.
Even the basic concept “getting a job” has changed so radically that jobs–getting and keeping them, and the perceived lack of them–is the number one financial topic among friends, family and for that matter, complete strangers.
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Wall Street Examiner Disclosure:Lee Adler, The Wall Street Examiner reposts third party content with the permission of the publisher. I am a contractor for Money Map Press, publisher of Money Morning, Sure Money, and other information products. I curate posts here on the basis of whether they represent an interesting and logical point of view, that may or may not agree with my own views. Some of the content includes the original publisher's promotional messages. In some cases I receive promotional consideration on a contingent basis, when paid subscriptions result. The opinions expressed in these reposts are not those of the Wall Street Examiner or Lee Adler, unless authored by me, under my byline. No endorsement of third party content is either expressed or implied by posting the content. Do your own due diligence when considering the offerings of information providers.MOSCOW (AP) - Russia has placed a U.S. lawmaker and 12 other people connected with the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq on its list of those banned from entering the country.
In a statement Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said congressman Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia, was banned in response to the July 2 U.S. ban on Russian parliament member Adam Delimkhanov. He said Moran had been repeatedly accused of financial misdeeds but didn't elaborate.
The other 12, including Guantanamo commander Rear Adm. Richard Butler and Lynndie England, a former soldier convicted of abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib, were banned in response to the United States' adding 12 names in May to the so-called Magnitsky List of Russians sanctioned for human rights abuses.
Retired Brig. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded U.S. ground forces in Iraq in 2003-2004, retired Col. Janis Karpinsky whose command included the Abu Ghraib prison, and Gladys Kessler, a federal judge who rejected a Guantanamo inmate's complaint of being force-fed while on hunger strike, were also included.
Moran said he suspects the ban was due to his sponsoring an amendment to a defense appropriations bill approved by the House that bars the U.S. purchase of helicopters from Rosoboronexport, the Russian state arms dealer which he accused of being "the principal supplier to the Assad regime in Syria."
"While this does clarify my overseas travel plans, it seems that the Putin regime would be better served by addressing the consequences of encouraging and enabling Donetsk separatists to perform such a heinous act of cold blooded cruelty or utter incompetence that resulted in the mass murder of nearly 300 innocent civilians," said Moran, in a statement released Saturday.
Moran said he has no plans to travel to Russia.
The Malaysian airliner was shot down Thursday over rebel-held eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatist rebels accuse each other of shooting down the Boeing 777 with a surface-to-air missile. Many see the hand of Russia, either for its alleged support of the insurgents or perhaps firing the missile itself. The crash site is near the Russian border.
{}USA Today Lets Ken Starr Dishonestly Attack "Contraceptive Mandate" Before Supreme Court Newspaper Doesn't Disclose Professional Connections Between Starr And Hobby Lobby March 23, 2014 4:11 PM EDT ››› Blog ›››››› SERGIO MUNOZ
USA Today allowed a deeply misleading op-ed to endorse the conservative plaintiffs challenging the Affordable Care Act's "contraceptive mandate" before the Supreme Court in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby, without disclosing the author's professional connections to Hobby Lobby's owners. On March 23, USA Today published an opinion piece by Ken Starr, former Clinton-era independent counsel and current president of Baylor University, arguing in favor of Hobby Lobby, the for-profit, secular corporation currently challenging the availability of women's preventive services in health insurance under the ACA. And yet USA Today did not disclose the fact that as part of its religious mission, Baylor has a professional relationship with the owners of Hobby Lobby. Baylor explained its partnership with the Green family, Hobby Lobby's founding owners, in its alumni magazine: Over the past few years, the Green family has become involved with the university through Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) and the Green Scholars Initiative (GSI). A partnership with the family has established Baylor as a major research partner and an academic home for the GSI's primary undergraduate program. Baylor plays a leadership role in providing undergraduate and graduate coursework and research. The website of the Green Scholars Initiative confirms this close relationship between the Greens and Baylor. This professional connection between Hobby Lobby and the author of an op-ed supporting the business' position before the Supreme Court should have been disclosed by USA Today, especially in light of Starr's extremely biased explanation of the case and outright inaccuracies. From his op-ed:
At issue is whether - due to the Greens' deeply held religious objections - the Hobby Lobby owners have an enforceable freedom-of-conscience right not to provide several contraceptive methods (four out of the 20 ACA-required methods) to the crafts company's employees. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in this closely watched case on March 25. Had the Greens not incorporated Hobby Lobby, they would likely win the case hands down and leave the Supreme Court's marble palace with a federally granted exemption from Obamacare's sweeping regulations. [...] To the Greens, all five of whom are devout evangelical Christians, requiring the Hobby Lobby employee benefits plan to include four contraceptive methods which they view (with substantial empirical support) as abortifacients is morally repugnant. Their religious freedom claim carried the day in the federal Court of Appeals in Denver, but the Obama Administration has fought the case all the way to the nation's highest court. [...] At first blush, the government's argument seems plausible. How can, say, General Motors or Intel be seen as exercising freedom of conscience? But Congress itself provided the counter-intuitive answer in yet another part of federal law that by its terms extends RFRA's coverage to any individual or entity - including for-profit corporations.
The paper allowed Starr to prop up the falsehood that the contraceptives the Greens find objectionable are "abortifacients," claiming that there is "substantial empirical support" for the position. In fact, as has been repeatedly explained by medical and public health experts, the overwhelming empirical data has shown that the contracept |
somebody when you were younger and loving someone else before you met this man. If you start saying to yourself “Well, he does have a point about this, to be fair, some of this is my fault,” it’s time to RUN. That is an abuse script talking, one that shows that the abuse has moved inside and colonized the victim. Seriously, run.
This is a problem created by him, and one that only he can solve (by getting over himself already). It’s not fixable by you because nothing that is happening is created or caused by you. What would happen to the relationship if you didn’t try to fix it, like, “Ok, welp, that’s your weird obsession to deal with, good luck working on that, let me know when you want to go back to enjoying our relationship instead of manufacturing problems.”
Proceed with extreme caution. Pull in your Team You and make sure you have safe, supportive people to talk to. Do not get married with this cloud hanging over you.
I know this is really hard and not what you wanted to hear, but I don’t have a magic spell against misogyny in general or dudes who suddenly decide to hold your life story against you because “Love!”
Update: The fiancé showed up in the thread to tell us that the Letter Writer is way more jealouser than he is, among other things. Warning bells have become klaxons. I’m closing comments because, among other reasons, it’s very possible that this guy feeds on the attention and will use what we say to hurt and punish the Letter Writer.
I hate this.Global Forestry Investments claims to be an ethical investment company. But hundreds of investors are now asking where their money went.
Andrew Skeene and Omari Bowers registered the company, GFI Consultants Ltd., on 13 April 2010. They worked quickly. Just over two weeks later, they put out an invitation to an “Open Evening for a night of Champagne and Canapés”. Apparently, GFI already had clients:
You will be given a better insight into our phenomenal Teak projects in Brazil that are yielding our existing clients 10-20% per annum.
The Serious Fraud Office has announced that it is conducting a criminal investigation into Global Forestry Investments and Global Forex Investments. More information here
The SFO is asking anyone who has handed money over to either Global Forestry Investments or Global Forex Investments to complete a questionnaire on the SFO website (click on the image to go to the questionnaire):
GFI bought a teak plantation in Pará province in Brazil, called the Belem Sky Plantation. A glossy brochure explains the deal:
Investors simply lease a plot on the timber plantation. The value of the investment and the return it will derive is based on the Teak trees growing on it. Specialist timber management companies lease the plots from the investors and manage the land.
The minimum investment is £5,000 and there is no maximum (which, when you think about it is interesting in itself, given that the area of the plantation is not infinite).
The land “will be held in beneficial ownership for the investor” by a company called Title Trustees International, a subsidiary of Hutchinson & Co. Trust Company Limited. Another of Hutchinson’s subsidiaries is Citadel Trustees. That’s the company that holds carbon credits that Worldwide Commodity Partners and several other companies scammed people into buying.
In the small print at the end of its brochure, GFI points out that the company and the investment is completely unregulated:
GFI Consultants Ltd is not regulated by the FSA and is not authorised to offer advice to the general public concerning any regulated or unregulated investment. This is not an authorised investment for the purpose of the UK FSMA (2000) and as such buyers have no access to statutory or regulatory protections including the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
As journalist Tony Hetherington pointed out in 2011, “The investment is unlicensed and unregulated. And that means it is also unsafe.”
Here are Bowers and Skeene explaining the investment scheme on Sky News.
Skeene manages to get the name of the company wrong. Bowers gets the area of Pará wrong. Then he says that, “The actually part that we are interested in is probably roughly about the size of the UK.” If true, that would be impressive. According to the International Tropical Timber Organisation, the total area of teak plantations in the world is about 6 million hectares. The area of the UK is nearly 23 million hectares.
But more interesting is the man in a baseball cap who is translating for GFI: of the. featured in a 2011 Dutch TV consumer programme about carbon credits, when he was selling plots of land in the Brazilian Amazon (at a price of one cent per square metre) for reforestation or for carbon trading projects. (Here’s a transcript of the programme: part 1 and part 2. If you’ve not seen it, it’s well worth a watch.)
contacted REDD-Monitor yesterday requesting that his name is removed from this website. I have done so.
The relationship between GFI and soured over the next few years. In October 2013, commented on a website set up by people who had invested in GFI:
“I simply do not agree with Skeene and Bowers. They owe my company money related to invoices for when we sold them the farm. All’s I hear is next week.”
A company called Emerald Knight sold the plots of the Belem Sky Plantation to retail investors. You can get an impression of the type of company Emerald Knight is from the “Careers” page on its website:
We have fantastic opportunities for telesales professionals who, in combination with our full and comprehensive training, have the drive and ambition to apply their knowledge and skills in growing their own investor portfolio through the promotion and selling of socially-responsible and sustainable investment opportunities over the telephone to a wide range of investors.
Surprise, surprise, carbon credits are among the other “Socially Responsible & Sustainable Investments” described on Emerald Knight’s website. And on its twitter account, Emerald Knight makes some pretty wild claims about the returns on carbon credits:
There’s a great deal more of this sort of thing (if you can face it) on Emerald Knight’s Facebook page.
Emerald Knight was the company that sold Industry RE’s carbon credits to retail investors. In June 2011, Industry RE had forward purchased the carbon credits from Celestial Green Ventures, who claimed to have the carbon rights to 20 million hectares of Amazon rainforest. In September 2013, Industry RE went into liquidation.
There are lots of frustrated investors out there. Here’s a typical comment:
I invested 5K in GFI in 2011. I was sold this by Emerald Knight and told it was an ethical investment, offering 8% return.
I received one years payment.
Since 2012 and 2013 no payments have been received.
In September 2013, GFI sent a newsletter to investors stating that,
The Belem Sky Plantation investment has been extremely successful and as a direct result of this success as of earlier this year Global Forestry Investments have sold out of all the available retail plots and have now ceased sales.
GFI explained the delays in payments:
The delays in paying the annual income were a cumulate of various factors. Firstly the management companies experienced an unusually long rainy season followed by logistical and banking issues caused by a regulation in Brazil.
And GFI reassured investors that payments were “imminent”. In January 2014, in another newsletter, GFI explained that the “administrational complications” that had “played a part in causing the delays” were now “rectified”.
Meanwhile, in April 2013, HM Revenue and Customs issued a petition to wind up GFI Consultants. The company is still live. But hundreds of investors are still waiting to be paid.
UPDATE – 4 June 2014: A photograph of Bowers and Skeene and the company brochure have been removed from this post at the request of a representative of Bowers and Skeene.
UPDATE – 28 February 2015: The photograph is back. It’s also still available on the Sunday Times website. And the company brochure is back – in the public interest.
Like this: Like Loading...Bernie Sanders called Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan a “scam” that only helps large companies and Wall Street billionaires on Monday.
Trump’s plan gives giant tax credits for private companies that invest in projects, lowering the cost of financing the project significantly. Sanders took issue with the tax loopholes afforded by the plan.
“Trump would allow corporations that have stashed their profits overseas to pay just a fraction of what the companies owe in federal taxes,” he wrote. “And then he would allow the companies to “invest” in infrastructure projects in exchange for even more tax breaks. Trump’s plan is corporate welfare coming and going.”
Sanders noted infrastructure in the U.S. is in great need of repair, and wrote that he would reintroduce the Rebuild America Act, which calls for the investment of $1 trillion over five years.
Others from the Democratic party, like Sen. Chuck Schumer, have said infrastructure is one legislative area where they can work with Trump.
“Surprisingly, on certain issues, candidate Trump voiced very progressive and populist opinions,” Schumer said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “For instance, getting rid of the carried interest loophole, changing our trade laws dramatically, a large infrastructure bill.”Photo By Flávio Takemoto from Stock.Xchng
By Ken Groh, an Aon Consulting expert
According to an Aon Survey of 8,000 employees of various public and private employers, both salaried and hourly workers are finding ways to use Web 2.0 (social) media at work, for work purposes. The survey bypassed employers to ask employees directly if they are accessing social networks (Facebook, Linked In, etc.), using instant messaging and text messaging to communicate with each other, setting up wikis and reading blogs at work.
Why is this good news for employers? The answer is because corporate communicators and HR can use these tools for employee engagement and education to accelerate the communication process. Since Web 2.0 media is electronic, it can provide access to your intranet or HR portal to create a more integrated and cost-efficient way to communicate with employees – including benefits enrollment and wellness education campaigns.
What Works at Home Will Apply at Work
The survey asked respondents what Web 2.0 tools they use at home to find information important to them. If they are comfortable with Web 2.0 media at home, they are ready and will find these tools used in a communication campaign at work.
As expected, the survey found higher usage of this media by those under age 29 (Generation Y or millennials) compared to older respondents. If these younger employees, who will soon be the largest generation in the workforce, are comfortable using this media at home, then they will find a way to use these communication tools at work – employers should begin using them as part of their employee communication strategies. The better you can align your communications to your employees’ media preferences, the easier and faster you can achieve results.
All Generations Are Using Web 2.0 Media at Work
The survey found higher usage of Web 2.0 media at work than at home among employees over age 28. This finding shows that employees of all generations are learning how to use these tools – whether to instant message team members about a project they are working on or to research information through a discussion group on Linked In or Facebook. Some employee groups set up their own blogs while work teams are using wikis to assist in project management.
Virtual Workforce and Web 2.0 Media
As more employers encourage employees to work remotely, they will find it more difficult to communicate with them and to maintain consistency in the culture. Web 2.0 media can help virtual workers stay connected to team members and remain updated about their employer.
Saving Money with Web 2.0 Media
With most employers looking for ways to save money, using Web 2.0 media and other electronic resources can help you reduce print and postage costs. In addition, these new media tools can be used to supplement traditional communication materials to help speed learning and employee engagement, which enables you to achieve your goals faster.
For more information please visit the Aon MediaroomOh. My. God.
Anibal Cavaco Silva, Portugal’s constitutional president, has refused to appoint a Left-wing coalition government even though it secured an absolute majority in the Portuguese parliament and won a mandate to smash the austerity regime bequeathed by the EU-IMF Troika.
Portugal has entered dangerous political waters. For the first time since the creation of Europe’s monetary union, a member state has taken the explicit step of forbidding eurosceptic parties from taking office on the grounds of national interest.
Those who make peaceful change impossible…. well, you know the rest.
I am incredulous.
It’s now quite clear that the European Union is anti-democratic to its core. It needs to be radically changed or abandoned. It was already very difficult to be simultaneously pro-democracy and pro-EU, given the “Euro treaties cannot be changed by elections” stance of the Eurocrats (and given how far out of their way they went to make sure that the treaties were not subject to referenda), but this is beyond the pale.
If you enjoyed this article, and want me to write more, please DONATE or SUBSCRIBE.Working in partnership with your patients to make good clinical decisions goes to the heart of good medical practice.
This guidance provides a framework to help you to make decisions with your patient about their treatment and care. By following it, it will help you make sure that you have informed consent from your patient. And that you involve families and others when it’s appropriate. It has advice on:
What you should tell a patient when talking about risks.
What to do if your patient doesn't want to hear information you think is relevant.
When you must have written consent.
What you should record.
The guidance will also help you when your patient lacks capacity. It includes a helpful list of things you should consider and has advice on dealing with disagreements.
This guidance came into effect 2 June 2008.
We are currently reviewing our Consent guidance. Find out more about the review: what we’ve done so far and what the next steps will be.After going through the 2017 college football schedule and picking a winner and loser for every game, then tallying up the results, here are SB Nation’s first full bowl projections for the season. Explanations for most key parts are below.
2017 preseason bowl projections
Bowl Team Team Tie-ins Bowl Team Team Tie-ins Championship (Atlanta) No. 1 Ohio State No. 3 Alabama Semifinal winners Sugar (New Orleans) No. 1 Ohio State No. 4 USC Playoff semifinal Rose (Pasadena, CA) No. 2 Florida State No. 3 Alabama Playoff semifinal Peach (Atlanta) USF Oklahoma State CFP at-larges Orange (Miami) Clemson Penn State ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/ND Fiesta (Glendale, AZ) Washington Wisconsin CFP at-larges Cotton (Arlington, TX) Oklahoma LSU CFP at-larges Citrus (Orlando) Virginia Tech Georgia Big Ten 2-4/ACC vs. SEC 2 Outback (Tampa) Michigan Auburn Big Ten 2-4 vs. SEC 3-8 Liberty (Memphis) West Virginia Kentucky Big 12 5 vs. SEC 3-8 TaxSlayer (Jacksonville) Notre Dame Florida ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8 Arizona (Tucson) Utah State Ohio MWC vs. Sun Belt Music City (Nashville) Northwestern Texas A&M ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8 Sun (El Paso, TX) NC State Utah ACC 3-6 vs. Pac-12 5 Belk (Charlotte) Miami Tennessee ACC 3-6 vs. SEC 3-8 Alamo (San Antonio) Texas Stanford Big 12 2 vs. Pac-12 2 Camping World (Orlando) Louisville Kansas State ACC 2 vs. Big 12 3 Military (Annapolis, MD) Georgia Tech Navy ACC vs. AAC Texas (Houston) TCU Mississippi State Big 12 4 vs. SEC 3-8 Pinstripe (New York City) Syracuse Nebraska ACC 3-6 vs. Big Ten 5-7 Independence (Shreveport, LA) Wake Forest South Carolina ACC vs. SEC Cactus (Tempe, AZ) Baylor Marshall Big 12 6 vs. Pac-12 7 Heart of Dallas BYU UTSA Big 12 vs. C-USA Quick Lane (Detroit, MI) Pitt Indiana ACC vs. Big Ten Holiday (San Diego) Minnesota UCLA Big Ten 2-4 vs. Pac-12 3 Foster Farms (Santa Clara, CA) Iowa Oregon Big Ten 5-7 vs. Pac-12 4 Hawaii (Honolulu) Tulsa San Diego State AAC vs. MWC Dollar General (Mobile, AL) Toledo Troy MAC 1 vs. Sun Belt 2 Armed Forces (Fort Worth, TX) Army Cincinnati Army vs. Big Ten Birmingham Memphis Missouri AAC vs. SEC 9 Potato (Boise, ID) Bowling Green Wyoming MAC 2 vs. MWC Bahamas (Nassau) FAU NIU C-USA vs. MAC St. Petersburg UCF MTSU AAC vs. C-USA Frisco (TX) SMU WMU AAC vs. At-large Boca Raton Houston WKU AAC vs. C-USA Camellia (Montgomery, AL) Miami (OH) Arkansas State MAC 3 vs. Sun Belt 3 New Mexico (Albuquerque) Southern Miss Boise State C-USA vs. MWC Las Vegas Colorado State Washington State MWC 1 vs. Pac-12 6 Cure (Orlando) Temple ODU AAC vs. Sun Belt New Orleans Appalachian State Louisiana Tech Sun Belt 1 vs. C-USA
I think Ohio State is the best pick to win the national title.
Experience, stars, legendary OC Kevin Wilson shoring up the 2016 team’s biggest weakness, and a whole offseason of 31-0 frustration being taken out in the weight room? A path that includes Penn State at home, Oklahoma at home, about a month of gimme games after OU, and no Wisconsin in the regular season?
Bama’s obviously a top-two pick at worst, but I think people are a little too scared by OSU’s failure against Clemson eight months ago.
I have FSU beating Bama in Week 1, then losing the rematch.
The committee tries to avoid rematches in the New Year’s Six games, but proved in 2014 (when it sent Florida State, instead of the more traditional Ohio State, to the Rose semifinal) that it seeds the top four based on perceived quality, not on potential semifinal matchups. So a rematch could happen.
FSU has the experience advantage in Week 1, but Bama’s superior depth could overtake it by the 14th game of the season.
The choice for No. 4 came down to USC or Oklahoma.
OU has a likely loss at Ohio State, while USC could be favored in every game. Their strength of schedule will likely end up comparable, however. Bob Stoops’ replacement by Lincoln Riley doesn’t worry me, but with things this close, it’s one more reason to consider USC.
(This is all beside the point. We all know the new Big 12 title game is going to wreck the Big 12, because that’s how Big 12 life goes.)
Only one New Year’s Six bowl is based on conference ties this year.
This is the best Playoff rotation, partly because the Rose and Sugar are the best games, but also because the committee has a little more freedom with the other big games.
The Orange’s ACC bid is likely to go to Clemson, Louisville, Miami, or Virginia Tech. I believe a little more in the 2017 Tigers than most people do. On the other side, PSU again looks Playoff-quality, but again with one loss too many.
One other NY6 bid we know about: the automatic mid-major champ spot. USF is the public favorite, and it’s hard to pick anybody else. The Bulls’ schedule is light, and while the committee has showed it won’t reward big win totals over non-bowl teams, it’s still hard to ignore 11-1, if no other Group of 5 champ has a better record and/or noteworthy Power 5 wins.
The other five NY6 bids will be the committee’s five highest-ranked at-larges. The committee tends to matchmake one massive game (OU-LSU, not far from either campus) and then work from there.
From there on out, this is just playing through guesses of what each bowl/conference/school would arrange.
Almost none of these slots are based on conference standings. A few of the mid-major leagues award automatic bids to their conference champs (the MWC champ gets dibs on Vegas, and the C-USA champ gets its pick from among league ties, for example), and some leagues like the ACC have rules that prevent teams from jumping too far out of the standings order, but otherwise, this is more about money than merit.
Most of the power leagues and a few of the mid-majors figure out bids as collectives, rather than letting the bowls draft teams to invite. The Pac-12 is the biggest exception.
I tried to avoid rematches, keep teams somewhat local-ish, and avoid repeat trips, while keeping in mind that bowls usually prefer the bigger, more popular team over the team with a slightly better record. A lot of fiddling happened. Moving one team to a better fit means moving another, and so on.
The trickiest parts, as always, were the Big Ten’s geography, which makes it hard to find fresh California or Florida destinations for teams that’ve been to one or the other often, and the Pac-12’s draft order, which is too rigid and makes it look like a good team is being punished when it ends up in the Sun or Vegas.
Now let’s get ready to update this every week until the real thing.
Angry emails ("IT’S TOO EARLY IN THE SEASON FOR THIS CRAP") will show up, but that’s fine. Bowl season is fun, and looking forward to it is fun.Factor (m/s) Value (m/s) Value (km/h) Value (mph) Value (c) Item
10−18 2.2 × 10−18 7.8 × 10−18 4.9 × 10−18 7.3 × 10− 27 Expansion rate between 2 points in free space 1 m apart under Hubble's law.
10−13 1 × 10−13 3 × 10−13 2 × 10−13 3 × 10− 22 Rate of erosion of Bedrock.[1]
10−11 9.8 × 10−11 3.5 × 10−10 2.2 × 10−10 3.2 × 10− 19 Rate of global sea level rise in 1993–2003 (3.1 mm/yr).[2]
10−10 3 × 10−10 to 3 × 10−9 1 × 10−9 to 1 × 10−8 7 × 10−10 to 7 × 10−9 1 × 10− 18 to 1 × 10− 17 Typical relative speed of continental drift.
10−9 1.3 × 10−9 4.7 × 10−9 2.9 × 10−9 4.3 × 10− 18 Average rate of the Moon receding from the Earth (approx. 38 mm/yr).[ citation needed ]
4.8 × 10−9 1.7 × 10−8 1.1 × 10−8 1.6 × 10− 17 Human hair growth (average rate—note that there is a great range of variation).
10−6 1.52 × 10−6 5.4 × 10−6 3.4 × 10−6 5.1 × 10− 15 Speed of a cellular vesicle propelled by a motor protein.[3]
10−5 1.02 × 10− 5 3.67 × 10− 5 2.28 × 10− 5 3.40 × 10− 14 Speed of the tip of a 7 cm (2.8 in)-long hour hand on a clock.[4]
1.4 × 10−5 5.0 × 10−5 3.1 × 10−5 4.6 × 10− 14 Growth rate of bamboo, the fastest-growing woody plant, over 24 hours.[5]
10−4 4.0 × 10−4 1.4 × 10−3 8.9 × 10−4 1.3 × 10− 12 Speed of Jakobshavn Isbræ, one of the fastest glaciers, in 2003.[6]
6 × 10−4 2.2 × 10−3 1.3 × 10−3 2 × 10− 12 Typical speed of Thiovulum majus, the fastest-swimming bacterium.[7]
10−3 0.00275 0.00990 0.00615 9.17 × 10− 12 World record speed of the fastest snail in the Congham, UK.[8]
10−2 0.0476 0.171 0.106 1.58 × 10− 10 Compact cassette tape speed.[9]
0.080 0.29 0.18 2.6 × 10− 10 The top speed of a sloth.
10−1 0.2778 1 0.6214 9.2657 × 10− 10 1 km/h.
0.44704 1.609344 1 1.4912 × 10− 9 1 mph.
0.5144 1.852 1.151 1.716 × 10− 9 1 knot (nautical mile per hour)
100 1.2 4.32 2.68 Typical scanning speed of an audio compact disc; the speed of signals (action potentials) traveling along axons in the human cortex.
1–1.5 3.6–5.4 2.2–3.4 3.3–5.0 × 10− 9 Average walking speed—below a speed of about 2 m/s, it is more efficient to walk than to run, but above that speed, it is more efficient to run.
2.39 8.53 5.35 7.97 × 10− 9 World record time 50m freestyle swim
4.98 16.89 10.16 1.66 × 10− 8 Average running speed
5.72 20.42 12.80 1.90 × 10− 8 World record time marathon
6–7 20–25 12–15 1.8–2.3 × 10− 8 Comfortable bicycling speed.
101 10.438 37.578 23.35 3.48 × 10− 8 Average speed of Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt while setting the 100m world record in Berlin on 16 August 2009.
12.42 44.72 27.78 4.14 × 10− 8 Top speed reached by Bolt during the same race.
8–14 30–50 18–31 2.7–4.6 × 10− 8 Typical residential speed limit; top speed of a running cat or dog.
14 50 31 Typical speed of road-race cyclist.
17 60 37 Typical speed of thoroughbred racehorse or racing greyhound.
5–25 18–90 11–56 Speed of propagation for unmyelinated sensory neurons.
30 110 70 Typical speed of car (freeway); cheetah—fastest of all terrestrial animals; sailfish—fastest fish; speed of go-fast boat.
35 125 80 Average speed of a car.
37.16 133.78 83.13 1.240 × 10− 7 Land speed record for a human powered vehicle.[10]
40 140 90 Typical peak speed of a local service train (or intercity on lower standard tracks).
54 195 122 1.8 × 10− 7 Maximum speed a human can attain during a face-down free-fall.
67 240 149 The top speed of the world's fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa.
90 320 200 3 × 10− 7 Typical speed of a modern high-speed train (e.g. latest generation of production TGV); a diving peregrine falcon—fastest bird; 320 km/h or 200 mph is a parameter sometimes used in defining a supercar.[11]
91 328 204 3.04 × 10− 7 Fastest recorded ball (a golf ball) in sports.[12]
103 370 230 Speed of super torpedo VA-111 Shkval.
105.5 379.8 236 Maximum speed of a Ferrari F50 GT1.
113 408 254 Fastest non-tornadic wind gust recorded on Earth - at Barrow Island, Australia on 1996-04-10 during Severe Tropical Cyclone Olivia.[14]
119.742 431.072 267.86 Maximum speed of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
120 432 270 4.0 × 10− 7 Speed of propagation for mammalian motor neurons.
130 468 290 Wind speed of a powerful tornado.
150.6 539 337 Top speed of an internal-combustion-powered NHRA Top Fuel Dragster.
157 575 351 Top speed of experimental test TGV train in 2007.
161 580 360 Top speed of JR-Maglev in 2003.
250 900 560 Typical cruising speed of a modern jet airliner, e.g. an Airbus A380.
314 1,130 702 Top speed of any World War II-era aircraft, the Me 163B V18 set on July 6, 1944.
320 1,200 720 The speed of a typical.22 LR bullet.
344.66 1,240.77 770.98 Max speed reached by the jet-propelled car ThrustSSC in 1997—Land speed record.[16]
373 1,342.8 833.9 Highest speed recorded during a free fall set by Felix Baumgartner.
428 1,540.8 957 Max speed of Bell X-1.
464 1,670 1,040 1.55 × 10− 6 Speed of Earth's rotation at the equator.
603 2,170.8 1,350 Speed of the Concorde airliner.
975 3,510 2,180 Muzzle velocity of M16 rifle.
981 3,532 2,194 3.27 × 10− 6 SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest aircraft driven by a mechanical jet engine.
103 1,400 5,040 3,100 4.6 × 10− 6 Speed of the Space Shuttle when the solid rocket boosters separate.
1,500 5,400 3,400 5 × 10− 6 Speed of sound in water or in soft tissue.[17]
1,789 6,443 4,002 Speed of BrahMos II hypersonic cruise missile
2,000 7,200 4,500 6.7 × 10− 6 Estimated speed of a thermal neutron.
2,019 7,268.4 4,516 Speed of the North American X-15 rocket plane.
2,375 8,550 5,345 7.9 × 10− 6 Escape velocity from Moon.
2,700 9,600 6,000 Speed of wind on exoplanet HD 189733 b.[18]
2,885 10,385 6,453 Top speed of the fastest rocket sled.[19]
3,373 12,144 7,546 1.125 × 10− 5 Speed of the unmanned X-43 rocket/scramjet plane.
4,500 16,000 10,000 1.5 × 10− 5 A typical value for the specific impulse of current rockets.
7,777 28,000 17,400 2.594 × 10− 5 Speed of propagation of the explosion in a detonating cord.
104 11,107 39,985.2 24,846 0.00004 Speed of Apollo 10 – high speed record for human-crewed vehicle.
11,200 40,320 25,100 0.00004 Escape velocity from Earth.
16,100 57,900 36,000 0.00005 Fastest projectile velocity (1994).[20]
16,210 58,356 36,261 0.00005 Escape speed from Earth by NASA New Horizons spacecraft—Fastest escape velocity.
17,000 61,000 38,000 0.00006 The approximate speed of the Voyager 1 probe relative to the sun, when it exited the Solar System.[21]
29,800 107,280 66,700 0.00010 Speed of the Earth in orbit around the Sun.
47,800 172,100 106,900 0.00016 Atmospheric entry speed of the Galileo atmospheric probe—Fastest controlled atmospheric entry for a man-made object.
70,220 252,800 157,100 0.00023 Speed of the Helios 2 solar probe.
73,800 265,000 165,000 0.00023 Estimated top speed of the Juno spacecraft relative to Earth before insertion into Jupiter's orbit — Fastest man-made technical object.[22]
105 100,000 360,000 224,000 0.0003 Dust particles in dust accelerators can exceed this speed.[23]
140,000 540,000 313,170 0.00047 Approaching velocity of Messier 98 to our galaxy.
200,000 700,000 450,000 0.00070 Orbital speed of the solar system in the Milky Way galaxy.
308,571 1,080,000 694,288 0.001 Approaching velocity of Andromeda Galaxy to our galaxy.
440,000 1,600,000 980,000 0.0015 Typical speed of the stepped leader of lightning (cf. return stroke below).[24]
450,000 1,600,000 1,000,000 0.0015 Typical speed of a particle of the solar wind, relative to the Sun.
552,000 1,990,000 1,230,000 0.0018 Speed of the Milky Way, relative to the cosmic microwave background.
617,700 2,224,000 1,382,000 0.0021 Escape velocity from the surface of the Sun.
106 1,000,000 3,600,000 2,200,000 0.0030 Typical speed of a Moreton wave across the surface of the Sun.
1,610,000 5,800,000 3,600,000 0.0054 Speed of hypervelocity star PSR B2224+65, which currently seems to be leaving the Milky Way.
5,000,000 18,000,000 11,000,000 0.017 Estimated minimum speed of star S2 at its closest approach to Sagittarius A*.[25]
107 14,000,000 50,000,000 31,000,000 0.047 Typical speed of a fast neutron.
30,000,000 100,000,000 70,000,000 0.1 Typical speed of an electron in a cathode ray tube.
108 100,000,000 360,000,000 220,000,000 0.3 The escape velocity of a neutron star.
100,000,000 360,000,000 220,000,000 0.3 Typical speed of the return stroke of lightning (cf. stepped leader above).[26]
124,000,000 447,000,000 277,000,000 0.4 Speed of light in a diamond (Refractive index 2.417).
200,000,000 720,000,000 440,000,000 0.7 Speed of a signal in an optical fiber.
299,792,456 1,079,252,840 670,615,282 1 − 9 × 10− 9 Speed of the 7 TeV protons in the Large Hadron Collider at full power.[27]
299,792,457.996 1,079,252,848.786 670,616,629.38 1 − 1 × 10− 11 Maximal speed of an electron in LEP (104.5 GeV).There is a telling detail in the US retail chain store data for December. Stephen Lewis from Monument Securities points out that luxury outlets saw an 8.1pc rise from a year ago, but discount stores catering to America’s poorer half rose just 1.2pc.
Tiffany’s, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue are booming. Sales of Cadillac cars have jumped 35pc, while Porsche’s US sales are up 29pc.
Cartier and Louis Vuitton have helped boost the luxury goods stock index by almost 50pc since October. Yet Best Buy, Target, and Walmart have languished.
Such is the blighted fruit of Federal Reserve policy. The Fed no longer even denies that the purpose of its latest blast of bond purchases, or QE2, is to drive up Wall Street, perhaps because it has so signally failed to achieve its other purpose of driving down borrowing costs.
Yet surely Ben Bernanke’s `trickle down’ strategy risks corroding America’s ethic of solidarity long before it does much to help America’s poor.
The retail data can be quirky but it fits in with everything else we know. The numbers of people on food stamps have reached 43.2m, an all time-high of 14pc of the population. Recipients receive debit cards – not stamps -- currently worth about $140 a month under President Obama’s stimulus package.
The US Conference of Mayors said visits to |
of the "9" up over itself and down through the middle (circle) part of your "69". Pull each standing end while ensuring that the working ends are not pulled from the "69" holes.
Variants [ edit ]
Simplest and therefore the slimmest version of Zeppelin bend
Zeppelin bend where the ends are secured with a stopper knot each
Zeppelin bend on end bights with two fixed loops at the knot
Zeppelin bend on bight with three very reliable fixed loops at the knot
Double slipped zeppelin bend with stopper knots at the ends
Double slipped zeppelin bend with slips locked using the knotted ends.
Slipped [ edit ]
Having on both ends, an elbow of the end rather than the end itself, cross the knot center, gives a single or double slipped version. It is still easier to untie by pulling the opposing bridges away from each other rather than by pulling the slipped end(s). The slipped Zeppelin bend can also be locked by pushing ends respectively through the eye of its own slip on the opposite side.
Tying the slipped version: starting with a simple slip knot on one of the standing parts
Weaving in the start of a symmetrical simple slip knot with the end of the other standing part
finalizing the symmetrical simple slip knot with a bight at the end of the other standing part
Tightening the double slipped zeppelin bend, by pulling the standing parts and the slips
locking the double slipped zeppelin bend, each slip locked with its own end
Tightening the locked slips of the double slipped zeppelin bend
Double slipped zeppelin bend with slips locked using the knotted ends pulled tight.
On the bight [ edit ]
If instead of two ends, one ties two bights of the same rope, then 3 reliable loops are created; a loop at each of the two bights, and a third formed by the rope section connecting the two bights. These versions also have the same advantage with less curvature nearest the main ropes, thus having a higher break strength and being as easy to untie. This is also a way to shorten the rope, and/or to isolate up to 3 weak rope sections near each other.
See also [ edit ]Pluto (left) and its moon, Charon. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) This Monday, July 13, 2015 combination image released by NASA shows Pluto, left, and its moon, Charon, with differences in surface material and features depicted in exaggerated colors made by using different filters on a camera aboard the New Horizons spacecraft. In this composite false-color image, the apparent distance between the two bodies has also been reduced. (NASA/APL/SwRI via AP)
The New Horizons mission to Pluto has been a dream come true for scientists, who've waited years to get their first close-up glimpse of the distant dwarf planet. But some of the informal names they're giving its distinctive features are straight out of nightmares.
Since Pluto is named for the Roman god of the underworld, the names of its features are receiving monikers based on subterranean and suboceanic characters from fiction and mythology.
One of the dark regions near Pluto's south pole, initially called "The Whale" when first spotted from a more distant photo, has now been dubbed Cthulhu, one of the terrible "Great Old Ones" from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu lurks under the sea in the sunken city of R'lyeh.
Other features have been named for Meng-p'o, the Buddhist goddess of forgetfulness and amnesia, and Balrog, a demon from JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. Two features, Vucub-Came and Hun-Came, are named for Mayan death gods. There's also Krun, named for a Mandaean lord of the underworld, and Ala, the Ibo ruler of the underworld.
#PlutoFlyby No idea if this is real (informal names for surface features), but I would love to see Cthulhu on Pluto. pic.twitter.com/eNHMy95sZt — John Moffitt (@JohnRMoffitt) July 15, 2015
Besides being colorful, the names serve a purpose for scientists as well.
“We got tired of calling it the dark spot on the left and the dark spot on the right,” Jeffrey M. Moore, the leader of the mission's geology, geophysics and imaging team, told The New York Times.
The names are considered informal, but may be presented to the International Astronomical Union, which is responsible for naming celestial objects, to become the official designations of the locations. IAU typically gives naming priority to those who have made the discovery.
The names are taken from the winners of an online poll at OurPluto.org. Other high-ranking names that could soon find a home on Pluto or its moon, Charon, include Tartarus (the Greek pit of lost souls), Hades (the Greek name for Pluto) and Anubis (the jackal-headed Egyptian god, one of several associated with death and the underworld), as well as several names related to the works of Tolkien.
While many of the unusual names have captured the collective imagination of earthlings on Internet, it's the decision to honor the tentacled Cthulhu that has lit up social media.
One of the dark spots on Pluto informally being named Cthulhu should just about indicate the end of everything, we can all go home now. — Cam Banks (@boymonster) July 14, 2015
Now I want to move to Pluto, just so I can live somewhere called "Cthulhu" or "Balrog". https://t.co/rAuByQZ08q — Alex Allan (@hildeleoma) July 14, 2015
There is a feature on Pluto named Cthulhu. This is the best news of the day. — Stephen Winson (@StephenWinson) July 14, 2015
I see they have named a feature on Pluto: "Cthulhu". This is an epic day for fans of our betentacled overlord. — moop (@graspee) July 14, 2015
Great so now I'm gonna see cthulhu with his all-knowing tentacles flapping in the wind whenever I look at Pluto — Rachel Feltman (@RachelFeltman) July 14, 2015
So Pluto informally has Cthulhu and a Balrog and COULD THIS DAY GET ANY BETTER???? — Joi (@Joi_the_Artist) July 14, 2015About 2,000,000 years ago elephants arrived on various Mediterranean islands - including Sicily, and started to get smaller: some being eventually less than one quarter of the size of their Mammoth relatives. The mini-elephants became extinct only about 8,000 years ago - coincidentally at about the time that our Neolithic ancestors were colonising the islands. The discovery of a dwarf elephant skull would not have been an unusual event, even 5,000 years later, when the first Mycenaean Greeks were making contact with the island. All elephants, of course, have a unique feature: their nose is elongated to form a trunk. But this proboscis has no bones in it - an elephant's skeleton would give little clue as to the physiognomy of its original owner- especially to a population unaware of a past elephant population. In fact the nasal cavity looks like nothing so much as a single enormous eye-socket. Hence the Cyclops legend? The dwarf elephant of Sicily would not have been a giant to compare with the modern African elephant - but his skull, with its single eye-hole would, in my opinion, certainly be enough to suggest that a race of one-eyed giants had once roamed on the island. There's a new book (Spring 2000) from Princeton University Press by Adrienne Mayor, which advances the theory that tales of Griffins, Giants and Centaurs as well as Cyclopes arose from interpretation of the fossil evidence by the ancients. It's called Palaeontology in Greek and Roman Times. The dwarf elephant theory to explain the Cyclops was first thought of in 1914 by Othenio Abel.What if a vocal political action group held a press conference and no one cared?
That's exactly what happened just before Monday's Easter Egg Roll on the White House South Lawn, when lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families called an “availability” on the Ellipse and just one lonely reporter showed up.
“Hey, there you are,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Boston-based Family Equality Council, standing on an empty sidewalk by the Ellipse.
Unlike in 2006, when dozens of journalists scribbled down every word as “LGTB” family advocates demanded equality from the Bush administration, just one scribe made himself available for Monday's availability.
The real-life scene Monday was reminiscent of a joke news article by the satiric Web site “The Onion,” way back in April 2001. In the mock story, gays hold a parade and chant “We're here, we're queer, get used to it!”
The piece included a fake quote from one “Timothy Orosco, 51, a local Walgreens manager,” who said simply: “All I can say is, I was used to it.”
So, too, are some parents of the “straight” families attending the annual White House children's event Monday.
“No, I don't think it's a big deal that they're here,” said Kim Smith of the District, holding the hand of her little daughter. “I don't think that's a big issue.”
“Aren't we really over that?” said one man who wouldn't give his name. “There are a lot of serious problems out there, so I think people are moving on.”
The issue exploded in President Bush's face three years ago. Although LGTB families slept overnight on the Ellipse to get prime-time tickets to the event, most drew slots for noon - three hours after the president milled through the crowd, kissed babies and chatted with parents and children at the egg-roll races.
The White House snubbing gave LGTB groups a major platform and drew heavy press coverage. Some activists were outspokenly outraged, making the evening news and headlines the next morning.
Looking back, Cathy Renna, a longtime gay activist, said the Bush administration appeared fearful of their attendance. “I guess they thought we were going to throw blood-filled eggs or something,” she said with a laugh. “And then they saw us, and we were just like other moms with their kids having fun.”
But this year, the Obama White House allotted tickets for the event to gay and lesbian parents as part of the administration's effort to reach out to diverse communities. What's more, the White House Office of Public Liaison called the Family Equality Council to advise them on how to get even more tickets on the White House Web site.
“President Obama obviously includes us when he thinks of diverse families,” Miss Chrisler said.
Following the tradition of the past several years, same-sex parents wore rainbow-colored leis as they walked around the South Lawn, their children moving from the egg-roll station to face-painting, story-time and jump-roping.
The leis made them instantly identifiable, immediately drawing attention to their sexual orientation.
Miss Chrisler, trying to keep track of her two rambunctious red-headed 7-year-olds, Tim and Tom, was just fine with that.
“The more we can introduce ourselves to the American public, the more they can see that we participate in America's traditions, the more that they understand we are worried about the same things that they're worried about, the more they'll come to know that we have a lot in common. They'll see that treating us differently doesn't really help, it actually hurts our families,” she said.
But no one treated the LGTB families differently and, in fact, they appeared to be the only ones singling themselves out. Asked about the disconnect, Miss Chrisler said: “What we're doing is showing that we're being included. These are opportunities to show ourselves in a more public way.”
Recent headlines are rife with advances for the LGTB community. A week ago, gays and lesbians gained another victory when Vermont joined Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa in giving gay couples the right to marry. The D.C. Council voted to recognize gay marriages performed in other states.
In the same year Americans elected their first black president, the voters of tiny Silverton, Ore., also elected the country's first transgender mayor, Stu Rasmussen.
Miss Chrisler said the controversy has certainly faded from years past.
“Everyone's being accepting and moving on, and I think that's a good thing. It's good for my kids, it's good for my family, it's good for all of us,” she said. “And it would be great to be back here next year and not have any coverage at all.”
• Send e-mail to Joseph Curl.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Curfew Ordinance."
This is an updating of the Borough Curfew Ordinance of 1943 prescribing, in accordance with prevailing community standards, regulations for the conduct of minors on streets at night, effectively enforced, taught in the homes, internalized and adhered to for generations, all for the good of minors, for the furtherance of family responsibility and for the public good, safety and welfare. A. The Council finds that the curfew meets a very real local need, has been, over the years, a significant factor in minimizing juvenile delinquency and should be updated and amplified in the light of Middletown's local situation and facts, including the following. Middletown, the oldest community in (and antedating) Dauphin County, with clearly defined boundaries at the confluence of the Susquehanna River and Swatara Creek to its south and east and crossed at the north by the Pennsylvania Turnpike, has a compact built up area largely within a mile, and much of it within a half mile, of its Police Station at the 60 West Emaus Street Borough offices. It has, near its Police Station, a small central business district and a few manufacturing establishments. It is a residential community in an area traditionally classified as Pennsylvania Dutch. After 9:00 p.m. in this quiet community, as its people say, the sidewalks are rolled up. This community sense of the proper time for cessation of outdoor activities by minors on the streets is reflected in the curfew hours declared by this chapter, which take into consideration also the danger hours for nocturnal crime and for accumulations of minors with potential risks incident to immaturity. B. [Amended by Ord. No. 863, approved ] The Council finds that compact Middletown is not overcrowded. Population density, as reflected in the Borough Comprehensive Plan, varies by neighborhoods from 43.7 per acre to 35 to 18.4 persons per acre. The total area is 1,304.7 acres; streets occupy 228.8 acres, 163.8 acres are devoted to public and semipublic uses, residential land use predominates and single-family dwellings occupy the largest portion of the residential area. The population density is 30 persons per acre in that portion of the Second Ward in eastern Middletown south of East Main Street, overlooking the Swatara Creek, now known as the Village of Pineford, a fifty-acre tract which the United States Government had acquired, while still undeveloped, by eminent domain proceedings in 1941; this unique fifty-acre tract is a planned residential development, with high-rise apartments, all owned by one firm, providing ample open spaces. Adequate indoor living space permits minors in Middletown to healthfully occupy their time. Commercial recreational facilities (one movie) are almost nonexistent, and there is little or nothing for minors to do outdoors, but roam the streets, after the curfew hours which this chapter declares. C. The Council finds that there are 2,841 minors, the 1970 census figure for persons under 18 years of age, residing in Middletown. There are fewer than 200 minors for each school grade. Middletown has three elementary schools, one in each of its three wards, one junior high school for Grades 7 and 8 in the central Second Ward, and one area high school in Lower Swatara Township which adjoins Middletown on the west and north. The comparatively few minors who reside in the Village of Pineford include 32 in high school and (attending the following schools nearby in the same Second Ward) 25 in junior high and 112 in elementary school. D. The Council further finds that the Middletown population (1970 census) is 9,080. There are 3,059 households (averaging two and 2.96 persons per household) and as many heads of households. In 2,069 households there are husband and wife. Of the 2,841 minors, 2,686 are classified in the 1970 census as "own child" of the head of the household in which they reside. Middletown is a stable family community. Parental responsibility for the whereabouts of children is the norm; legal sanctions to enforce such responsibility have had a demonstrated effectiveness over the years; as parental control increases, the likelihood of juvenile delinquency decreases; and there is a continuing need for the nocturnal curfew for minors, which has achieved and will continue to achieve, under local conditions, the purposes hereinbefore stated.
A. For the purposes of the Curfew Ordinance, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein: BOROUGH The Borough of Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, with administrative offices at 60 West Emaus Street, Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057. MINOR Any person under the age of 18 or, in equivalent phrasing often herein employed, any person 17 or fewer years of age. PARENT Any person having legal custody of a minor: (1) As a natural or adoptive parent; (2) As a legal guardian; (3) As a person who stands in loco parentis; or (4) As a person to whom legal custody has been given by order of court. REMAIN To stay behind, to tarry and to stay unnecessarily upon the streets, including the congregating of groups (or of interacting minors) totaling four or more persons, in which any minor involved would not be using the streets for ordinary or serious purposes, such as mere passage or going home. To implement that thought with additional precision and precaution, numerous exceptions are expressly defined in § 132-5. More and more exceptions become available with increasing years as appropriate in the interest of reasonable regulation which is intended by use of the meaningful phrase "be or remain" found constitutional in Baker v. Borough of Steelton, 17 Dauph. 17 (1912). [Amended by Ord. No. 701, approved ] STREET A way or place, of whatever nature, open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel or, in the case of a sidewalk thereof, for pedestrian travel. The term "street" includes the legal right-of-way, including but not limited to the cartway of traffic lanes, the curb, the sidewalks, whether paved or unpaved, and any grass plots or other grounds found within the legal right-of-way of a street. The term "street" also applies, for curfew purposes, to ways the public is privileged to use over private property so long as the owner permits, including sidewalks and grassplots similarly open at the time to public use, and to parking areas of any type (residential, municipal or commercial) open to public use or from such "street" or any type of street. The term "street" applies irrespective of what it is called or formally named, whether alley, avenue, court, road or otherwise, or whether it is maintained by the Borough and irrespective of whether it is open to the use of the public as a matter of right. [Amended by Ord. No. 863, approved ] TIME OF NIGHT Based upon the prevailing standard of time, whether Eastern standard time or Eastern daylight saving time, generally observed at that hour by the public in the Borough, prima facie the time then observed in the Borough administrative offices and Police Station. YEAR OF AGE Continues from one birthday, such as the seventeenth, to (but not including the day of) the next, such as the eighteenth birthday, making it clear that 17 or fewer years of age is herein treated as equivalent to the phrase "under 18 years of age," the latter phrase in practice, unfortunately, having confused a number of persons into the mistaken thought that eighteen-year olds might be involved. Similarly, for example, 11 or fewer years of age means "under 12 years of age." B. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular, and words in the singular number include the plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
It shall be unlawful for any person 17 or fewer years of age (under 18) to be or remain in or upon the streets within the Borough of Middletown at night during the period ending at 6:00 a.m. and beginning: A. At 10:00 p.m. for minors 11 or fewer years of age. B. At 10:30 p.m. for minors 12 years or 13 years of age. C. At 11:00 p.m. for minors 14 or more years of age.
A. [Amended by Ord. No. 701, approved ; by Ord. No. 863, approved ] In the following exceptional cases, a minor on a street within the Borough during the nocturnal hours for which § 132-4 is intended to provide the maximum limits of regulation (and a clear general guide for minors, their parents and their fellow citizens) shall not, however, be considered in violation of the Curfew Ordinance: (1) When accompanied by a parent of such minor. (2) When accompanied by an adult authorized by a parent of such minor to take said parent's place in accompanying said minor for a designated period of time and purpose within a specified area. (3) When exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and the right of assembly. Such minor shall evidence the bona fides of such exercise by first delivering to communications center personnel at the Borough Municipal Building at 60 West Emaus Street, where and by whom high priority messages to the Mayor are regularly received, a written communication, signed by such minor and countersigned, if practicable, by a parent of such minor, with their home address and telephone number, addressed to the Mayor of the Borough, specifying when, where and in what manner said minor will be on the streets at night (during hours when the Curfew Ordinance is otherwise applicable to said minor) in the exercise of a First Amendment right specified in such communication. (4) In case of reasonable necessity, but only after such minor's parent has communicated to the Borough Police Station personnel the facts establishing such reasonable necessity, relating to specified streets at a designated time for a described purpose, including points of origin and destination. A copy of such communication, or of the police record thereof, duly certified by the Chief of Police to be correct, with an appropriate notation of the time it was received and of the names and address of such parent and minor, shall be admissible evidence. (5) When the minor is on the sidewalk of the place where such minor resides or on the sidewalk of either next-door neighbor not communicating an objection to the police officer. (6) When returning home, by a direct route from (and within 30 minutes of the termination of) a school activity or an activity of a religious or other voluntary association of which prior notice, indicating the place and probable time of termination, has been given in writing to and duly filed for immediate reference by the Chief of Police or the officer assigned by him on duty at the Police Station, thus encouraging (here as in other exceptional situations) conduct on the part of minors involved in such activities and striking a fair balance for any somewhat conflicting interests. (7) When authorized, by special permit from the Mayor, carried on the person of the minor thus authorized, as follows. When necessary nighttime activities of a minor may be inadequately provided for by other provisions of this chapter, then recourse may be had to the Mayor of the Borough, either for a regulation as provided in Subsection A(8) or for a special permit as the circumstances warrant. Upon the Mayor's finding of necessity for the use of the streets to the extent warranted by a written application (as judicially approved in People v. Walton, 161 P.2d 498, 502-503, Cal. App. 1945), signed by a minor and by a parent of such minor, if feasible, stating the name, age and address of such minor; the name, address and telephone number of a parent thereof; the height, weight, sex, color of eyes and hair and other physical characteristics of such minor; the necessity which requires such minor to remain upon the streets during the curfew hours otherwise applicable; and the street or route and the beginning and ending of the period of time involved by date and hour, the Mayor may grant a permit, in writing, for the use by such minor of such streets at such hours as, in the Mayor's opinion, may reasonably be necessary. In an emergency, this may be handled by telephone or other effective communication, with a corresponding record being made contemporaneously, either to the Mayor or, if unavailable, to the police officer authorized by the Mayor to act on his behalf in an emergency at the Police Station. (8) When authorized, by regulation issued by the Mayor, in other similar cases of reasonable necessity, similarly handled but adapted to necessary nighttime activities of more minors than can readily be dealt with on an individual special permit basis. Normally such regulation by the Mayor permitting use of the streets should be issued sufficiently in advance to permit appropriate publicity through news media and through other agencies such as the schools and shall define the activity, the scope of the use of the streets permitted, the period of time involved, not to extend more than 30 minutes beyond the time for termination of such activity, and the reason for finding that such regulation is reasonably necessary and is consistent with the purposes of this Curfew Ordinance. (9) When the minor carries a certified card of employment, renewable each calendar month when the current facts so warrant, dated or reissued not more than 45 days previously, signed by the Chief of Police, and briefly identifying the minor, the addresses of his home and of his place of employment and his hours of employment. (10) When the minor is, with parental consent, in a motor vehicle. This contemplates normal travel. From excess of caution, this clearly exempts bona fide interstate movement through Middletown, particularly on normal routes such as the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Route 230 (Main Street), Vine Street to connect with Route 283, Route 441 or, at times, Ann Street and the Wilson Street bridge. This also exempts interstate travel beginning or ending in Middletown. (11) When the minor is 17 years of age, if and when the Mayor shall have determined, by formal rule first reported to the Borough Council, spread upon its minutes and so reported in the press, finding the facts as to the extent (minimal) of juvenile delinquency in such age group permitting such rule, currently, in the best interest of said minors and of the Borough, then the Mayor, by such formal rule, covering a period of time designated therein or until recision thereof, not exceeding one year from the date thereof, may take appropriate action excepting designated minors, minors in a defined group or area or all minors (as the current facts may warrant) 17 years of age at the date or attaining 17 years of age during the period that such formal rule is and remains in effect. B. Each of the foregoing exceptions and their several limitations, such as provisions for notification, are severable, as hereinafter provided but here reemphasized; and additional, also severable, exceptions, broadening with the progress toward maturity of minors enrolled respectively in elementary, junior high and high schools, will be considered by the Council as warranted by future experience illuminated by the views of student government associations; school personnel; citizens; associations; ward, precinct and neighborhood spokesmen; parents; officers; and persons in authority concerned positively with minors as well as with juvenile delinquency.
[Amended by Ord. No. 863, approved ] It shall be unlawful for a parent having legal custody of a minor knowingly to permit or by inefficient control to allow such minor to be or remain upon any street within the Borough under circumstances not constituting an exception to or otherwise beyond the scope of the Curfew Ordinance. The term "knowingly" includes knowledge which a parent should reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of a minor in that parent's legal custody. It is intended to continue to keep neglectful or careless parents up to a reasonable community standard of parental responsibility through an objective test. It shall, a fortiori, be no defense that a parent was completely indifferent to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of such minor.
A. A policeman of the Borough, upon finding or having attention called to any minor on the streets in prima facie violation of the Curfew Ordinance, normally shall take the minor to the Borough Police Station, where a parent shall immediately be notified to come for such minor, whereupon they shall be interrogated. This is intended to permit ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards, of relevant facts and to centralize responsibility in the Sergeant there and then on duty for accurate, effective, fair, impartial and uniform enforcement and recording, thus making available experienced supervisory personnel, the best of facilities and access to information and records. In the absence of convincing evidence, such as a birth certificate, a policeman on the street shall, in the first instance, use his best judgment in determining age. B. Police procedures shall constantly be refined in the light of experience and may provide, inter alia, that the policeman may deliver to a parent thereof a minor under appropriate circumstances, for example a minor of tender age near home whose identity and address may readily be ascertained or are known. C. In any event, such policeman shall, within 24 hours, file a written report with the Chief of Police or shall participate, to the extent of the information for which he is responsible, in the preparation, by himself and the Sergeant involved in such case, and in the filing of such report within 24 hours. D. When a parent, immediately called, has come to take charge of the minor and the appropriate information has been recorded, the minor shall be released to the custody of such parent. If the parent cannot be located or fails to take charge of the minor, then the minor shall be released to the juvenile authorities, except to the extent that, in accordance with police regulations, approved in advance by juvenile authorities, the minor may temporarily be entrusted to a relative, neighbor or other person who will, on behalf of a parent, assume the responsibility of caring for the minor pending the availability or arrival of a parent. E. In the case of a first violation by a minor, the Chief of Police shall, by certified mail, send to a parent written notice of said violation, with a warning that any subsequent violation will result in full enforcement of the Curfew Ordinance, including enforcement of parental responsibility and of applicable penalties.
Prevailing community standards and the real internalization thereof or interpersonal sanctions therefor that, in practice, count for much, as to when minors should be off the streets, reflected in this Curfew Ordinance, are hereby undergirded with the following legal sanctions. A. If, after the warning notice pursuant to § 132-7 of a first violation by a minor, a parent violates § 132-6 (in connection with a second violation by said minor), this shall be treated as a first offense by the parent. For such first parental offense, a parent shall be fined $25, and for each subsequent offense by a parent, the fine shall be increased by an additional $25 (e.g., $50 for the second, $75 for the third offense). The District Justice, upon finding a parent guilty, shall sentence the parent to pay such fine and the costs of prosecution and, upon refusal to pay such fine and costs, to be imprisoned in the jail of Dauphin County for a period not exceeding 10 days. B. [Amended by Ord. No. 943 ] Any minor who shall violate any of the provisions of the Curfew Ordinance more than three times shall be reported by the Mayor to a society or organization whose purpose it is to take charge of incorrigibles and delinquents, and proceedings shall then be taken, under the Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6301 et seq., before the juvenile court for the treatment, supervision and rehabilitation of such minor. C. A like procedure before the juvenile authorities shall be followed in any case where the imposing of a fine or fines upon a parent shall not be effective or where, for any other reason, the provisions of the Curfew Ordinance cannot be made effective by the imposing of penalties under this section.
Severability is intended throughout and within the provisions of the Curfew Ordinance. If any provision, including inter alia any exception, part, phrase or term or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the application to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby, and the validity of the Curfew Ordinance, in any and all other respects, shall not be affected thereby. From excess of caution, the Mayor is authorized to give advisory opinions, in writing or immediately reduced to writing, which shall be binding and shall be adhered to by the police until the ordinance is amended in such respect, interpreting terms, phrases, parts or any provisions. Normally such advisory opinions shall be in response to good faith, signed letters, addressed to him at the Borough administration building, questioning as ambiguous, as having a potentially chilling effect on constitutional rights specifically invoked or as otherwise invalid, in all three categories with respect to proposed conduct definitely described. This administrative remedy must be exhausted prior to presenting to any court a question in any of said three categories. The Borough Council does not intend a result that is absurd, impossible of execution or unreasonable. It is intended that the Curfew Ordinance be held inapplicable in such cases, if any, where its application would be unconstitutional. A constitutional construction is intended and shall be given. The Council does not intend to violate the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Constitution of the United States of America.Lily raises $2M from NEA and others for a personal stylist service that considers feelings, not just fit
One of the reasons recently IPO’d Stitch Fix became so popular among female shoppers is because of how it pairs the convenience of home try-on for clothing and accessories with a personal styling service that adapts to your tastes over time. But often, personal stylists bring their own subjective takes on fashion to their customers. A new startup called Lily aims to offer a more personalized service that takes into account not just what’s on trend or what looks good, but also how women feel about their bodies and how the right clothing can impact those perceptions.
The company has now closed on $2 million in seed funding from NEA and other investors to further develop its technology, which today involves an iOS application, web app and API platform that retailers can integrate with their own catalogs and digital storefronts.
To better understand a woman’s personal preferences around fashion, Lily uses a combination of algorithms and machine learning techniques to recommend clothing that fits, flatters and makes a woman feel good.
At the start, Lily asks the user a few basic questions about body type and style preferences, but it also asks women how perceive their body.
For example, if Lily asks about bra size, it wouldn’t just ask for the size a woman wears, but also how they think of this body part.
“I’m well-endowed,” a woman might respond, even if she’s only a full B or smaller C – which is not necessarily the reality. This sort of response helps to teach Lily about how the woman thinks of her body and its various parts, to help it craft its recommendations. That same woman may want to minimize her chest, or she may like to show off her cleavage, she may say.
But as she shops Lily’s recommendations in this area, the service learns what sorts of items the woman actually chooses and then adapts accordingly.
This focus on understanding women’s feelings about clothing is something that sets Lily apart.
“Women are looking for clothes to spotlight the parts of their body they feel most comfortable with and hide the ones that make them feel insecure,” explains Lily co-founder and CEO, Purva Gupta. “A customer makes a decision because based on whether a specific cut will hide her belly or downplay a feature they don’t like. Yet stores do nothing to guide women toward these preferences or take the time to understand the reasons behind their selections,” she says.
Gupta came up with the idea for Lily after moving to New York from India, where she felt overwhelmed by the foreign shopping culture. She was surrounded by so much choice, but didn’t know how to find the clothing that would fit her well, or those items that would make her feel good when wearing them.
She wondered if her intimidation was something American women – not just immigrants like herself – also felt. For a year, Gupta interviewed others, asking them one question: what prompted them to buy the last item of clothing they purchased, either online or offline? She learned that those choices were often prompted by emotions.
Being able to create a service that could match up the right clothing based on those feelings was a huge challenge, however.
“I knew that this was a very hard problem, and this was a technology problem,” says Gupta. “There’s only one way to solve this at scale – to use technology, especially artificial intelligence, deep learning and machine learning. That’s going to help me do this at scale at any store.”
To train Lily’s algorithms, the company spent two-and-half years building out its collection of 50 million plus data points and analyzing over a million product recommendations for users. The end result is that an individual item of clothing may have over 1,000 attributes assigned to it, which is then used to match up with the thousands of attributes associated with the user in question.
“This level of detail is not available anywhere,” notes Gupta.
In Lily’s app, which works as something of a demo of the technology at hand, users can shop recommendations from 60 stores, ranging from Forever 21 to Nordstrom, in terms of price. (Lily today makes affiliate revenue from sales).
In addition, the company is now beginning to pilot its technology with a handful of retailers on their own sites – details it plans to |
to a personal meeting at the White House for some one-on-one time. Meanwhile, other Republicans were forced to meet with the president in groups.
While Paul is a “no” vote for the Obamacare replacement bill, Paul, along with his fellow Republicans resisting the bill, have said in the past that they are willing to negotiate. Paul has taken a hard stance against the current version of the GOP bill, which he believes will hasten the Affordable Care Act’s crash, or as Paul calls it, the “Obamacare death spiral.”
Rand Paul and Trump apparently have developed a good friendship:
This relationship is helping Paul and Trump see eye to eye on how to approach dealing with Obamacare. On June 29, Politico reported that Paul called for a repeal of the “bad crap in Obamacare that Democrats will never repeal,” and worry about a bi-partisan construction of a replacement bill for Obamacare down the road.
A day later, Trump tweeted out his desires that fell in line with Paul’s, and earned a retweet from the Kentucky senator.
If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017
This is eventually going to get done one way or the other.An under-construction church in Kaimri village near here was vandalised by a group and the cross replaced with an idol of Hanuman, triggering tension in the area in Haryana.
Father Subhash Chand of Williwarsh church lodged a complaint against 14 people, following which a case was registered by police under sections 147 (Punishment for rioting), 153A (promoting enmity between groups), 295 (destroying, damaging a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class of persons), 380 (theft in a building), 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC.
The complainant stated that the accused fragmented the cross and installed the statue of Hanuman and a flag depicting Lord Ram and threatened to kill him.
He alleged that they stole a cooler and some items from the worship place that was under construction.
Hisar range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Saurabh Singh said that the situation was under control.
Meanwhile, Christian Front Haryana has condemned the incident and has demanded immediate arrest of the accused, all residents of Kaimri.What is more important, story or character?
For us, story and character are inseparable; insight, emotion and revelation lie in the interplay between the two.
What made you first want to explore the subject?
Tyke Elephant Outlaw grew out of our research into the work of a passionate group of lawyers that is attempting to fundamentally redefine the legal status of certain animals to provide them with some of the same basic rights as humans. They believe that some animals have a level of consciousness that qualifies them for legal personhood. Elephants are one of them. They are highly intelligent, have extremely close family ties, show empathy and are among the few animals that exhibit self-awareness, something humans do not develop until the age of two. In the course of our research we came across the story of Tyke whose story of rebellion against slavery and abuse we felt embodied many of the themes and questions we had been exploring.
How long did it take to get the film off the ground?
About four years from the time we first came across Tyke’s story.
What were you most surprised to learn in the course of production?
During our early research, we were not prepared for the level of resistance and antagonism we would encounter. Twenty years after her rampage in Honolulu the topic of Tyke remains taboo within the secretive America circus industry. More than any other incident of its kind, Tyke polarized the debate over wild performing animals and heightened the industry’s hostility towards the animal rights movement. In the course of our research, the mere mention of Tyke’s name was often enough to get doors slammed in our faces. It was, therefore, all the more remarkable to find those prepared to speak honestly about Tyke and life in the circus.
What have been the differences in reception to the film in countries it has now travelled to?The film had its world premiere at the Sarasota Film Festival in Sarasota, Florida - the heart of the US circus industry. Word about the screening got out via Facebook and Twitter and drew crowds of demonstrators to the screenings – animal rights groups on one side supporting the film and angry circus supporters on the other. Emotions also ran high in the Q&A sessions following the screening as well and we were assigned bodyguards on our way out. We have a number of other international festivals coming up so it will be interesting to see the responses.
Which documentary has most inspired you?
Stefan: There are many: Salesman, Point of Order and Darwin’s Nightmare are high on the list.
Susan: Sans Soleil. "Sunless" is a 1983 French film directed by Chris Marker.
Favourite Website/blog?
We are not knowledgeable enough in this area to comment.
Person you’d most like to interview (living or dead)?
Stefan: Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution and now.
Susan: Emma Goldman.
Best piece of filmmaking advice you’ve ever been given?
Stefan: “Suspend judgement of your characters; the camera doesn’t lie”, from Australian documentary filmmaker Dennis O’Rourke.
Susan: “Keep rolling no matter what”. Stefan Moore.
Best piece of filmmaking equipment you can’t live without?
Stefan: A camera that doesn’t break down in the middle of the most amazing sequence you ever filmed!
Susan: Radio microphones.
If money was no object, what is your dream documentary subject?
We’d love to have enough money to develop and produce our next film free of commercial and broadcaster constraints, but we can’t say what it is yet.
Favourite film of all time?
Stefan: Battle of Algiers.
Susan: Imitation of Life.
Most difficult access?
Stefan: The Men’s House of Detention on Rikers Island in NYC.
Susan: Decker’s Corporation when making the film The Good The Bad and the Ugg Boot”.
Best recent read?
Stefan: Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson.
Susan: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.Image copyright Denise Baratta/The Medford Mail Tribune via AP Image caption Robert Borba said he held the would-be thief until police arrived and arrested the suspect
A rancher in the US state of Oregon has used his lassoing skills to nab a would-be thief, police say.
Robert Borba told local media he reacted when he heard a woman scream that someone was trying to steal her bicycle from a bike rack outside a Walmart store in Eagle Point.
Mr Borba said he got his horse out of its trailer and cornered the suspect before lassoing him around the legs.
He added that he used a rope every day to make a living.
"I hear a lady screaming: 'Stop him! He stole my bike!" he told KOBI-TV NBC 5 channel.
He said he got on his horse and rode over to the man who was apparently struggling with the bike gears and then decided to flee on foot.
"I just roped him and the rope went down around his feet and I just rode off like I would if I'd roped a cow or something by myself".
The rancher said the would-be thief then tried to grab a tree and escape, but he managed to keep the rope tight until police arrived and arrested the suspect.
He also told the Medford Mail Tribune that if a rope "catches cattle pretty good, it catches a bandit pretty good".VATICAN CITY — Two close associates of Pope Francis have accused American Catholic ultraconservatives of making an alliance of “hate” with evangelical Christians to back President Trump, further alienating a group already out of the Vatican’s good graces.
The authors, writing in a Vatican-vetted journal, singled out Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, as a “supporter of an apocalyptic geopolitics” that has stymied action against climate change and exploited fears of migrants and Muslims with calls for “walls and purifying deportations.”
The article warns that conservative American Catholics have strayed dangerously into the deepening political polarization in the United States. The writers even declare that the worldview of American evangelical and hard-line Catholics, which is based on a literal interpretation of the Bible, is “not too far apart’’ from jihadists.
It is not clear if the article, appearing in La Civiltà Cattolica, received the pope’s direct blessing, but it was extraordinary coming from a journal that carries the Holy See’s seal of approval. There has apparently been no reprimand from the pope, who is not shy about disciplining dissenters, and La Civiltà Cattolica’s editor has promoted the article nearly every day since it was published in July.The head of the Roman Catholic Church spoke out against the use of body scanners at airports, saying human dignity must be preserved even as countries attempt to protect their citizens against acts of terrorism.
Pope Benedict XVI, making his comments during an audience with airport workers and officials at the Vatican on Sunday, did not specifically use the words body scanner in his address, according to reports in U.K. newspapers the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian.
But he said that even when facing the threat of terrorism, airport security officials should not forget to respect "the primacy of the human person."
"[With] every action, it is above all essential to protect and value the human person in their integrity," he told the representatives from the aviation industry.
The United States began using the scanners capable of detecting items hidden under clothing at airports as part of new security protocols put in place in the wake of the failed bombing attempt on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
Canada and European countries have followed suit and begun installing their own scanners, particularly for flights destined for the United States.
The Pope is not the first religious leader to speak out against the scanners.
Muslims urged to choose pat-down over scanner
The Fiqh Council of North America, an Islamic group with membership in Canada and the United States, said earlier in February it believed the body scanners were "against the teachings of Islam, natural law and all religions and cultures that stand for decency and modesty."
The group urged Muslim travellers to choose to be patted down by airport security rather than go through the scanners.
Canada is in the process of installing 44 scanners to be used on U.S.-bound passengers selected for secondary screening at Canadian airports.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has said the scanners would protect the privacy of the passenger, and that the officer viewing the image would do so in a separate room and never see the actual traveller.
The focus on security measures stems from the failed attempt by a Nigerian man to set off a bomb on a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is accused of trying to ignite the bomb on the Northwest Airlines flight. Officials said he has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen.Toronto Councillor Justin Di Ciano, a self-described lifelong Liberal, has teamed up with two influential Conservative advisers to fight any move to replace Canada’s electoral system. “Keep Voting Simple will focus its campaign on reminding Canadians our current electoral system has served our country exceptionally well for almost a 150 years,” Di Ciano said Friday.
Nick Kouvalis, who helped move John Tory and Rob Ford into the Toronto mayor’s chair, and Richard Ciano, former Ontario Progressive Conservative Party president, are also part of the “grassroots campaign,” Di Ciano said standing behind a podium at 642 King Street West - the building where Kouvalis’ and Ciano’s Campaign Research firm is located. “Grassroots? Grassroots groups usually aren’t spearheaded by politician... and don’t have ten-foot vinyl banners,” tweeted Dave Meslin, creative director of the volunteer group Unlock Democracy. Last year, Di Ciano (Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore) introduced a motion that led to council reversing a 2013 decision to ask the province to use a ranked ballot system.
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Since then, he has been actively campaigning to stop electoral reform – appearing at Queen’s Park committees, debating ranked ballot supporters in his office and on the radio and lecturing just about anyone who will listen on why it is a bad idea to overhaul the way Canadians vote. Di Ciano said Keep Voting Simple is focused on Ottawa where a parliamentary committee has been struck to examine the current voting system and propose alternative methods of electing MPs. He said that is searching for a solution to a problem where none exists. “The majority of Canadians think our voting system works well, provides representation from a geographical, descriptive and ideological perspective. It produces stable and efficient governments capable of enacting timely legislation and it is simple to understand,” he said. “Special interests and backroom operatives are the only beneficiaries when voting systems become more complicated. They know how to navigate the system, because they are paid to do so.”
According to Di Ciano, potential alternatives fall into two broad categories: ranked choice voting and proportional representation, or hybrids of both. Ranked choice, he said, suffers “democratic short comings.” It’s complicated, produces drastic increases in voter error by disadvantaged, ethnic and elderly voters, it is costly, requires massive public education campaigns and complex voting machines.
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And, contrary to some information, “ranked choice does not produce the will of the majority, it remains a plurality system, just like first-past-the-post.” He added proportional representation, another alternative to first-past-the-post, is “purpose built for instability.” “Say goodbye to stable majority governments who think long term and in the best interest of the people, say hello to coalition governments, similar to Greek, Italian, French style parliaments, with constant protests, upheaval, unrest and of course elections.” Di Ciano said while he initially embraced ranked choice voting, he saw its flaws when he started looking at other jurisdictions. Di Ciano added the three co-founders who want to respond to the “one-sided argument in the media.” “I know no one better who can explain complex issues and reached out to these two gentlemen, I think to spread the message.” Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute, attended Friday’s sparsely attended news conference. The Broadbent Institute and 50 other organizations “are part of a truly, national grassroots, rainbow coalition advocating for a proportional voting system, something virtually every other OECD country on this planet already has,” he said afterward stepping onto sun-baked King Street West. “Proportional systems give better outcomes for voters and a proportional ballot is no more complicated than our current ballot.” It’s a system “elects more women, results in better policy and makes sure every voter counts unlike our current archaic, nineteenth century first-past-the-post system,” he said. “This notion that only our current system can be defined as simple is nonsense, virtually every country on this planet use a proportionate system and I don’t think voters in Germany are any more or less intelligent than voters in Canada.”We’re just days away from the calendar turning to July and feeling as though the season has truly crossed the midway mark. Then it’ll only be two weeks until the All-Star break, when everyone will be given a few days without any changes to their lot as they assess their standing and can likely be pressed into some worthwhile deals. That said, let’s see if we can address your pitching needs with some widely-available arms first.
For our purposes, we’re going to use Yahoo ownership levels and try to cut things off around 35%.
Here are my starting pitcher waiver wire targets for Week 13.
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Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Targets
Sean Newcomb - (ATL, SP): 31% owned
Newcomb’s first four career starts have yielded a 1.48 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 21 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. He’s gone a perfect four-for-four in the quality start department and just rode six shutout frames to his first victory on Tuesday night against the Padres. That 5.15 BB/9 from Triple-A looks to be in the past, as he’s issued just one free pass in each of his last two starts -- the only real caveat here is that those two starts came against the Giants and the Padres. He has tons of momentum right now but is going to be thoroughly tested in his next start on July 4 against the Astros at home.
Charlie Morton - (HOU, SP): 22% owned
Morton turned in two innings in his first rehab start at Triple-A last Thursday and just scattered two hits and a walk over four innings on Tuesday in his second showing. While the overall 4.06 ERA and 1.37 WHIP aren’t the most sparkling ratios, his most recent outing before getting hurt was a strong seven-inning showing against the Tigers with six strikeouts and just two runs allowed. He was 3-1 over his last five decisions (5-3 overall) with a stout Houston offense and bullpen backing him, and owns a 10.14 K/9 as one of 19 starters with at least 50 innings under their belt to exceed the 10.0 K/9 watermark. DL slots come at a premium, but his potential is worth stashing.
Jason Hammel - (KC, SP): 20% owned
Once again, I present Hammel’s stats by month:
April - 6.65 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 13 BB’s, 19 K’s (21 2/3 innings)
May - 5.83 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 10 BB’s, 21 K’s (29 1/3 innings)
June - 2.51 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 4 BBs, 25 K’s (32 1/3 innings)
Given that he’s posted ERAs in the mid-threes over his last three seasons and certainly has the potential to be a mixed-league fantasy arm, this surge should be taken seriously. Make the grab and ride the wave.
Jose Urena - (MIA, SP/RP): 23% owned
Urena is an interesting case study. His 6-2 record, 3.33 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over his first 70 1/3 innings this season say “pay attention to me!” while his 5.04 FIP, 5.57 xFIP and 5.29 SIERA all say “just walk away.” It isn’t as though he’s improved his batted-ball rate from last season -- his soft-contact rate has actually slipped 2.4 percent -- except for one thing. He’s yielded fly balls about 25 percent more, which has led to his BABIP dropping from.297 to.245 and helping create such a disparity with his surface stats. He just shut down the Cubs over six strong innings and gets a nice test against the Mets -- who have the fourth best team wOBA (.361) over the last two weeks -- on June 29 next.
Trevor Cahill - (SD, SP/RP): 16% owned
Another rehabbing strikeout arm, Cahill is slated to make his second rehab start with Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday and will likely ride out his rehab assignment until the All-Star break before returning. He had a crisp 3.27 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 51 strikeouts in 41 1/3 frames before getting hurt, so swallowing the lack of wins on San Diego becomes a bit easier.
Jhoulys Chacin - (SD, SP/RP): 12% owned
Speaking of the Padres and their lack of W’s, Chacin has certainly deserved more than a 2-3 record over his last five starts. He’s spun five consecutive quality starts now with a healthy 3.00 ERA and 7.36 K/9 behind it, though his 4.56 FIP and 4.22 xFIP over that span aren’t buying the.244 BABIP. Given his 51.7 percent ground-ball rate, 16.7 percent infield fly-ball rate and 24.2 percent soft-contact rate over that span, I’m going to have to disagree a bit. I don’t think he’s an ace or anything and his home/road splits are still terrifying (1.83 ERA at home, 9.08 on the road), but this is a notable run as he enters a tough start against the Dodgers at home on July 2 next.
Randall Delgado - (ARI, SP/RP): 12% owned
Normally, I’d be all over Delgado heading into his next start after recently improving his ratios to a pristine 3.18 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with five clean innings against the Phillies on June 25, but he’s slated to face Colorado at home on July 1. I’ve seen enough Colorado-Arizona tilts to grow superstitious, but those of you who aren’t afraid of the Rox would do well to pluck Delgado here. His 3.17 FIP, 3.41 xFIP and 3.46 SIERA are all fans of his, as his 1.59 BB/9 is way down from last season’s 4.32 mark and his hard-contact rate allowed has dropped by seven percentage points. It’s a legitimate improvement to buy into.
Dinelson Lamet - (SD, SP): 9% owned
Like his teammate Chacin, Lamet is slated to face the Dodgers at home next on June 30. It’s definitely not a great look, but those seeking K’s shouldn’t shy away from his 42 whiffs in just 30 innings (12.6 K/9). The 6.60 ERA will scare many away, but his ratios will be in flux and his 1.20 WHIP and dazzling 3.35 SIERA are more important to me moving forward than the ERA of the past. He’s still a rookie and will take his lumps, but the potential is clear.
Collin McHugh - (HOU, SP): 8% owned
Coin-flip Collin will hopefully have his slider working for him when he begins his rehab assignment on Friday, as that seems to be his make-or-break pitch. While his upside is a bit lower than Morton’s, it was just two years ago that he won 19 games with a 3.89 ERA and 1.28 WHIP for this Houston ball club. The year before that saw him post an elite 2.73 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. Now, my expectations are greatly tempered, but those seeking wins should never shy away from an Astro. He could rejoin the rotation after the All-Star break and is worth monitoring as he rehabs.
Nick Pivetta - (PHI, SP): 5% owned
I had wanted to prop him up last week after two amazing starts in a row, but a road date with Arizona is a bad time for anyone right now. He was lit up like a Christmas tree for six runs over just 2 2/3 innings, but had rung up 19 batters and allowed just three runs in his previous 13 innings. Now he faces the Mets in Queens on July 2 next, where he’ll look to regain that incredible form flashed against the Red Sox and Cardinals. This is a guy who looked reborn at Triple-A prior to his promotion with a 1.41 ERA and 0.84 WHIP alongside 37 K’s and a 5-0 record in 32 innings and has the potential to be excellent.
Luis Perdomo - (SD, SP/RP): 5% owned
Perdomo’s next start got bumped up from Thursday to today (Wednesday) against the Bravos, but hopefully, you can still make the scoop. Partly because Perdomo has tossed a quality start in five of his last six trips to the hill (and nine of his last 11), but also because the Braves as a team have posted a mere.143 ISO over the last two weeks (fourth worst in that span). He’ll avoid the series with the Dodgers to face the Indians in Cleveland after that.
Daniel Gossett - (OAK, SP): 1% owned
Gossett gets to face the same Braves team on June 30 at home next, and he too enters that outing with some strong wind in his sails. After a rough Major League debut against the Marlins, the rookie has allowed just two earned runs over his last two starts (12 2/3 IP) with 11 K’s and just one walk -- and one of those starts was against Houston. I’m buying into the strong control profile here, a healthy 10.6 percent swinging-strike rate thus far and the 49.1 percent ground-ball rate. All of these marks are backed by his Minor League profile, making the Atlanta start a nice deep-league opportunity with potential for his being more than just a streamer.
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The Project
JACK'D - A Card Game, is a free-for-all strategy card game played with a custom poker deck. The game unfolds over four interactive rounds as players attempt to gain the most tokens while impeding their opponents. Each game of JACK’D will include an illustrated poker deck with rules, tokens for playing the game, and a durable cotton sack to carry it in.
The gameplay of JACK’D is quick, fun, and highly interactive. Every game lasts four rounds, each round is divided into a bidding phase and a play phase. Players spend tokens to develop their sinister ambitions and win cards during the bidding phase. Purchased cards are deployed to score points and sabotage the competition during the play phase. Tokens are awarded at the end of each round for those who managed to protect their investments, with bonuses for orchestrating pairs or flushes. Every play is an opportunity for interaction as private eye and bulletproof vest cards can responsively jump into action at any moment! Cards that are acquired each round become the deck in future play rounds, allowing the game to intricately develope from round to round. Success in JACK’D is equally dependent on planning, adaptability, and ruthlessness.
ThoughtCrafT Games NEEDS YOUR HELP!
ThoughtCrafT Games is the result of four friends who want to take their passion for gaming to the next level. We've spent countless hours enjoying tabletop games of all stripes together, and now it's time for us to bring those good times to a wider audience. JACK'D - A Card Game offers the complex player interactions that experienced gamers crave, while being simple enough not to intimidate newer players.
Currently, multiple games are being developed in the secret labs of TcG. We decided to bring JACK'D to the world first because it has few pieces (thus less potential problems during production), and because we believe that it is curiously addictive for all players from the most casual to the hardest of cores. It's the perfect modest starting point for our plan to rule the world... of gaming!
As a startup, our biggest hindrance to production is the financial hurdle of initial costs. We simply don't have the capital to pay for a full print run up front along with being able to pay our artists what they deserve for their excellent work. TcG is not a large company using Kickstarter as a convenient profit source, we NEED the funding for our considerable investments of personal time and money to finally pay off.
King Of Diamonds by Elise Anzini
THE ART
We believe JACK’D - A Card Game will be a unique product that our backers can use to play the game as well as functioning as a traditional poker deck. What will separate our poker deck from a the rest is the custom artwork by Elise Anzini. Her illustrations were immediately realized as a perfect fit when TcG saw her thesis work on poker-themed characters in gangster settings. Along with our card faces displaying short text reminders of what the attack, response, and joker cards do, the illustrations will put you into the world of JACK’D in a way no other deck could.
We are also very excited to have artists Kacie Doran, and Kelsey Wagner working on the visual world of JACK’D. These three amazingly talented artists are all graduates of Moore College of Art and Design. Examples of their work can be found on their personal blogs at:
Elise Anzini:http://eliseanzini.blogspot.com/
Kacie Doran:http://www.behance.net/kaciedoran
Kelsey Wagner:http://www.behance.net/Fedora20
JACK'D Card Back Design by Aaron Fleury
THE GOODS
The Game: JACK'D - A Card Game custom poker deck including quick rules reference cards, 100 plastic tokens, a double-stringed cotton sack bearing ThoughtCraft Game's stamp of approval, and a PDF copy of the rules.
The Matriarch: Get two copies of The Game at a discounted price and give one to a friend, or keep one for your collection. As an added benefit, we will upgrade the bags and chips of anyone pledging at The Matriarch amount or higher upon reaching our stretch goals!
The Boss: The Boss gets everything The Matriarch does along with a limited-edition custom inked playmat designed for JACK'D! Playtesters agree that a proper playmat smooths gameplay and increases the longevity of your cards. If we reach our stretch goal of $45,000, you will also have the rare opportunity to be owner of an UNCUT SHEET of JACK'D - A Card Game from United States Playing Card Company!
The Heist: Make out like a bandit when you become a Funder of JACK'D - A Card Game! Only backers of $100 or over will have the privilege of being a funder of ThoughtCraft Games very first published game. Not only will you get the playmat, t-shirt, and uncut sheet, but also a full-size artist print of your favorite JACK'D illustration if we reach our maximum funding goal! You will also receive name recognition as an official Funder on our t-shirts and playmats to make your swag truly personal!
JACK'D Promotional Deck
The Jack: What better way to become a part of JACK'D - A Card Game than by being on the cards? That's just what you'll get if you make The Jack pledge. When players sabotaged are by the clever work of a Jack, it will be your face causing them to shout in victory or reel in dismay! Only 4 are available in total, so make your move now.
The Bomber: CAUTION: HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE! Handle with care, because The Bomber is the most destructive card in the game. This tier is made for him/her who just wants to watch the world burn. Only one lurks in the deck, and it can be you if you've got an appetite for destruction!
The Hitman: The Hitman always gets the job done, guaranteed! If they've got a bulletproof vest, he/she poisons. If they send a P.I., he/she makes them disappear. When The Hitman gets his mark it is removed from the play deck entirely, adding a unique strategic dimension to his deadly craft. This professional is truly one of a kind, so if you can't risk anything short of perfection put your face on the most feared character in JACK'D, The Hitman!
Private Eye Jack: In her graphic rulebook, Kelsey Wagner will bring the gameplay of JACK'D - A Card Game to life in a truly unique way. Private Eye Jack will be the face of the game as he guides readers though the shadows of JACK'D while teaching them the rules in an innovative format that beats reading dry rules text! So if your copacetic caper is the real McCoy when your putting on the Ritz, be an egg and drop the mazuma for our most exclusive Funder offer: you can be the one-and-only Private Eye Jack! You will be immortalized as the game's main character in comic-book format.
THE GOALS
We need to raise $15K to make JACK’D - A Card Game a reality. With these funds we can print 1,000 decks by Kardwell International and commission an illustration for each set of face cards. This initial goal only allows us to partially illustrate and print JACK’D in a small print run. If we are able to reach our other goals we can provide a more elaborate experience to the game by upgrading the various components of JACK’D for our backers.
We would like to have unique art on every face card and to print on the highest quality poker cards, which is why our next goal is to raise $30k. Reaching this goal would allow us to print the minimum of 2,500 decks through The United States Playing Card Company. In addition to a fully illustrated deck we could bring the rules and gameplay of JACK'D to life with a Graphic Rulebook by Kelsey Wagner.
JACK'D Graphic Rulebook Intro By Kelsey Wagner
At $45k, we will reward our backers by upgrading the bags for anyone pledging at least $25, and sending an uncut sheet of the fully illustrated poker deck to backers pledging $50 or more!
If we are fortunate enough to reach our $75k goal we can upgrade the playmat, put a custom illustration by Kacie Doran on the t-shirt, upgrade the tokens for $25 and higher backers, and send our generous $100 or over Funders an artist print of their favorite card.
Contact Us
Tyler Frazier
I'm managing this page, so if you have any questions about this Kickstarter please comment or send me an email here: tyler@thoughtcraftgames.com
To find out more about TCG, visit our website thoughtcraftgames.com or send us an email here: thoughtcraftgames@gmail.comNEW DELHI — As thick smog crept over India’s capital this past week and smudged landmarks from view, Nikunj Pandey could feel his eyes and throat burning.
Pandey stopped doing his regular workouts and said he felt tightness in his lungs. He started wearing a triple layer of pollution masks over his mouth. And he became angry that he couldn’t safely breathe the air.
“This is a basic right,” he said. “A basic right of humanity.”
Pandey is among many people in New Delhi who have become more aware of the toxic air in recent years and are increasingly frustrated at the lack of meaningful action by authorities.
This past week the air was the worst it’s been all year in the capital, with microscopic particles that can affect breathing and health spiking to 75 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization.
Experts have compared breathing the air to smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes a day. The Lancet medical journal recently estimated that some 2.5 million Indians die each year from pollution.
United Airlines suspended its flights between New Delhi and Newark, New Jersey, for Saturday and Sunday because of the heavy air pollution in the Indian capital, said Sonia, an airline official who uses one name.
Pandey said the millions of rural folk who have moved to the city understand the problem better than they once did, and are trying everything from tying scarves over their faces to eating “jaggery,” a sugar cane product that some people believe offers a range of health benefits.
Masks once considered an affectation of hypochondriac tourists are these days routinely worn by government workers and regular people on the street.
Volunteers handed out thousands of green surgical masks this week to make a point about the pollution, but such masks likely have a limited impact on keeping out the tiny particles from people’s lungs.
“This is truly a health emergency,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, the executive director of research and advocacy at New Delhi’s Centre for Science and Environment.
She said doctors in recent days have been dealing with a 20 percent spike in emergency hospital admissions from people suffering heart and lung problems. And that’s in a city, she said, where one in every three children already has compromised lungs.
Seema Upadhyaya, who heads a primary school, said she has never before witnessed so many children suffering from respiratory illnesses as she has this year. That has prompted changes to the curriculum.
“It’s impacting everybody,” she said.
Authorities have been taking extraordinary measures to try to mitigate the immediate crisis. They have temporarily closed schools and stopped most trucks from entering the city.
The government put off a decision for rationing car usage starting Monday as pollution levels started coming down in the city, said Kailash Gahlot, New Delhi’s transport minister.
But everyone agrees such measures don’t address the root causes, which remain hard to solve.
Roychowdhury said the city’s pollution has been trapped this week by a lack of wind at ground level, colliding winds in the upper atmosphere, and cooling temperatures.
A cyclist pedals through the morning smog a day after Diwali festival, in New Delhi, India. Environmental pollution -- from filthy air to contaminated water -- is killing more people every year than all the war and violence in the world. AP Morning smog envelops the skyline on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. A thick gray haze enveloped India's capital on Tuesday as air pollution hit hazardous levels, prompting local officials to ask that schools shut down and a half marathon scheduled for later in November be called off. AP The readings of the government's air quality index hovered between 350 and 450, indicating that the health impact of breathing the air was "severe." The highest reading on the Central Pollution Control Board's index is 500. AP Raisina Hill, the government seat of power, is seen engulfed in morning smog a day after Diwali festival, in New Delhi, India. As winter approaches, a thick, soupy smog routinely envelops most parts of northern India, caused by dust, the burning of crops, emissions from factories and the burning of coal and piles of garbage as the poor try to keep warm. AP Morning walkers exercise in smog due to firecrackers burned during Thursday's Diwali festival, in New Delhi, India. As the haze settled over the city in the morning, many people covered their faces and noses with scarves to try to protect themselves. AP The sharp drop in air quality is most dangerous for the elderly, children and those already suffering from respiratory ailments. Constant exposure to pollution also reduces lung functionality for healthy adults over a period of time. AP Delhi's landmark India Gate, a war memorial, is barely visible a day after Diwali festival, in New Delhi, India. AP A cyclist pedals through the morning smog in New Delhi, India. Delhi has struggled with putting in place pollution control measures over the last two years. It has tightened vehicle and factory emission norms and reduced the number of cars on the roads on the worst-hit days |
Saturday declared himself as being cynical and negative.
Thomas came to believe that the fact that affirmative action had played a role in his acceptance to Yale tainted his achievement in the minds of potential employers.
“I’d learned the hard way that a law degree from Yale meant one thing for white graduates and another for blacks, no matter how much anyone denied it,” Thomas wrote. (Other black students in his class disagree with Thomas’s assessment and said they had no trouble finding jobs with the prestigious law firms that descend upon elite schools.)
Thomas wrote: “As a symbol of my disillusionment, I peeled a fifteen-cent price sticker off a package of cigars and stuck it on the frame of my law degree to remind myself of the mistake I’d made by going to Yale.”
Thomas has not changed his mind about affirmative action, but the law school has made concerted efforts to bring back into the fold a graduate who sits on the Supreme Court. Thomas, too, said he has learned to “forgive and forget, to turn and move on.”
Thomas has been back to New Haven before, but Saturday’s ceremony was the most public reconciliation. The justice said the event was “far more special” than his graduation and that he is “more idealistic now than I was back then.”
Post said there were some commonalities among the three justices. None came from families of lawyers. Alito’s parents were the first in their families to go to college, while Sotomayor and Thomas came from poverty.
But they were different presences at Yale. Alito was the shy conservative everyone remembered as a practicing Catholic. Post said Alito was known for sitting in the front row, never raising his hand or taking notes, impressing everyone when called upon.
Focused and serious, he won awards each year at Yale for his scholarly work and legal ability. His former roommate told reporters at the time of Alito’s nomination that he doesn’t remember Alito dating. “There are no anecdotes,” he said.
A couple of years ago, Alito had a Federalist Society dinner crowd laughing as he recalled that he was assigned to the constitutional law class taught by the liberal Charles Reich rather than conservative icon Robert Bork. Yale would not allow him to switch.
“I was forced to teach myself,” he said.
Alito told the crowd that during the years he and Thomas were the only Yalies on the Supreme Court, he could only imagine the thoughts of Yale’s liberal professoriate: “Where did we go wrong?”
On Saturday, Alito said the remembrances of his performance at Yale might be exaggerated with time. “But it sounds good, so I’m not going to deny it,” he said.
Nor was there mention of what was Sotomayor’s most notable moment at Yale: a complaint she filed after she felt insulted by an on-campus recruiter from a prestigious Washington law firm.
After asking Sotomayor whether she believed in affirmative action, Sotomayor said the law firm partner asked her: “Don’t you think it’s a disservice to minorities, hiring them without the necessary credentials, knowing you’ll have to fire them a few years later?”
Sotomayor filed a formal complaint with the school, and a student-faculty panel negotiated a full apology from the firm.
“News of the incident flared across campus and divided the school into camps — those who thought I had made too much of some offhand comments, jeopardizing Yale’s relationship with an important employer of its graduates, and those who were solidly in support of my action,” she wrote in her memoir.
She and Thomas disagree on affirmative action. She saw the outreach from Ivy League schools as creating “the conditions whereby students from disadvantaged backgrounds could be brought to the starting line of a race many were unaware was even being run.”
But at Saturday’s event, Thomas and Sotomayor seemed to find some common ground, and their experiences as minorities at Yale seemed a bit more aligned.
Both said they were ill-prepared for what Yale offered. While clerking for a federal judge is common for graduates at elite law schools, neither said they were fully aware of it as an option.
“I must admit I did not get as much out of the law school as I should have, and that was simply because of my attitude,” Thomas said.
“Clarence,” Sotomayor responded, “I really didn’t know how to take full advantage of the law school.” Despite finishing Princeton with honors, she said, “I got to Yale, and I learned a deep sense of humility.”
“Yeah,” Thomas answered. “Oh, yeah.”This article was originally published in PC Gamer issue 302. For more quality articles about all things PC gaming, you can subscribe now in the UK and the US.
The popular narrative for adventure gaming is that it died with the commercial failure of Grim Fandango before re-emerging a decade later, largely thanks to an explosion of indie developers as well as Telltale’s new spin on the genre. Words like “renaissance” are thrown around a lot. The reality is a bit more complicated.
Who plays adventure games now? Wadjet Eye’s Dave Gilbert, currently working on Unavowed, says that it’s people like himself. “People who grew up playing games with a story or narrative bent to it; people who maybe don’t have a lot of time to play a game. That’s why our games tend to be on the short end.”
These people make up the core, Gilbert tells me, but they’re not the only adventurers. Owl Cave Games’ Olivia White, whose latest project, Oh Whistle And I’ll Come To You, is an adaptation of the famous MR James ghost story, believes that her audience is as diverse as they come. “A cross-section of pretty much anyone across society,” she says.
A broad audience doesn’t always translate to a big audience, however. When Gilbert released the final chapter of his well-received Blackwell series, before it was in any bundles or sales, he sold 7,005 copies on Steam. It can be hard to get the word out.
“It’s been a challenge, especially in the last few years, particularly after the Kickstarter bubble burst and when the Tim Schafer thing happened. It was really cool being me because people suddenly wanted to talk to me and get my opinion, I totally rode that wave. But then those games started to come out and people weren’t really impressed, and writing about adventure games became a hard sell.”
SkyGoblin’s Theodor Waern, who is in the middle of creating the third chapter of his Afro-Caribbean adventure, The Journey Down, notes that a lack of previews doesn’t help. “For a point-and-click adventure game to be able to make any sense, as a player you need to invest yourself in it. You need to pay attention for a while. Get the context. Without these things adventure games are crap. That’s why previewing an adventure game is virtually impossible.”
Other methods of engagement, like Let’s Plays, come with their own problems for narrative-focused games. Waern and Gilbert aren’t sure if they’re a good fit, but White has a different perspective. “We’ve had some huge success from YouTubers and streamers; Cryaotic did a Let’s Play of Richard & Alice very early on, and it made the game a lot more well known than we ever expected in the days before a publisher. Plus we quite regularly get a Twitch streamer or YouTuber who discovers the games, then get a burst of interest.”
Aside from exceptions like Telltale and Daedalic, most adventure game developers are tiny, often independent teams. This can make them vulnerable. Waern explains that SkyGoblin generally lives paycheck to paycheck, while Gilbert became a publisher to spread some of the risk. “I wanted to hedge my bets and have more stuff to sell, because I knew that these games take so long to make that if I had one bad bomb, I’d be finished.”
White partnered with the now defunct Mastertronic, which offered her a lot of support, and she hopes to find another publisher for Oh Whistle And I’ll Come To You, and for the sequel to The Charnel House Trilogy, Augur Peak. The assistance was a boon, she tells me, especially since she is unable to take her games to shows due to serious back problems. Support for developers with disabilities is something she thinks needs to increase.
“The amount of disability awareness and support in the games industry is woeful. Event organisers could help by catering specifically to people who have mobility issues that prevent them from attending – some kind of funding or support for devs who need to pay extra for travel because of disabilities. Plus making sure the venues are disability-friendly is a must.”
Appearing on Steam used to be a coup for small developers, but changes to Valve’s platform now mean that Waern, White and Gilbert must rely on bundles and big sales. “Bundling and putting the games on sale has been a quick and easy way to solve immediate financial shortcomings,” Waern says, while White says that it’s where she makes any meaningful money.
Although Wadjet Eye’s games have benefited from being in bundles, Gilbert tells me that you’ve got to be smart about it. “If your game has been out for a long time, and it’s been very slowly ticking along, why not put it in a bundle and get tens of thousands of dollars all at once? It makes a lot of sense for old games, but less so for new games because it devalues it. If you release a game and then three months later put it in a bundle, you’re admitting defeat. Your sale cycle is pretty much done.”
Despite the challenges, the developers remain optimistic and keen to continue evolving the genre. “I’ve come across a lot of experimental and very bold adventure games,” Waern says, “both when it comes to experimenting with new ways of interacting with the game and also in tackling a lot of mature and sometimes very difficult theme. It’s fun to see that the indie scene is bubbling with bravery and is constantly pushing the envelope.”
Unavowed, The Journey Down Chapter 3 and Oh Whistle And I’ll Come To You are due to launch in 2017.The final chapter of Natsume Ono's ACCA 13-Ku Kansatsu-Ka (ACCA: 13th Ward Observation Department) manga announced on Tuesday that Ono will launch a spinoff of the manga titled ACCA 13-Ku Kansatsu-Ka P.S. in the first 2017 issue of Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan magazine on December 24.
The magazine also revealed that the original manga's sixth and final volume will also ship on December 24.
Ono launched the original manga series in Monthly Big Gangan magazine in June 2013. Square Enix shipped the fifth compiled volume in May.
The manga is set in a world separated into 13 wards, with each ward having an observation division controlled by the organization known as "ACCA." The story centers on Jean, known as the craftiest member of ACCA.
An anime adaptation has been greenlit and will premiere in January.Greenland ice sheet summer temperatures highest in 172 years
Posted on 12 August 2012 by Daniel Bailey
NOTE: This is a repost of Greenland ice sheet summer surface air temperatures: 1840-2011,
Greenland ice sheet summer surface air temperatures: 1840-2011
Developing a new manuscript (Box et al. submitted), I’ve managed to update the Box et al. (2009) near-surface air temperature reconstruction and am struck after incorporating 4 more years, it seems little doubt that summer air temperatures for Greenland ice are the highest in at least 172 years. Summer temperatures in the late 2000s are roughly 0.5 C warmer than in the 1930s and even warmer than at any time since at least 1840s.
Because the reconstruction captures the end of the Little Ice Age, it is further reasonable to think that Greenland probably hasn’t been as warm in summer than since the time the Norse colonized Greenland beginning in 982. Implications for the recent warmth are of course grabbing headlines.
While earlier studies (e.g. Chylek et al. 2006) ascribe significance to the fact that 1920s temperature increases were greater in magnitude since those after the early 1990s, this point lacks relevance because 1.) the 1920s trend was measured from the depth of an (unexplained) decadal cool period while the recent trend, i.e., measured beginning in 1994, after the 1991-1993 Mt. Pinatubo volcanic cooling and especially because 2.) the recent summer temperatures are ~0.5 C higher in absolute magnitude than those in the 20th century.
20th Century cooling period
During the ~63 year period (1930 to 1992) cooling prevailed that can be attributed partially to an increases in atmospheric aerosols that reduce surface insolation. Liepert et al (2002) estimated that there a global reduction of about 4% in solar radiation reaching the ground between 1961 and 1990. West Greenland is a focus of sulfate aerosol-induced cooling (Rozanov et al. 2002, Box et al. 2009).
Cold episodes in 1983-84 and 1991-92 enhance this cooling trend and are caused by major volcanic eruptions (Box, 2002; Box et al. 2009). The cooling phase has also been attributed to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) (e.g. Schesinger et al. 1994). Though, it remains unclear whether AMO is a recurrent harmonic oscillation or just a hiatus of warming caused by sulphate cooling.
The post-1994 warming, is attributable to: 1.) a growing absence of sulfate cooling because there has not been a major volcanic eruption since at Mount Pintubo in 1991; 2) a reversal of the global dimming trend (Wild et al. 2009); and 3) ongoing and intensifying anthropogenic global warming (AWG) owing to a dominance of enhanced greenhouse effect despite various anthropogenic cooling factors such as aerosols and contrails (IPCC, 2007). Year 2010 annual surface air temperature observations around west and south Greenland exceeding 3 standard deviations from the 1901-2000 century baseline.
Works Cited
Box, J..E., Greenland ice sheet mass balance reconstruction. Part II: Surface mass balance (1840-2010), J. Climate, submitted 30 July, 2012.Share this infographic on your site!
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The Sacred Orders of Geek Spawned from the union of yesterday's memes and obsessive technophiles, the mythical empire of Geekdom has been steadily expanding for decades, evolving and diversifying at each turn. Though hailing from different territories of geek, each new variety marches under the same banner. Check out some of the diverse inhabitants of Geektopia and see where you fit in. Das Ubergeek The one geek to rule them all
Has multiple Linux builds on multiple hard drive partitions
Fluently codes in 5+ languages while listening to recordings of Neil deGrasse Tyson breathing Apple Fanboy Geek Uses the word "intuitive" as often as possible
Doesn't technically know what a megahertz is, but waxes notalgic for all 300 his bright-orange iBook boasted
Though unemployed, can be spotted wandering around the Apple Store helping customers Chic Geek Paired oxfords with shorts before seeing it on The Satorialist
Knows the chefs by name at top-rated restaurants
Has never set foot in an Old Navy Cosplay Geek Flashes battleaxe / cleavage in every photo
Will have you know that anime is more than "just tentacle porn"
Can be spotted downing Redbulls after pulling an all-nighter putting the finishing touches on a codpiece Star Wars Geek Knows that the 12 parsecs of Han Solo's Kessel Run are a distance, not time, measurement
Owns an old VHS cassette of Return of the Jedi with suspiciously worn out sections of tape due to excessive rewinding and resuming
At war with Trekkie Geeks Trekkie Geek Knows over 10 ways to say "honor" in Klingon
Only consumes "hard" science fiction, none of that "soft" drivel
At war with Star Wars Geeks Pop Culture Geek Knew about Britney Spears' divorce before even she did
Has applied to The Real World for five consecutive years
Knows the entire history of the Kardashian dynasty Sports Geek Owns a baseball card collection more impressive than any 13 year old boy's
Though not physically able to play sports, destroys his alpha male counterpoints every fantasy season
Knows what beer pairs best with each professional sports league Film Geek Knew who Jim Jarmusch was before Coffee and Cigarettes
Won't permit the eating of food during screenings
Will tell anyone who'll listen that "3D is destroying film's artistry" Encyclopedia Geek Spends upwards of two hours every day browsing random Wikipedia articles
Kills conversations daily with phrases like "That reminds me of Ibn Battuta's 14th century exploration of Galata"
Thinks Jeopardy! is too mainstream Music Geek Knows the difference between math rock and mathcore
Scours online auctions for obscure 70's ambient electronica vinyls
Claims to possess a vial of spit from Donald Fagen's saxophone Gamer Geek Shouts "+1 mana" after every chugged Mountain Dew Code Red
Thinks Final Fantasy VII is the greatest story ever told
Plays DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball for the "physics engine" Gadget Geek Likes any device that can be described as "modular"
Brings a solar powered shower camping
Subscribes to Popular Mechanics and shops at The Sharper Image Comic Book Geek Claims to have once touched a copy of Action Comics No. 1
Knows the entire history and mythology of the Marvel and DC universes
Can accurately predict the outcome of any hypothetical battle between any two superheroes Craft Geek Calls televisions "picture boxes"
Can knit from zero to bivouac in 6.8 seconds
Is on a first-name basis with the staff at Jo-Ann Fabrics and Home Depot Internet Geek Identifies with either 4chan or Reddit, but never Digg
Takes an unhealthy amount of pride in discovering new content before anyone else
Reads infographics aboug geeksIt’s so goddamned easy to forget how hard people worked to achieve something so basic: the right to serve patriotically in the military.
I mean, can you think of anything more simple? You’re a kid graduating high school out in the sticks somewhere, and there aren’t any jobs other than working part-time in a fast food joint, and you want out of your parents’ house, you want out of your hometown, you just want to leave behind what you’ve known all your life and get out there and look for something new. So you decide you’ll volunteer for the Army or the Navy or the Air Force -- whichever one will take you. But it’s been on the news they won’t take gay people, and you’re gay, or at least you think you are.
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You’re different, anyway. You’ve always enjoyed doing all the stuff guys do, ever since you were a little girl – hunting and fishing and building forts in the woods and racing remote control cars and hot-rodding your Honda Civic. Or you liked taking off your jeans and sneakers and dressing up in your mother’s clothes, walking around the house in her high heels when your parents were gone for the weekend. You did the stuff your friends did, whether it was playing sports or going on dates to the movies or making out in the basement while you were pretending to be watching Netflix, but your heart was never really in it. Your heart was somewhere else, someplace you didn’t really want to go because you were afraid of what you’d find there. But now you want to go someplace as far away as you can get, someplace where you can find yourself, or at least look without the whole town peering over your shoulder.
A friend of yours who graduated last year joined the Army, and she texted you recently from an airfield somewhere. She was about to get on a big transport plane and fly to Germany. She has learned to work on diesel engines and is going to Germany and then to Afghanistan. She’s going to work on big trucks and tanks and armored personnel carriers, and when she gets out, she knows she can get a job with a trucking company in the state capital, so you figure that’s what you’ll do. You’ll sign up, and the Army or the Navy or the Air Force will teach you something cool like diesel engines or maybe working on the engines for jet aircraft, and you’ll be out of here, and you’ll be looking at a future for a change, instead of the strip mall where everybody goes to buy beer before they drive out to the lake to get drunk.
But can you pull it off? Can you do what you did all the way through high school; hide behind this pose of fake masculinity or fake femininity when what’s inside of you is so different? What if they catch you? What if somebody finds out that you’re not like them? What if they kick you out of the military, and instead of going back home with a skill like working on really complicated truck or aircraft engines, you go back with a discharge that prevents you from getting any job at all? Are you willing to take that risk? Are you willing to get in the closet and then dig a hole in the floor of the closet and hide in there so deep they’ll never find you; they won’t discover you have a lot of skills and a lot of drive and desire and patriotism, but you’re just not like them? Not down deep inside where it counts. Not down there where you live, where you’re who you really are. Is it worth it? Because if you volunteer for the service, you’re not just signing up for a job. You’re taking a risk on the rest of your life.
That’s the way it was for gay men and lesbians and transgender people back in 1993 when newly-elected President Bill Clinton said he was going to do something like Harry Truman did when he integrated the military by executive order in 1948. Clinton was going to sign an executive order integrating the military by sexual identity, and then, only a few weeks into his presidency, it all went south. Some redneck senator from Georgia in his own party threatened to pass a law overturning any executive order Clinton signed, and after a bunch of kangaroo-court hearings about how gay and lesbian and transgender people would damage “morale” and “good order and discipline” and the “combat effectiveness” of the military – the same thing the rednecks said about integrating black soldiers in 1948 – they compromised on something called “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which promised that if gay and lesbian and transgender troops stayed in the closet they wouldn’t be kicked out of the military.
It was a lie, of course. They hunted down gay men and lesbians and transgender soldiers and sailors and airmen and women. They ran them out of the military and they gave them the bad discharges they had feared they would get all along. They kept up the lies and the witch hunts until a whole bunch of people worked really really hard to change people’s attitudes and finally President Obama came along and they passed a law allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. And when everyone realized that the Army and Navy and Air Force and Marines hadn’t collapsed in a miasma of bad “morale” and that “good order and discipline” was still intact and that the “combat effectiveness” of the military hadn’t fallen apart, they issued a policy allowing transgender people who were already in the military to serve openly.
They were working on allowing the recruitment of transgender people when Trump issued his insane tweets last week: “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."
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He didn’t consult with any generals or military experts. Whether or not transgender people serve in the military has nothing to do with its combat effectiveness or its ability to achieve “victory,” not one of which we’ve had in about seven decades, by the way. The medical costs of dealing with erectile dysfunction among men in the military costs something like 10 times what transgender troops cost, according to recent estimates. The Pentagon, when confronted with Trump’s attempt to issue orders with his thumbs, didn’t budge from its current policy of allowing transgender people to serve and treating them with the respect they deserve.
And there we are. Will transgender people be driven back into the closet in the United States military? Will the current policy be replaced with some sort of ersatz new form of "don’t ask, don’t tell"? Who knows? Hell, we didn’t know until two o’clock in the morning on Friday whether the Affordable Care Act would survive or not. Why should we expect to know about something as basic as the careers and lives of a bunch of patriotic Americans who are willing to give their lives to support and defend the United States Constitution? Why don’t we just let them hang out there in limbo like we did to gay men and lesbians and transgender troops for so long? Why don’t we make them lie about who they are in order to have the privilege of serving in the United States military and defending our freedoms?
That’s apparently what Trump’s plan is, and I think I can tell you why. Everything Trump is doing right now has the single goal of keeping himself in office. That’s it. Full stop. Every tweet. Every campaign-style unhinged speech. Every move he makes that appears to be attached to any kind of policy at all, whether it’s health care or immigration or law and order or who gets the right to serve in our military and who doesn’t. He doesn’t draw a breath without thinking of what he can do every single minute to keep himself from being run out of office for whatever illegality you can think of, whether it’s colluding with the Russians to defeat Hillary Clinton or laundering their money or profiting from the presidency or anything else. Doesn’t matter. He’s going to push the envelope. He’s going to say whatever he needs to say, do whatever he needs to do, fire whoever he needs to fire, sacrifice whoever he needs to sacrifice in order to save himself.
You know he’s getting close to the edge when he goes after transgender people. He doesn’t dare go after gay people. They’ve got the right to serve in the military enshrined in law. They’ve got the right to marry guaranteed by the Constitution. Most importantly of all, they’ve got public support for those rights. A lot of it. The country has moved on when it comes to the rights of gay Americans.
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Trump’s gamble is that there is a large enough segment of the country that hasn’t accepted the reality of transgender Americans. He’s gambling that his base, however you define it, and whatever its percentage of the population is at the moment, will back him on this because while the rest of the country has moved on, they haven’t. For them, Trump believes, your sexuality is one thing, but actually changing your gender identity is a bridge too far. He’s gambling that while the rest of the country has transitioned away from its prejudice against LGBT Americans, there remain enough of them in his base who will separate out the “T” from LGBT and back him on this latest insanity.
We’re trans and they’re not. He’s going with them, and in the coming weeks and months we’ll see how far that will take him.Heavily regulated Boston cab owners last week filed a federal lawsuit against city and state regulators they charge have put them at a competitive disadvantage by letting Uber, Lyft and similar concerns steal their business.
In their lawsuit, filed in US District Court, the Boston Taxi Owners Association and two individual medallion owners charge the city is ruining their investments in expensive medallions by letting ride-share or "transportation network companies" pick up passengers for hire without any similar investment.
Medallion owners have to comply with expensive safety, licensing and insurance regulations, while any jamoke with a car - even one with a potential criminal background - can pick up fares through these competitors, the suit says, charging this violates the equal-protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
And don't even get the cab owners started on a regulation proposed by outgoing Gov. Deval Patrick, which they say would deprive them of their rights under the due-process clause by essentially eliminating a cap on medallions, thereby "irrationally destroying" the value of those medallions.If the story of DiphallicDude, or DoubleDickDude (it’s in the name), somehow did not leave your jaw hanging and your eyebrows glued to your hairline, then this exceedingly rare case surely will.
A child from Uttar Pradesh, India, was born with three penises and no anus. While that may sound suspiciously like a tabloid headline that has emerged from a stretched truth and Chinese whispers, doctors who operated on the two-year-old child in Sion Hospital have spoken to the media about his condition.
“The boy suffers from Diphallia. At birth, he had three penises, but he was able to pass urine through only one of them,” said Dr Paras Kothari, head of pediatric surgery at Sion Hospital, according to Daily News and Analysis.
Although he could only use one of the penises to urinate, two of them had erectile tissue – three masses of expandable, sponge-like tissue involved in penile erection – while the third was undeveloped and non-functional.
While diphallia – duplication of the penis – is exceedingly rare, affecting around one in every six million births, the condition is commonly associated with other abnormalities, such as gastrointestinal defects or double bladder. And this boy was no exception, devoid of an anus and thus unable to pass feces normally.
To correct the latter problem, he boy underwent a surgical procedure two years ago called a colostomy. This involves bringing the colon through an opening made in the abdominal wall from which stools can be collected into an attached bag, Dr Vishesh Dixit, a pediatric surgeon at the hospital, told Daily News and Analysis.
In an attempt to free the child from his colostomy bag, last month surgeons at Sion Hospital created a path through his rectum to facilitate the passage of stools through a newly-fashioned anus. In addition, his rudimentary penis was removed, along with a bony mass of tissue to which his penises were attached. Finally, they forged a penis from the two more-developed penises by fusing them together. Impressively, the whole procedure only took six hours.
Although the boy will still have to use his colostomy bag until he has healed sufficiently, doctors at the hospital reportedly said that neither sexual function nor fertility should ultimately be affected.Forest Hill Police Captain Steve Yancey says the reason they didn’t charge the 18-year-old involved in the case is because Moore refused to cooperate.
“We attempted to setup interviews with her son in cooperation with CPS and could not get her to bring her son to be interviewed. The fact that we couldn’t interview the victim hindered us from furthering the case.”
FOREST HILL (CBSDFW.COM) — Erica Moore of Forest Hill says she was laying in bed one night when she decided to walk-around her house to check on her kids. She found the door to her 15-year-old son’s bedroom shut. When she opened it, she got quite a surprise to see her son wasn’t alone — her teenage male cousin was in the room with him.
“My cousin at the time he was 18. My son he was 15 and I had walked in the room on [my cousin] giving oral sex to my son and I started whooping my son, and I’m the one who got in trouble as a result of me whooping him,” she said. “When I walked in I saw my son, it was just disgusting to me, the way he was looking and my cousin was looking, and my cousin immediately ran out the door. And I’m just like what the?!? You know, is you serious? So that was my reaction because it disgusted me.”SAN FRANCISCO - Google celebrated another victory against Oracle America last month when the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied Oracle's request for a new trial in the ongoing battle over Google's use of Oracle's Java application programming interfaces (APIs).
In this most recent attempt by Oracle to prevent Google from using their APIs, they claimed the original case only dealt with the use of APIs in Android smartphones and tablets. However, Oracle recently discovered Google's App Runtime for Chrome ++ (ARC++), which allows users to run some android applications using Chrome OS on their desktops and laptops. Oracle claimed Google neglected to bring up ARC++ in the original trial.
"Oracle now contends that Google’s failure to supplement several responses to interrogatories, requests for admission and requests for production of documents, as well as the deposition testimony of two witnesses to reflect developments in the ARC++ project, constituted discovery misconduct warranting a new trial," according to court documents.
District Judge William Alsup found at least nine documents produced by Google in the original trial that mentioned ARC++ and denied the motion for a new trial. Oracle and Google having been fighting a battle over the use of APIs for several years now.
The saga started when Sun Microsystems developed the technology in the 1990s and Google started using the technology for APIs in their smart phones and tablets. Oracle acquired the API technology and in 2010, sued for copyright infringement.
Originally, Judge Alsup ruled the APIs were not copyright-able but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit appealed the decision in 2014. Clark Asay, is an associate professor of law at Brigham Young University who focuses on intellectual property law, has followed this case extensively.
"The threshold for copyrighting in really low," Asay told Northern California Record. "The court found APIs could be copyrighted because the creation of APIs used creativity. Using that standard, everything is copyright-able because everything uses creativity."
Asay thought this ruling may set a new precedent for copyright cases. Section B of U.S. Code 102 states, "In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work." However, because APIs are a sort of digital language, they might fall under one of the categories listed in Section B.
Oracle claimed Google owed it billions for the use of the APIs. Google, however, claimed fair use of the technology.
"Google's argument was 'we've taken the technology and superseded what Sun and Oracle had done with it,'" Asay said. "In some accounts, android has spurred innovation in the market."
Earlier this year, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco ruled in favor of Google. Asay sees this as a partial victory for developers.
"The decision provides comfort to developers that there could be fair use of APIs but the fact still remains they are subject to copyright."
According to Asay, the battle is not quite over, becuase Oracle will likely appeal the fair use decision.Last night when I was volunteering at the animal shelter, I heard some very sad stories about how we acquired two lovely new cats. I will not tell you the story, it is heartbreaking. Just know that they are happy, healthy and safe now. People can be really terrible when it comes to animals. Just hearing about those cats and other stories reminded me of why I started The Veggie Stand in the first place…though it is closed until further notice, I felt the need to perpetuate the awareness of adopting and rescuing animals.
So now that The Veggie Stand has officially moved back to Hayley’s Comments, in honor of this merger, I would like to continue a weekly column from The Veggie Stand called “Rescue Animal of the Week.” Each week we will feature a different rescue animal- if you’d like to see your pet or a friend’s as the next Rescue Animal of the Week on Hayley’s Comments, please provide the following information by emailing it to me at HRH@HayleysComments.com
A picture of your pet
Your pet’s name
Your name, city and state
Where did your pet come from?
How did you come to adopt/ rescue your animal?
And anything else you would like us to include about your animal.
Check out past Rescue Animals of the Week here
I hope to hear from you and your pet soon!
Don’t forget to subscribe or to Like Hayley’s Comments on Facebook!Trump’s voucher plan and the right-wing campaign to destroy public education
Part one
By Esther Galen
21 March 2017
President Trump’s budget proposal released Thursday cuts $9.2 billion from Department of Education funding. But there is one funding boost, the only increase in funding for domestic social programs in the entire Trump budget: a $1.4 billion increase for “school choice” programs. This includes $1 billion for the promotion of school vouchers, where families are given a set amount of money, which they can spend on private, charter, religious or even online schools.
Trump proposed $20 billion for school vouchers during his campaign last fall. He did not present any details except to say the funds would come from existing federal dollars spent on education. During his inaugural address, Trump denounced the public school system, saying it was “an education system, flushed with cash” that “leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge.”
The president is determined to accelerate the decades-long campaign, pursued by Democratic and Republican administrations alike, to dismantle public education and funnel even more money into the hands of private business interests. In choosing billionaire Betsy DeVos for secretary of education, Trump has selected someone with a clear record of seeking to destroy public education.
The United States government is in the process of turning back the clock for public education. CEOs of the largest corporations, the Democrats and Republicans, and the courts all agree that society does not have an obligation to provide all students with a high-quality education.
The mantra of “school choice” means that the capitalist market should determine how—and whether—students get educated. Parents, as “consumers,” will have a choice as to where they send their children to be educated and evaluate what they bought. If they’re not happy with the school giving the education they purchased, they can look for another one, as though they were buying a pair of shoes. And of course, just as when people shop, those who are wealthier can afford better products, in this case, schools. The working class and poor will not be able to afford quality education.
While private schools choose what students to admit and keep enrolled, public schools are legally bound to |
to cloud storage. If users prefer not to broadcast the video to the internet or to their mobile, the data will automatically save to the built-in flash memory, allowing for an easy upload later via Micro USB or Bluetooth.
While employing cutting-edge technological advances, Eyez™ glasses are also practical for daily use. Users can choose from high quality removable lenses in both clear and shaded tones. In addition, the shape of Eyez™ glasses is extremely popular, so most optical stores can easily fit the appropriate prescription lenses.
"Eyez™ will be loved by everyone," says co-founder of ZionEyez LLC, Evan Lindquist. "Dad can broadcast his son's game-winning catch to out-of-town family members so they can all cheer him on in real time. Outdoor enthusiasts will finally be able to stream themselves kayaking, mountain climbing, or snowboarding. A college student can record lectures to study for an exam and then later that night capture the highlights of his campus party scene."
Social networking is constantly being reinvented as technology advances, and the future of live broadcasting online is finally breaking free from its constraints. The world is ready for social networking to take the next big leap into the future, and Eyez™ video recording glasses are at the forefront of this technological evolution.
Visit http://www.zioneyez.com for product details.
Eyez™ Pat. PendingBy all accounts, A Good Day To Die Hard is a terrible movie. But the stunts, well, there were a lot of them and they cost a fortune. Director John Moore decided that when it came to smashing expensive vehicles, it was time to go big or go home.
In one sequence, a Lamborghini bites the dust. In another, a Mercedes Zetros Unimog heavy truck. Several Mercedes G-Class wagons met an untimely end, and Moore also blew up a string of BMWs in sequence. In all, 132 cars were completely destroyed and 518 damaged during filming, at a cost of more than $11 million.
So even if Moore failed to make a movie worth watching, he probably broke a record for the most vehicles destroyed in filming. It'll be great when someone takes the good parts — the destruction scenes and nothing else — and threads them together into a one glorious orgy of obliteration.
(Hat tip to $kaycog!)The world’s top rock climbers are a special breed. It’s not just their fearlessness, dangling off cliffs that soar thousands of feet straight up. It’s also their technical prowess. The best climbers can find a toehold in the tiniest hole on a rock wall, sometimes no bigger than the edge of a credit card. They can pull themselves up by a single finger. Tommy Caldwell is perhaps the best big wall climber of them all.
In 2015, he and Kevin Jorgeson completed the hardest climb in history — the 3,000-foot Dawn Wall on Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan rock formation. It took 19 days and capped seven years of Caldwell’s intense planning and training.
While this was his greatest climbing achievement, it wasn’t his most difficult ordeal. In his early twenties, he was kidnapped by Islamic militants while climbing in Kyrgyzstan. "I definitely thought I was going to die," Caldwell said. He only managed to survive by pulling his captor off a cliff.
Caldwell chronicles his life of adventure in his memoir, "The Push: A Climber’s Journey of Endurance, Risk and Going Beyond Limits."
This interview has been edited from its original version for clarity and length.
Steve Paulson: When did you start climbing?
Tommy Caldwell: I started climbing when I was three years old. My dad was actually a mountain guide. So it's kind of what we did growing up.
The first climb my parents like to talk about me doing was a thing called the Bowels of the Owls on this rock spire called Twin Owls, which is a few hundred feet tall. And it just progressively got bigger and bigger.
I started going to Yosemite every year. We also did a lot of ski touring. It was a very abnormal way to grow up. I think everybody looked at my dad thinking he was a bit of a lunatic — bringing me and my sister out on these very scary-looking adventures.
In a way, I spent my life out on the battlefield. He changed my diapers in snow caves. I knew how to crouch in the right way to avoid lightning strikes when I was seven years old. So it changed my view on risk, which could have gotten me in trouble.
SP: By the time you were in your early 20s, you were one of the world's top climbers. You and your girlfriend and two other guys went to Kyrgyzstan, where you were kidnapped by Islamic militants. They held you hostage for six days as you were getting chased around by local army soldiers. Did you think you were going to die?
TC: I definitely thought I was going to die. We were held hostage for six days in the middle of this war. We had to abandon all of our food, all of our warm clothing. We were on the verge of hypothermia because we were high in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, probably 50 miles from the nearest road.
We were climbing up this big 2,000-foot mountain with our one remaining captor. By this time the other captors had been picked off by the Kyrgyz military. High on the mountain, I’d made the decision to take matters into our own hands. So I ran up behind this armed rebel, grabbed his gun strap and pulled him over this ledge. And he fell out of sight. Then we ran down the valley to the nearest military outpost. That's how we escaped.
SP: How did you feel about pushing him over the cliff?
TC: I felt really mixed. A lot of people were like, "Oh, you did such a heroic thing by pushing this evil man off the cliff." But to us he wasn't evil. He was a victim of circumstance, a 19-year-old hired mercenary. And it was really hard for me. Who am I to take somebody else's life? Was I an evil person?
Over time, however, I did sort of understand and even learn to appreciate what that did for me psychologically and how it helped me grow into a man. It was actually quite empowering because I knew that when things really go badly, I had the capacity to respond. I felt almost invincible and it was the survival instinct kicking in.
SP: You are most famous for your climb of the Dawn Wall on Yosemite's El Capitan. It’s considered the most difficult big wall climb in the world. What makes this climb so hard?
TC: It looks impossible. Most of the other routes on those big walls have crack systems, and to a trained eye you can imagine climbing them. But even to me, the Dawn Wall looks blank. It looks like there's no way to climb it. But after having climbed on El Cap for 15 years, I understood that little holes form that you can only see if you get your face a few inches from the wall. If you train yourself properly and you've had a lifetime of practice, you can learn to climb on them.
It's really like a dance or a gymnastics routine to successfully climb this stuff. You have to rehearse the moves over and over and over again until you can do the routine perfectly.
And trying to link together this maze of climbing moves up a 3,000 foot wall is just a fascinating question. So that was a seven-year process — first, finding the route up the wall. You know, this project was about picking a goal that is above you and then trying to change your life in a way that you can rise to that level.
SP: You were on the Dawn Wall for 19 days. So when you and your climbing partner, Kevin Jorgeson, finally reached the top — which you’d obsessed about for a decade — did it feel like you’d gotten the monkey off your back?
TC: It was something that I doubted for so many years and then it actually worked out. This magical journey, it was so unbelievably beautiful to me. And ending it was like a love affair being done. It was a weird mixture of relief and sadness.Sears and other retailers have closed thousands of stores in recent years. Amy Sancetta, File/AP Images
The retail apocalypse has descended on America.
Department stores like Macy's, Sears, and JCPenney, and retailers including Toys R Us, BCBG, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bebe have closed dozens of stores in recent years.
In 2013, Sears had nearly 2,000 stores. This week, the company narrowly dodged liquidation when chairman Eddie Lampert won a bankruptcy auction with a plan to keep the retailer alive. Lampert's hedge fund, ESL Investments, said last week that its $5 billion bid would save up to 50,000 jobs and keep about 400 stores open. The plan still must be approved by the bankruptcy court.
Sears isn't the only company that is struggling to adjust to the rise of e-commerce and the fall of foot traffic. With vacancy rates continuing to rise, walking through a mall is like walking through a graveyard.
Here's photographic evidence that a retail apocalypse is hitting the United States hard:CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Personal injury attorney Thomas J. Henry knows how to throw a party.
The Henry family poses for a photo at Thomas Henry Jr.'s 18th birthday party this weekend in San Antonio.
Contributed photo/Lawlor Media Group
Just last year he spent $6 million on his daughter Maya's quinceañera. This weekend, he made sure his son's 18th birthday didn't fall short.
The party for Thomas Henry Jr. was held at Hotel Discotheque lounge in San Antonio. The event had a Gatsby-mixed-with-burlesque theme complete with showgirls, aerial performers, art installations and contortionists. Celebrity production designer Dylan Marer and his team from Hollywood produced the event, a media release from Lawlor Media Group reads.
J Balvin perfoms at Thomas Henry Jr.'s birthday party in San Antonio.
Contributed photo/Lawlor Media Group
The party featured performances by Diplo, J Balvin and Migos. Celebrity guests included Ashanti, Rumer Willis, Lance Bass, Josh Henderson, Adrienne Bailon, Joanna Krupa, Aubrey O’Day, Austin Mahone and others.
The star of the party, who sat on a throne-like chair when he wasn't dancing, was given a fully loaded blue Ferrari, an IWC Portugieser Tourbillion watch and a custom-made painting from Alec Monopoly.
The Henry family stands onstage with Migos while they perform.
Contributed photo/Lawlor Media Group
Reports state the event cost about $4 million dollars.
The Henry family is known for flashy parties including the 2016 Apollo in the Hamptons event at Ron Perelman home, the 2017 Republic Records Grammy after party, and the 2017 Maxim Super Bowl party.
In November, Henry won a $45.3 million verdict on behalf of his client in a company vehicle crash involving the use of cellphones while driving, according to a press release. Jenny Hanes was injured when a sport-utility vehicle driven by JC Fodale Energy Services employee Mickey Hunt rear-ended her car on Interstate 35 in San Antonio, the release stated.
More: Autistic boy gets huge birthday party after no one RSVPs
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Follow Monica Lopez on Twitter: @CallerMonica
The Henry family stands with Rumer Willis, Lance Bass and Michael Turchin.
Contributed photo/Jay LaynoEnd of an era: Space Shuttle Discovery waits on launch pad ahead of its final mission
Flight to International Space Station will be voyage No.39 for old timer
Its journey to the launch pad followed the same routine as any of its past 38 flights.
But as Space Shuttle Discovery was towed the 3.5 miles to Cape Canaveral last night there was a bittersweet, almost funereal, air to proceedings.
The old workhorse of Nasa’s fleet, this will be Discovery’s final mission before it is finally retired and becomes a museum piece.
[caption] [caption]
Lit up against the night sky, the shuttle was watched by crowds of shuttle workers and their families as it took its last ride to the pad on top of a giant transporter.
Several hundred contract employees will lose their jobs on October 1 in a continuing wave of layoffs after the shuttle programme was shelved by the Obama administration.
Nasa has only two missions remaining with Discovery due to lift off for the International Space Station on November 1.
Endeavour will follow in February to wrap up 30 years of shuttle flight.
In Discovery’s 38 flights it has completed completed 5,247 orbits, and has spent 322 days in orbit, It has also flown more flights than any of the other shuttles, including four in 1985.
It was also the shuttle which was the first to fly after the 1986 Challenger disaster and 2003 Columbia disaster.
The future of manned spaceflight is uncertain because of disagreement in Washington over where future missions should fly.
Technicians are readying the payload for space shuttle Discovery's next mission, STS-133. The flight to the International Space Station is due to deliver supplies and equipment to the orbiting laboratory complex inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module.
The PMM was modified from a multi-purpose logistics module that was built as a reusable module to haul experiment racks and other materials to and from the space station.
The module will be left behind so it can be used for microgravity experiments in fluid physics, materials science, biology and biotechnology.
Located on Merritt Island, just north of Cape Canaveral, the launch pads were originally built for the huge Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and back.
[caption]
Views of Discovery attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters as it waits for November 1
[caption]
Space Shuttle Discovery viewed from the sixteenth floor of the Vehicle Assembly Building, left, and workers make the final preparations before it is moved to the launch pad
[caption]
Following the joint U.S.-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission of July 1975, the pads were modified to support space shuttle operations.
All of the shuttles are checked out and assembled in the protected environment of the Orbiter Processing Facility and the Vehicle Assembly Building, then transported by large, tracked crawlers to the launch pad for final processing and launch.
During the Apollo era, key pad service structures were mobile. For the space shuttle, two permanent service towers were installed at each pad for the first time, the fixed service structure and the rotating service structure.
● A rocket carrying classified satellite cargo has been successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's central coast.
A release from the base says the Atlas 5 rocket carrying a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office was launched on Monday shortly after 9pm.
No details about the satellite's orbit or capabilities were released.
The launch was a project three years in the making by Vandenberg's 30th Space Wing, the United Launch Alliance and the NRO, which oversees the nation's constellation of spy satellites.TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A bomb exploded at the gate of the Moroccan embassy in the Libyan capital early on Monday, causing some damage but hurting nobody, a security official said, only hours after gunmen attacked South Korea’s mission in Tripoli.
Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said on twitter they were responsible for both attacks, the latest strikes against foreigners, embassies or oilfields in Libya. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the claims.
Islamic State militants have exploited chaos in the North African country where two governments allied to a host of armed groups fight for control four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.
The bomb damaged the gate and a residential building next to the Moroccan embassy located in the up market Ben Ashour district, a security official and Reuters reporter at the scene said.
Nobody was hurt by the blast early on Monday, the official said.
On Sunday, gunmen fired shots at the South Korean embassy in Tripoli killing two local security guards and wounding a third person, South Korean and Libyan officials said.
A South Korean foreign ministry official in Seoul said there were no Korean casualties, adding that the embassy was staffed by two foreign service officials and one administrative staff member. He said the government was considering relocating, but did not elaborate.
Libyan militants professing loyalty to Islamic State have claimed several high-profile attacks on foreigners in Libya this year, including an assault on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli and the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.
They have also claimed several assaults on embassies such as those of Egypt and Algeria in Tripoli, attacking mostly empty buildings as most countries have pulled out diplomatic staff because of the security situation.
Libya’s internationally recognized government has been based in the east since a rival faction called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in August, setting up a rival administration.This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: President Obama is facing criticism for nominating another former Wall Street executive to become treasury secretary. On Thursday, Obama tapped his own chief of staff, Jack Lew, to replace Timothy Geithner. Lew was an executive at Citigroup from 2006 to 2008 at the time of the financial crisis. He served as chief operating officer of Citigroup’s Alternative Investments unit, a group that bet on the housing market to collapse.
Lew has also long pushed for the deregulation of Wall Street. From 1998 to January 2001, he headed the Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton. During that time, Clinton signed into law two key laws to deregulate Wall Street: the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.
On Thursday, independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont criticized Lew’s nomination, saying, quote, “We don’t need a treasury secretary who thinks that Wall Street deregulation was not responsible for the financial crisis.”
At a press conference at the White House Thursday, President Obama praised Jack Lew’s record.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Jack has the distinction of having worked and succeeded in some of the toughest jobs in Washington and the private sector. As a congressional staffer in the 1980s, he helped negotiate the deal between President Reagan and Tip O’Neill to save Social Security. Under President Clinton, he presided over three budget surpluses in a row. So, for all the talk out there about deficit reduction, making sure our books are balanced, this is the guy who did it—three times. He helped oversee one of our nation’s finest universities and one of our largest investment banks. In my administration, he’s managed operations for the State Department and the budget for the entire executive branch. And over the past year, I’ve sought Jack’s advice on virtually every decision that I’ve made, from economic policy to foreign policy.
AMY GOODMAN: For more on the nomination of Jack Lew, as well as other news about Wall Street, we’re joined by two guest. William Black, author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One, he’s associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, former senior financial regulator. His recent article for the Huffington Post is called “Jacob Lew: Another Brick in the Wall Street on the Potomac.”
We’re also joined by Matt Taibbi, contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine, his latest piece, “Secrets and Lies of the Bailout,” which we’ll talk about in a bit, author of Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Professor Black, let’s start with you. Your assessment of Jack Lew?
WILLIAM BLACK: Well, on financial matters, Jack Lew has been a failure of pretty epic proportions, and he gets promoted precisely because he is willing to be a failure and is so useful to Wall Street interests. So, you’ve mentioned two of the things in terms of the most important and most destructive deregulation under President Clinton by statute. But he was also there for much of the deregulation by rule, and a strong proponent of it, and he was there for much of the cutting of staff. For example, the FDIC, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, lost three-quarters of its staff, and that huge loss began under Clinton. And the whole reinventing government, Lew was a strong supporter of that. And, for example, we were taught—instructed by Washington that we were to refer to banks as our “clients” in our role as regulators and to think of them as clients.
He goes from there to Wall Street, where he was a complete failure. You noted that part of what Citicorp did was bet that housing would fall. That was actually one of their winning bets. But they actually made a bunch of losing bets, as well. And the unit that he was heading would have not been permissible but for the deregulation of getting rid of Glass-Steagall under President Clinton. And you saw, as an example of Citicorp, why we shouldn’t be doing this. Why would we create a federal subsidy where all of us, through the U.S. government, are on the hook for Citicorp’s gambling on financial derivatives for its own account, you know, running a casino operation? That makes absolutely no public policy sense.
Then he comes into the Obama administration, and he was disastrously wrong. He tried very hard to impose austerity on the United States back in 2011, which is—he wanted, you know, the European strategy, which has pushed the eurozone back into recession, and Spain, Greece and Italy into Great Depression levels of unemployment.
And this is the guy, after all of these failures, who also is intellectually dishonest. He will not own up to his role and deregulation’s role and de-supervision’s role in producing this crisis—and not just this crisis, but the Enron-era crisis and the savings-and-loan debacle.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Matt Taibbi, your reaction to the nomination of Jack Lew by President Obama?
MATT TAIBBI: I think there’s a couple things. I agree with everything that Professor Black said. I think it’s—the symbolism of this choice is, I think, very important for people, just the mere fact of picking somebody from Citigroup and from that same Bob Rubin nexus that Timothy Geithner came from. And, you know, you heard Barack Obama, as he’s introducing Jack Lew, praising Tim Geithner as somebody who’s going to go down in history as one of the great treasury secretaries of all time. I think what this tells everybody is that Jack Lew is going to represent absolute continuity with the previous treasury secretary, who had a very specific agenda when it came to Wall Street. And I think we’re just going to expect more of the same, more of the same really being overt and covert support of these too-big-to-fail institutions that Lew worked for, Citigroup being the worst and most disastrous example of that kind of company. So I think it’s—the choice of somebody from that particular firm is fraught with pretty upsetting symbolism for the country, I think.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go back to 2010, when Jack Lew appeared before the Senate Budget Committee for a confirmation hearing after he was nominated by President Obama to head the Office of Management and Budget. During the hearing, he was questioned by Senator Bernie Sanders.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Do you believe that the deregulation of Wall Street, pushed by people like Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, contributed significantly to the disaster we saw on Wall Street several years ago?
JACK LEW: Senator, I—as when we discussed, I mentioned to you, I don’t consider myself an expert in some of these aspects of the financial industry. My experience in the financial industry has been as a manager, not as an investment adviser. My sense is, as someone who has, you know, generally been familiar with these trends, is that the problems in the financial industry preceded deregulation. There was an increasing emphasis on highly abstract leveraged derivative products that got us to the point that, in the period of time leading up to the financial crisis, risks were taken. They weren’t fully embraced. They weren’t well understood. I don’t personally know the extent to which deregulation drove it, but I don’t believe that deregulation was the, you know, proximate cause. I would defer to others who are more expert about the industry to try and parse it better than that.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Jack Lew responding to Bernie Sanders, who, when President Obama announced his nomination of treasury secretary—to treasury secretary of Jack Lew, Senator Sanders said, “We don’t need a treasury secretary who thinks that Wall Street deregulation was not responsible for the financial crisis.” Professor Black?
WILLIAM BLACK: Well, I mean, we can agree that he lacks expertise in the area, but he was supposed to have expertise. This was supposed to be his area of expertise, both in his role as OMB head under Clinton, and then, of course, as being in the industry and actually implementing the fruits of this deregulation.
So—and he has the history, in one sense, correct. He says the problem arose before deregulation. That’s true that derivatives were already a problem before deregulation. And so, Brooksley Born proposes to deal with the problem by having a regulation to deal with credit default swaps. And then the Clinton administration, in league with Greenspan, in league with Phil Gramm, and with one of the important architects of all of this being Jack Lew, squashes Brooksley Born to destroy the proposed regulation and to pass something, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act—talk about a dishonest phrase—that not only said, “You, Brooksley Born, cannot go forward with this particular regulation,” the statute actually said, “We hereby withdraw all regulatory powers to protect the nation, period. From the federal government, from the state and local governments, we exempt you from the gambling laws. We exempt you from the boiler room laws to prevent fraudulent operations.” It’s one of the most extraordinary abusive things in the world, heavily involved with AIG’s ability to produce not just the disaster at AIG, but the disaster of credit—of the CDOs that blew up a larger portion of the world. And those CDOs would not have been possible without these credit default swaps.
So, this is a guy who designed the disaster, participated in the disaster on Wall Street, was made rich by it. We haven’t talked about the fact that he got a huge bonus for destroying—helping to destroy the world at Citicorp. And he got it through the bailout of Citicorp by the U.S. government. So he produces disaster, profits from the disaster, we pay him bonuses for causing the disaster, and then we have the absurdity of the president of the United States saying that this is a man with a track record of unmitigated success. It is exactly the opposite, in terms of finance. He is a worthy successor to Tim Geithner, in that he has screwed up everything substantively he has ever touched.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: William Black, I’d like to ask you about another aspect of Lew’s portfolio: his stance on austerity. You have raised questions in terms of his continued support of austerity measures, as opposed to efforts by the government to stimulate the economy. Could you talk about that?
WILLIAM BLACK: Yeah, and this is an irony, as well, in terms of the political aspects and Obama. So, under Lew, in his new incarnation a while back as OMB head of—for Obama, I have a piece that talks about how OMB under Obama sounds almost exactly like the tea party. So, it adopts all of their rubric about, you know, these terrible social programs, this terrible safety net and how it’s going to imperil our nation, and what we need to do is be balancing the budget—in other words, austerity.
Now, had Obama succeeded in following Lew’s recommendation in July 2011, when they were trying to negotiate the so-called “grand bargain,” which is really the grand betrayal of the safety net—unemployment in July 2011 was 9.1 percent. Austerity in the United States would have done just what it did in Europe. Unemployment would have surged. So, all through 2012, the election year, unemployment would have been going up well above 10 percent, quite possibly into the 11 and 12 percent range, which is where it is in Europe. Obama would have been toast; would have been no chance. He would have been crushed in the election. The Democrats would have lost control of the Senate, and such. And these folks, even today, are claiming that the failure to achieve the grand betrayal and to cut the safety net is their great disappointment. So, they not only tried to destroy themselves and the country, they are continuing to do that, and indeed, but for Harry Reid literally throwing the Obama administration’s suggestion that they do cuts to the safety net in the fireplace and burning it up, they would have gotten it as part of this interim austerity deal that was just done about eight days ago.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to break, then come back to this discussion with William Black, professor at University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone editor. “Secrets and Lies of the Bailout” [is] his latest piece. This is Democracy Now! Back in a minute.SeaWorld Entertainment announced Tuesday it is eliminating 320 jobs company-wide, part of an ongoing effort to sharply cut its costs.
In San Diego, there will be approximately 60 employees laid off, according to a required notice the park filed Tuesday with the California Employment Development Department.
The affected positions range from park operations and merchandise supervisors to senior trainers and animal care specialists. The breakdown is contained within what is known as a federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice that must be filed by California businesses that eliminate 50 or more employees within a 30-day period.
The announcement comes almost two years to the day since the Orlando-based company announced its last round of layoffs, which then affected more than 300 employees. At that time, more than 100 San Diego workers were affected.
SeaWorld Entertainment would not break down the overall job cuts by each park but said they will affect the 12-park operation and its headquarters.
In an emailed statement, SeaWorld said the layoffs are part of a restructuring program “focused on reducing costs, increasing efficiencies, reducing duplication of functions and improving the company’s operations through proven benchmarks. These changes are being made to best position our company for long-term success, and so that we can continue to do great things for animals across the globe.”
A company spokeswoman said the cuts will be a combination of layoffs and the elimination of vacant positions.
Currently, there are 2,750 workers employed at SeaWorld San Diego, although during the park’s peak summer season, the number of employees can be as high as 4,200.
SeaWorld San Diego Park President Marilyn Hannes said those workers being laid off would remain on the payroll through Feb. 4 of next year.
News of the company-wide cuts comes as SeaWorld is still struggling to right itself following a continuing slump in attendance and declining revenues. In August, SeaWorld said it would be suspending future dividends to shareholders as part of an effort to divert funds to developing more attendance-boosting attractions.
Three months later, during its third quarter earnings report, SeaWorld said it would be moving to cut costs sharply in the wake of still flagging attendance, but it did not mention the possibility of layoffs. It did, however, reveal that it was putting in place a "cost optimization program" that would result in a net savings of $40 million through 2018.
“We remain committed to a continued focus on the guest experience, the health and welfare of our animals, and the safety of our guests and team members,” SeaWorld said Tuesday. “It is an unfortunate, but necessary, consequence of the restructuring that some positions will be lost. For those employees, we are offering enhanced severance benefits and outplacement assistance to help with their transition.”
SeaWorld’s stock price on Tuesday closed at $18.21, up 9 cents.
It’s not surprising that SeaWorld is having to cut more jobs as it works on what will be a long-term plan to revive the company, said amusement park consultant Dennis Speigel. In the theme park industry, labor can account for as much as half of the operating costs, he said.
“Difficult situations require difficult decisions, and SeaWorld is making the kind of moves to save money that are typically done when you’re facing problems like this,” said Speigel, president of Cincinnati-based International Theme Park Services. “This is not an easy fix, I’ve said before this is a minimum 10-year salvage effort, and that’s still my belief.”
Frequent critic PETA was quick to weigh in on SeaWorld’s latest move.
“SeaWorld is still in the same sinking boat that it was in two years ago when it jettisoned its CEO and 311 employees, PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in an emailed statement. “Instead of sinking millions of dollars into failed PR campaigns, SeaWorld must listen to PETA, orca experts, and kind people everywhere and send these animals to seaside sanctuaries. Real change is its only hope of staying afloat.”
SeaWorld’s marine parks are in the midst of significant change as they move to phase out the long-running Shamu show and replace it with a new orca encounter showcasing the whales’ natural behaviors in the wild. Earlier this year, SeaWorld also announced it would end the breeding of its orca population, a move fueled by the harsh criticism company faced following the 2013 release of the “Blackfish” documentary that focused on the parks’ treatment of their killer whales.
CAPTION Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers. Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers. CAPTION Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers. Hundreds of San Diego hotel workers marched in downtown San Diego to pressure Marriott hotels to improve pay and working conditions for low wage workers. CAPTION The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a federal law that bars gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports. The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a federal law that bars gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports. CAPTION Viasat is a global communications company working to connect the unconnected throughout the world. As part of our mission, we're bringing low-cost, high-speed satellite internet to rural towns throughout Mexico. We believe that everyone, everywhere deserves the opportunity to add their voice to the global conversation. (Courtesy of Viasat) Viasat is a global communications company working to connect the unconnected throughout the world. As part of our mission, we're bringing low-cost, high-speed satellite internet to rural towns throughout Mexico. We believe that everyone, everywhere deserves the opportunity to add their voice to the global conversation. (Courtesy of Viasat) CAPTION San Diego has agreed to sell 16 lots in Nestor for $1 each, in the pursuit of affordable housing. The nonprofit San Diego Community Land Trust plans to build three and four-bedroom homes there for people with moderate incomes. That means a family of five with an income of up to $102,750. San Diego has agreed to sell 16 lots in Nestor for $1 each, in the pursuit of affordable housing. The nonprofit San Diego Community Land Trust plans to build three and four-bedroom homes there for people with moderate incomes. That means a family of five with an income of up to $102,750. CAPTION Toys R Us still sells about 20% of the toys bought in the U.S., according to an analyst at Jefferies LLC. Toys R Us still sells about 20% of the toys bought in the U.S., according to an analyst at Jefferies LLC.
lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-2251
Twitter: @loriweisbergBritain’s F-35B fighter jets currently cost around $123m each – and British officials are quite content that the only engine overhaul facility for the stealth aircraft’s engines is located in Turkey.
The House of Commons’ Defence Committee questioned British ministers, civil servants and senior officers on the F-35 purchase programme, revealing that Britain is still publicly committed to buying 138 F-35Bs.
Speculation had mounted that Britain may not buy its full complement of the aircraft thanks to well-publicised holes in the defence budget, which – in a break with tradition – caused Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon to publicly call for a bigger defence budget.
The committee, consisting of mostly Conservative MPs along with a smattering of Labour MPs and sole representatives from each of Scotland’s SNP and Northern Ireland’s DUP, initially questioned executives from Lockheed Martin about the F-35. This, rather predictably, resulted in the execs insisting everything was fine with the F-35 – including questions over the aircraft’s handling in the transonic region, where it goes from sub-sonic flight to supersonic flight.
“All F-35 variants display objectionable or unacceptable flying qualities at transonic speeds, where aerodynamic forces on the aircraft are rapidly changing,” we reported the Straus Military Reform Project as saying in a report earlier this year.
Peter Ruddock, Lockheed’s UK chief exec, said in reply to the commitee's questions: “The problem here is the different parts of the aircraft become supersonic at different times and there's always a controllability issue with that. I've spoken to some of the test pilots involved … the quality of the handling is more than satisfactory or better throughout the flight regime.”
Unfortunately, in his later questions, committee chairman Julian Lewis MP once again focused on the bizarre notion that the NATO-standard Link 16 data comms standard, as fitted to the F-35 for talking to older aircraft, is somehow inherently insecure. He asked, after correctly identifying that the new MADL (Multi-function Advanced Data Link) system allows talking to older aircraft such as the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoons, whether Link 16 meant using an “older system that might reveal their presence?”
Lockheed’s Steve Over, director of F-35 business development, told the committee in response: “It doesn’t affect the stealthiness of the aircraft but it’s an omnidirectional transmitter. If someone has a receiver listening for a Link 16 transmitter…”
This is what Reg readers will recognise as a basic principle of RF transmission and direction-finding. You can encode it |
of the organisation), while those in the middle ranks have much less control and the many at the bottom have virtually none.
Since domination, coercion, and centralisation are essential features of authoritarianism, and as those features are embodied in hierarchies, all hierarchical institutions are authoritarian. Moreover, for anarchists, any organisation marked by hierarchy, centralism and authoritarianism is state-like, or "statist." And as anarchists oppose both the state and authoritarian relations, anyone who does not seek to dismantle all forms of hierarchy cannot be called an anarchist. This applies to capitalist firms. As Noam Chomsky points out, the structure of the capitalist firm is extremely hierarchical, indeed fascist, in nature:
"a fascist system... [is] absolutist - power goes from top down... the ideal state is top down control with the public essentially following orders.
"Let's take a look at a corporation... [I]f you look at what they are, power goes strictly top down, from the board of directors to managers to lower managers to ultimately the people on the shop floor, typing messages, and so on. There's no flow of power or planning from the bottom up. People can disrupt and make suggestions, but the same is true of a slave society. The structure of power is linear, from the top down." [Keeping the Rabble in Line, p. 237]
David Deleon indicates these similarities between the company and the state well when he writes:
"Most factories are like military dictatorships. Those at the bottom are privates, the supervisors are sergeants, and on up through the hierarchy. The organisation can dictate everything from our clothing and hair style to how we spend a large portion of our lives, during work. It can compel overtime; it can require us to see a company doctor if we have a medical complaint; it can forbid us free time to engage in political activity; it can suppress freedom of speech, press and assembly -- it can use ID cards and armed security police, along with closed-circuit TVs to watch us; it can punish dissenters with 'disciplinary layoffs' (as GM calls them), or it can fire us. We are forced, by circumstances, to accept much of this, or join the millions of unemployed... In almost every job, we have only the 'right' to quit. Major decisions are made at the top and we are expected to obey, whether we work in an ivory tower or a mine shaft." ["For Democracy Where We Work: A rationale for social self-management", Reinventing Anarchy, Again, Howard J. Ehrlich (ed.), pp. 193-4]
Thus the consistent anarchist must oppose hierarchy in all its forms, including the capitalist firm. Not to do so is to support archy -- which an anarchist, by definition, cannot do. In other words, for anarchists, "[p]romises to obey, contracts of (wage) slavery, agreements requiring the acceptance of a subordinate status, are all illegitimate because they do restrict and restrain individual autonomy." [Robert Graham, "The Anarchist Contract, Reinventing Anarchy, Again, Howard J. Ehrlich (ed.), p. 77] Hierarchy, therefore, is against the basic principles which drive anarchism. It denies what makes us human and "divest[s] the personality of its most integral traits; it denies the very notion that the individual is competent to deal not only with the management of his or her personal life but with its most important context: the social context." [Murray Bookchin, Op. Cit., p. 202]
Some argue that as long as an association is voluntary, whether it has a hierarchical structure is irrelevant. Anarchists disagree. This is for two reasons. Firstly, under capitalism workers are driven by economic necessity to sell their labour (and so liberty) to those who own the means of life. This process re-enforces the economic conditions workers face by creating "massive disparities in wealth... [as] workers... sell their labour to the capitalist at a price which does not reflect its real value." Therefore:
"To portray the parties to an employment contract, for example, as free and equal to each other is to ignore the serious inequality of bargaining power which exists between the worker and the employer. To then go on to portray the relationship of subordination and exploitation which naturally results as the epitome of freedom is to make a mockery of both individual liberty and social justice." [Robert Graham, Op. Cit., p. 70]
It is for this reason that anarchists support collective action and organisation: it increases the bargaining power of working people and allows them to assert their autonomy (see section J).
Secondly, if we take the key element as being whether an association is voluntary or not we would have to argue that the current state system must be considered as "anarchy." In a modern democracy no one forces an individual to live in a specific state. We are free to leave and go somewhere else. By ignoring the hierarchical nature of an association, you can end up supporting organisations based upon the denial of freedom (including capitalist companies, the armed forces, states even) all because they are "voluntary." As Bob Black argues, "[t]o demonise state authoritarianism while ignoring identical albeit contract-consecrated subservient arrangements in the large-scale corporations which control the world economy is fetishism at its worst." [The Libertarian as Conservative, The Abolition of Work and other essays, p. 142] Anarchy is more than being free to pick a master.
Therefore opposition to hierarchy is a key anarchist position, otherwise you just become a "voluntary archist" - which is hardly anarchistic. For more on this see section A.2.14 ( Why is voluntarism not enough?).
Anarchists argue that organisations do not need to be hierarchical, they can be based upon co-operation between equals who manage their own affairs directly. In this way we can do without hierarchical structures (i.e. the delegation of power in the hands of a few). Only when an association is self-managed by its members can it be considered truly anarchistic.
We are sorry to belabour this point, but some capitalist apologists, apparently wanting to appropriate the "anarchist" name because of its association with freedom, have recently claimed that one can be both a capitalist and an anarchist at the same time (as in so-called "anarcho" capitalism). It should now be clear that since capitalism is based on hierarchy (not to mention statism and exploitation), "anarcho"-capitalism is a contradiction in terms. (For more on this, see Section F)
A.2.9 What sort of society do anarchists want?
Anarchists desire a decentralised society, based on free association. We consider this form of society the best one for maximising the values we have outlined above -- liberty, equality and solidarity. Only by a rational decentralisation of power, both structurally and territorially, can individual liberty be fostered and encouraged. The delegation of power into the hands of a minority is an obvious denial of individual liberty and dignity. Rather than taking the management of their own affairs away from people and putting it in the hands of others, anarchists favour organisations which minimise authority, keeping power at the base, in the hands of those who are affected by any decisions reached.
Free association is the cornerstone of an anarchist society. Individuals must be free to join together as they see fit, for this is the basis of freedom and human dignity. However, any such free agreement must be based on decentralisation of power; otherwise it will be a sham (as in capitalism), as only equality provides the necessary social context for freedom to grow and development. Therefore anarchists support directly democratic collectives, based on "one person one vote" (for the rationale of direct democracy as the political counterpart of free agreement, see section A.2.11 -- Why do most anarchists support direct democracy?).
We should point out here that an anarchist society does not imply some sort of idyllic state of harmony within which everyone agrees. Far from it! As Luigi Galleani points out, "[d]isagreements and friction will always exist. In fact they are an essential condition of unlimited progress. But once the bloody area of sheer animal competition - the struggle for food - has been eliminated, problems of disagreement could be solved without the slightest threat to the social order and individual liberty." [The End of Anarchism?, p. 28] Anarchism aims to "rouse the spirit of initiative in individuals and in groups." These will "create in their mutual relations a movement and a life based on the principles of free understanding" and recognise that "variety, conflict even, is life and that uniformity is death." [Peter Kropotkin, Anarchism, p. 143]
Therefore, an anarchist society will be based upon co-operative conflict as "[c]onflict, per se, is not harmful... disagreements exist [and should not be hidden]... What makes disagreement destructive is not the fact of conflict itself but the addition of competition." Indeed, "a rigid demand for agreement means that people will effectively be prevented from contributing their wisdom to a group effort." [Alfie Kohn, No Contest: The Case Against Competition, p. 156] It is for this reason that most anarchists reject consensus decision making in large groups (see section A.2.12).
So, in an anarchist society associations would be run by mass assemblies of all involved, based upon extensive discussion, debate and co-operative conflict between equals, with purely administrative tasks being handled by elected committees. These committees would be made up of mandated, recallable and temporary delegates who carry out their tasks under the watchful eyes of the assembly which elected them. Thus in an anarchist society, "we'll look after our affairs ourselves and decide what to do about them. And when, to put our ideas into action, there is a need to put someone in charge of a project, we'll tell them to do [it] in such and such a way and no other... nothing would be done without our decision. So our delegates, instead of people being individuals whom we've given the right to order us about, would be people... [with] no authority, only the duty to carry out what everyone involved wanted." [Errico Malatesta, Fra Contadini, p. 34] If the delegates act against their mandate or try to extend their influence or work beyond that already decided by the assembly (i.e. if they start to make policy decisions), they can be instantly recalled and their decisions abolished. In this way, the organisation remains in the hands of the union of individuals who created it.
This self-management by the members of a group at the base and the power of recall are essential tenets of any anarchist organisation. The key difference between a statist or hierarchical system and an anarchist community is who wields power. In a parliamentary system, for example, people give power to a group of representatives to make decisions for them for a fixed period of time. Whether they carry out their promises is irrelevant as people cannot recall them till the next election. Power lies at the top and those at the base are expected to obey. Similarly, in the capitalist workplace, power is held by an unelected minority of bosses and managers at the top and the workers are expected to obey.
In an anarchist society this relationship is reversed. No one individual or group (elected or unelected) holds power in an anarchist community. Instead decisions are made using direct democratic principles and, when required, the community can elect or appoint delegates to carry out these decisions. There is a clear distinction between policy making (which lies with everyone who is affected) and the co-ordination and administration of any adopted policy (which is the job for delegates).
These egalitarian communities, founded by free agreement, also freely associate together in confederations. Such a free confederation would be run from the bottom up, with decisions following from the elemental assemblies upwards. The confederations would be run in the same manner as the collectives. There would be regular local regional, "national" and international conferences in which all important issues and problems affecting the collectives involved would be discussed. In addition, the fundamental, guiding principles and ideas of society would be debated and policy decisions made, put into practice, reviewed, and co-ordinated. The delegates would simply "take their given mandates to the relative meetings and try to harmonise their various needs and desires. The deliberations would always be subject to the control and approval of those who delegated them" and so "there would be no danger than the interest of the people [would] be forgotten." [Malatesta, Op. Cit., p. 36]
Action committees would be formed, if required, to co-ordinate and administer the decisions of the assemblies and their congresses, under strict control from below as discussed above. Delegates to such bodies would have a limited tenure and, like the delegates to the congresses, have a fixed mandate -- they are not able to make decisions on behalf of the people they are delegates for. In addition, like the delegates to conferences and congresses, they would be subject to instant recall by the assemblies and congresses from which they emerged in the first place. In this way any committees required to co-ordinate join activities would be, to quote Malatesta's words, "always under the direct control of the population" and so express the "decisions taken at popular assemblies." [Errico Malatesta: His Life and Ideas, p. 175 and p. 129]
Most importantly, the basic community assemblies can overturn any decisions reached by the conferences and withdraw from any confederation. Any compromises that are made by a delegate during negotiations have to go back to a general assembly for ratification. Without that ratification any compromises that are made by a delegate are not binding on the community that has delegated a particular task to a particular individual or committee. In addition, they can call confederal conferences to discuss new developments and to inform action committees about changing wishes and to instruct them on what to do about any developments and ideas.
In other words, any delegates required within an anarchist organisation or society are not representatives (as they are in a democratic government). Kropotkin makes the difference clear:
"The question of true delegation versus representation can be better understood if one imagines a hundred or two hundred men [and women], who meet each day in their work and share common concerns... who have discussed every aspect of the question that concerns them and have reached a decision. They then choose someone and send him [or her] to reach an agreement with other delegates of the same kind... The delegate is not authorised to do more than explain to other delegates the considerations that have led his [or her] colleagues to their conclusion. Not being able to impose anything, he [or she] will seek an understanding and will return with a simple proposition which his mandatories can accept or refuse. This is what happens when true delegation comes into being." [Words of a Rebel, p. 132]
Unlike in a representative system, power is not delegated into the hands of the few. Rather, any delegate is simply a mouthpiece for the association that elected (or otherwise selected) them in the first place. All delegates and action committees would be mandated and subject to instant recall to ensure they express the wishes of the assemblies they came from rather than their own. In this way government is replaced by anarchy, a network of free associations and communities co-operating as equals based on a system of mandated delegates, instant recall, free agreement and free federation from the bottom up.
Only this system would ensure the "free organisation of the people, an organisation from below upwards." This "free federation from below upward" would start with the basic "association" and their federation "first into a commune, then a federation of communes into regions, of regions into nations, and of nations into an international fraternal association." [Michael Bakunin, The Political Philosophy of Bakunin, p. 298] This network of anarchist communities would work on three levels. There would be "independent Communes for the territorial organisation, and of federations of Trade Unions [i.e. workplace associations] for the organisation of men [and women] in accordance with their different functions... [and] free combines and societies... for the satisfaction of all possible and imaginable needs, economic, sanitary, and educational; for mutual protection, for the propaganda of ideas, for arts, for amusement, and so on." [Peter Kropotkin, Evolution and Environment, p. 79] All would be based on self-management, free association, free federation and self-organisation from the bottom up.
By organising in this manner, hierarchy is abolished in all aspects of life, because the people at the base of the organisation are in control, not their delegates. Only this form of organisation can replace government (the initiative and empowerment of the few) with anarchy (the initiative and empowerment of all). This form of organisation would exist in all activities which required group work and the co-ordination of many people. It would be, as Bakunin said, the means "to integrate individuals into structures which they could understand and control." [quoted by Cornelius Castoriadis, Political and Social Writings, vol. 2, p. 97] For individual initiatives, the individual involved would manage them.
As can be seen, anarchists wish to create a society based upon structures that ensure that no individual or group is able to wield power over others. Free agreement, confederation and the power of recall, fixed mandates and limited tenure are mechanisms by which power is removed from the hands of governments and placed in the hands of those directly affected by the decisions.
For a fuller discussion on what an anarchist society would look like see section I. Anarchy, however, is not some distant goal but rather an aspect of current struggles against oppression and exploitation. Means and ends are linked, with direct action generating mass participatory organisations and preparing people to directly manage their own personal and collective interests. This is because anarchists, as we discuss in section I.2.3, see the framework of a free society being based on the organisations created by the oppressed in their struggle against capitalism in the here and now. In this sense, collective struggle creates the organisations as well as the individual attitudes anarchism needs to work. The struggle against oppression is the school of anarchy. It teaches us not only how to be anarchists but also gives us a glimpse of what an anarchist society would be like, what its initial organisational framework could be and the experience of managing our own activities which is required for such a society to work. As such, anarchists try to create the kind of world we want in our current struggles and do not think our ideas are only applicable "after the revolution." Indeed, by applying our principles today we bring anarchy that much nearer.
A.2.10 What will abolishing hierarchy mean and achieve?
The creation of a new society based upon libertarian organisations will have an incalculable effect on everyday life. The empowerment of millions of people will transform society in ways we can only guess at now.
However, many consider these forms of organisation as impractical and doomed to failure. To those who say that such confederal, non-authoritarian organisations would produce confusion and disunity, anarchists maintain that the statist, centralised and hierarchical form of organisation produces indifference instead of involvement, heartlessness instead of solidarity, uniformity instead of unity, and privileged elites instead of equality. More importantly, such organisations destroy individual initiative and crush independent action and critical thinking. (For more on hierarchy, see section B.1 -- "Why are anarchists against authority and hierarchy?").
That libertarian organisation can work and is based upon (and promotes) liberty was demonstrated in the Spanish Anarchist movement. Fenner Brockway, Secretary of the British Independent Labour Party, when visiting Barcelona during the 1936 revolution, noted that "the great solidarity that existed among the Anarchists was due to each individual relying on his [sic] own strength and not depending upon leadership.... The organisations must, to be successful, be combined with free-thinking people; not a mass, but free individuals" [quoted by Rudolf Rocker, Anarcho-syndicalism, p. 67f]
As sufficiently indicated already, hierarchical, centralised structures restrict freedom. As Proudhon noted: "the centralist system is all very well as regards size, simplicity and construction: it lacks but one thing -- the individual no longer belongs to himself in such a system, he cannot feel his worth, his life, and no account is taken of him at all." [quoted by Martin Buber, Paths in Utopia, p. 33]
The effects of hierarchy can be seen all around us. It does not work. Hierarchy and authority exist everywhere, in the workplace, at home, in the street. As Bob Black puts it, "[i]f you spend most of your waking life taking orders or kissing ass, if you get habituated to hierarchy, you will become passive-aggressive, sado-masochistic, servile and stupefied, and you will carry that load into every aspect of the balance of your life." ["The Libertarian as Conservative," The Abolition of Work and other essays, pp. 147-8]
This means that the end of hierarchy will mean a massive transformation in everyday life. It will involve the creation of individual-centred organisations within which all can exercise, and so develop, their abilities to the fullest. By involving themselves and participating in the decisions that affect them, their workplace, their community and society, they can ensure the full development of their individual capacities.
With the free participation of all in social life, we would quickly see the end of inequality and injustice. Rather than people existing to make ends meet and being used to increase the wealth and power of the few as under capitalism, the end of hierarchy would see (to quote Kropotkin) "the well-being of all" and it is "high time for the worker to assert his [or her] right to the common inheritance, and to enter into possession of it." [The Conquest of Bread, p. 35 and p. 44] For only taking possession of the means of life (workplaces, housing, the land, etc.) can ensure "liberty and justice, for liberty and justice are not decreed but are the result of economic independence. They spring from the fact that the individual is able to live without depending on a master, and to enjoy... the product of his [or her] toil." [Ricardo Flores Magon, Land and Liberty, p. 62] Therefore liberty requires the abolition of capitalist private property rights in favour of "use rights." (see section B.3 for more details). Ironically, the "abolition of property will free the people from homelessness and nonpossession." [Max Baginski, "Without Government," Anarchy! An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, p. 11] Thus anarchism promises "both requisites of happiness -- liberty and wealth." In anarchy, "mankind will live in freedom and in comfort." [Benjamin Tucker, Why I am an Anarchist, p. 135 and p. 136]
Only self-determination and free agreement on every level of society can develop the responsibility, initiative, intellect and solidarity of individuals and society as a whole. Only anarchist organisation allows the vast talent which exists within humanity to be accessed and used, enriching society by the very process of enriching and developing the individual. Only by involving everyone in the process of thinking, planning, co-ordinating and implementing the decisions that affect them can freedom blossom and individuality be fully developed and protected. Anarchy will release the creativity and talent of the mass of people enslaved by hierarchy.
Anarchy will even be of benefit for those who are said to benefit from capitalism and its authority relations. Anarchists "maintain that both rulers and ruled are spoiled by authority; both exploiters and exploited are spoiled by exploitation." [Peter Kropotkin, Act for Yourselves, p. 83] This is because "[i]n any hierarchical relationship the dominator as well as the submissive pays his dues. The price paid for the 'glory of command' is indeed heavy. Every tyrant resents his duties. He is relegated to drag the dead weight of the dormant creative potential of the submissive all along the road of his hierarchical excursion." [For Ourselves, The Right to Be Greedy, Thesis 95]
A.2.11 Why are most anarchists in favour of direct democracy?
For most anarchists, direct democratic voting on policy decisions within free associations is the political counterpart of free agreement (this is also known as "self-management"). The reason is that "many forms of domination can be carried out in a 'free.' non-coercive, contractual manner... and it is naive... to think that mere opposition to political control will in itself lead to an end of oppression." [John P. Clark, Max Stirner's Egoism, p. 93] Thus the relationships we create within an organisation is as important in determining its libertarian nature as its voluntary nature (see section A.2.14 for more discussion).
It is obvious that individuals must work together in order to lead a fully human life. And so, "[h]aving to join with others humans" the individual has three options: "he [or she] must submit to the will of others (be enslaved) or subject others to his will (be in authority) or live with others in fraternal agreement in the interests of the greatest good of all (be an associate). Nobody can escape from this necessity." [Errico Malatesta, Life and Ideas, p. 85]
Anarchists obviously pick the last option, association, as the only means by which individuals can work together as free and equal human beings, respecting the uniqueness and liberty of one another. Only within direct democracy can individuals express themselves, practice critical thought and self-government, so developing their intellectual and ethical capacities to the full. In terms of increasing an individual's freedom and their intellectual, ethical and social faculties, it is far better to be sometimes in a minority than be subject to the will of a boss all the time. So what is the theory behind anarchist direct democracy?
As Bertrand Russell noted, the anarchist "does not wish to abolish government in the sense of collective decisions: what he does wish to abolish is the system by which a decision is enforced upon those who oppose it." [Roads to Freedom, p. 85] Anarchists see self-management as the means to achieve this. Once an individual joins a community or workplace, he or she becomes a "citizen" (for want of a better word) of that association. The association is organised around an assembly of all its members (in the case of large workplaces and towns, this may be a functional sub-group such as a specific office or neighbourhood). In this assembly, in concert with others, the contents of his or her political obligations are defined. In acting within the association, people must exercise critical judgement and choice, i.e. manage their own activity. Rather than promising to obey (as in hierarchical organisations like the state or capitalist firm), individuals participate in making their own collective decisions, their own commitments to their fellows. This means that political obligation is not owed to a separate entity above the group or society, such as the state or company, but to one's fellow "citizens."
Although the assembled people collectively legislate the rules governing their association, and are bound by them as individuals, they are also superior to them in the sense that these rules can always be modified or repealed. Collectively, the associated "citizens" constitute a political "authority", but as this "authority" is based on horizontal relationships between themselves rather than vertical ones between themselves and an elite, the "authority" is non-hierarchical ("rational" or "natural," see section B.1 - "Why are anarchists against authority and hierarchy?" - for more on this). Thus Proudhon:
"In place of laws, we will put contracts [i.e. free agreement]. - No more laws voted by a majority, nor even unanimously; each citizen, each town, each industrial union, makes its own laws." [The General Idea of the Revolution, pp. 245-6]
Such a system does not mean, of course, that everyone participates in every decision needed, no matter how trivial. While any decision can be put to the assembly (if the assembly so decides, perhaps prompted by some of its members), in practice certain activities (and so purely functional decisions) will be handled by the association's elected administration. This is because, to quote a Spanish anarchist activist, "a collectivity as such cannot write a letter or add up a list of figures or do hundreds of chores which only an individual can perform." Thus the need "to organise the administration." Supposing an association is "organised without any directive council or any hierarchical offices" which "meets in general assembly once a week or more often, when it settles all matters needful for its progress" it still "nominates a commission with strictly administrative functions." However, the assembly "prescribes a definite line of conduct for this commission or gives it an imperative mandate" and so "would be perfectly anarchist." As it "follows that delegating these tasks to qualified individuals, who are instructed in advance how to proceed,... does not mean an abdication of that collectivity's own liberty." [Jose Llunas Pujols, quoted by Max Nettlau, A Short History of Anarchism, p. 187] This, it should be noted, follows Proudhon's ideas that within the workers' associations "all positions are elective, and the by-laws subject to the approval of the members." [Proudhon, Op. Cit., p. 222]
Instead of capitalist or statist hierarchy, self-management (i.e. direct democracy) would be the guiding principle of the freely joined associations that make up a free society. This would apply to the federations of associations an anarchist society would need to function. "All the commissions or delegations nominated in an anarchist society," correctly argued Jose Llunas Pujols, "must be subject to replacement and recall at any time by the permanent suffrage of the section or sections that elected them." Combined with the "imperative mandate" and "purely administrative functions," this "make[s] it thereby impossible for anyone to arrogate to himself [or herself] a scintilla of authority." [quoted by Max Nettlau, Op. Cit., pp. 188-9] Again, Pujols follows Proudhon who demanded twenty years previously the "implementation of the binding mandate" to ensure the people do not "adjure their sovereignty." [No Gods, No Masters, vol. 1, p. 63]
By means of a federalism based on mandates and elections, anarchists ensure that decisions flow from the bottom-up. By making our own decisions, by looking after our joint interests ourselves, we exclude others ruling over us. Self-management, for anarchists, is essential to ensure freedom within the organisations so needed for any decent human existence.
Of course it could be argued that if you are in a minority, you are governed by others ("Democratic rule is still rule" [L. Susan Brown, The Politics of Individualism, p. 53]). Now, the concept of direct democracy as we have described it is not necessarily tied to the concept of majority rule. If someone finds themselves in a minority on a particular vote, he or she is confronted with the choice of either consenting or refusing to recognise it as binding. To deny the minority the opportunity to exercise its judgement and choice is to infringe its autonomy and to impose obligation upon it which it has not freely accepted. The coercive imposition of the majority will is contrary to the ideal of self-assumed obligation, and so is contrary to direct democracy and free association. Therefore, far from being a denial of freedom, direct democracy within the context of free association and self-assumed obligation is the only means by which liberty can be nurtured ("Individual autonomy limited by the obligation to hold given promises." [Malatesta, quoted by quoted by Max Nettlau, Errico Malatesta: The Biography of an Anarchist]). Needless to say, a minority, if it remains in the association, can argue its case and try to convince the majority of the error of its ways.
And we must point out here that anarchist support for direct democracy does not suggest we think that the majority is always right. Far from it! The case for democratic participation is not that the majority is always right, but that no minority can be trusted not to prefer its own advantage to the good of the whole. History proves what common-sense predicts, namely that anyone with dictatorial powers (by they a head of state, a boss, a husband, whatever) will use their power to enrich and empower themselves at the expense of those subject to their decisions.
Anarchists recognise that majorities can and do make mistakes and that is why our theories on association place great importance on minority rights. This can be seen from our theory of self-assumed obligation, which bases itself on the right of minorities to protest against majority decisions and makes dissent a key factor in decision making. Thus Carole Pateman:
"If the majority have acted in bad faith... [then the] minority will have to take political action, including politically disobedient action if appropriate, to defend their citizenship and independence, and the political association itself... Political disobedience is merely one possible expression of the active citizenship on which a self-managing democracy is based... The social practice of promising involves the right to refuse or change commitments; similarly, the practice of self-assumed political obligation is meaningless without the practical recognition of the right of minorities to refuse or withdraw consent, or where necessary, to disobey." [The Problem of Political Obligation, p. 162]
Moving beyond relationships within associations, we must highlight how different associations work together. As would be imagined, the links between associations follow the same outlines as for the associations themselves. Instead of individuals joining an associaThe blowback from the world's latest strike in the war on cash is unraveling fast in India. This week's decision by PM Modi to ban some high-denomination banknotes (on the premise of fighting corruption) has left "chaos everywhere" according to one official who accused the prmeier of wreaking havoc on the poorest Indians. As Reuters reports, nearly half of India's 202,000 ATMs were shut on Friday and those that operated quickly ran out of the new notes as scores of people descended upon them.
Bloomberg's somewhat calming perspective on the events taking place in India...
India’s banks have been caught out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unexpected and widely-praised announcement late on Tuesday of the withdrawal of 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee notes, part of a crackdown on tax evasion and the underground economy. Jaitley urged people not to rush to banks immediately and wait for a few days and to conduct financial transactions using electronic transfers, cheques and credit and debit cards. “A big regret is that people are getting inconvenienced, but currency replacement of this magnitude will cause some problems,” said Jaitley. “There are long, but orderly queues. Such a big currency replacement can’t be done overnight.” Indians rushed to deposit 478.68 billion rupees ($7.1 billion) of cash at State Bank of India after the government’s surprise move to abolish high-denomination banknotes, as customers queued for hours to deposit or exchange the old bills and ATMs ran dry.
Are very different from the more frantic scenes described on social media and reported on by Reuters...
Anger intensified in India on Saturday as banks struggled to dispense cash following the government's decision to withdraw large denomination notes in an attempt to uncover billions of dollars in undeclared wealth. Tempers frayed as hundreds of thousands of people queued for hours outside banks for a third day to swap 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes after the notes were abolished earlier in the week. The banned bills made up more than 80 percent of the currency in circulation, leaving millions of people without cash and threatening to bring much of the cash-driven economy to a halt. "There's chaos everywhere," said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a rival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the premier of wreaking havoc on poor and working Indians while the wealthy found ways to skirt the new rules. Customers argued and banged the glass doors at a Standard Chartered branch in southern Delhi after security guards blocked the entrance, saying there were too many people inside already.
But the crackdown by the government is affecting the real economy already...
Nearly half of India's 202,000 ATMs were shut on Friday and those that operated quickly ran out of the new notes as scores of people descended upon them. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said ATMs had not been adjusted to handle new currency notes prior to the announcement in order to keep it under wraps. "Recalibration of ATMs will be completed within two weeks," he added. Traders in Delhi's vegetable market said they were considering shutting down the market as cash was running out and banks were dispensing a limited amount. "We might have to close down until the situation stabilizes," said Metharam Kriplani, president of the Chambers of Azadpur Fruit and Vegetable Traders. People in Mumbai said grocers were charging 10 times the price of salt in return for accepting the old cash notes.
Much of India's rural economy is powered by cash, with few people regularly using a bank account.
In Dudko, about 75 kms (45 miles) from Delhi, villagers said they were finding it difficult to pay for food and fuel four days into the cash crunch. "Bank officials are saying they will give the money on Monday. How will we make purchases?" said Sunita, a woman who was preparing for her daughter's wedding later this month.
Finally, as GoldMoney's Alasdair Macleod notes, due to many Indians’ deep suspicion of government motives around monetary and banking policy generally, it also has the potential to lead to a sudden surge in Indian gold demand that could more than offset any weakness due to the tax. Our sources report that the surprise move has turned the Indian retail market into a frenzy. As seen elsewhere in gold’s most important price drivers: energy prices and real interest rate expectations, the asymmetry in Indian gold demand has now shifted to the upside.Earlier this year I replaced my previous Tarmac with a new 2017 S-Works Tarmac eTap. I’ve spent almost six months putting it through its paces. I’ve put just over a thousand miles on it and during that time I’ve been measuring it against my previous S-Works Tarmac and also what I want out of a road bike in general.
The frameset is great. I loved my previous S-Works Tarmac SL4 frame but this one takes all the best qualities of that and adds a vertical compliance that frankly I have a hard time believing is real most rides. Every bit of effort I put into the pedaled directly results in the bike driving forward. There is zero frame flex in the bottom bracket through the chainstays and the same holds true |
, a new record high for the sale of Banksy's work was set with the auction of the work Space Girl and Bird fetching £288,000 (US$576,000) around 20 times the estimate at Bonhams of London.[61] On 21 May 2007 Banksy gained the award for Art's Greatest living Briton. Banksy, as expected, did not turn up to collect his award and continued with his anonymous status. On 4 June 2007, it was reported that Banksy's The Drinker had been stolen.[62][63] In October 2007, most of his works offered for sale at Bonhams auction house in London sold for more than twice their reserve price.[64]
Stonehenge from portable toilets at the Banksy'sfrom portable toilets at the Glastonbury Festival, June 2007
Banksy has published a "manifesto" on his website.[65] The text of the manifesto is credited as the diary entry of British Lieutenant Colonel Mervin Willett Gonin, DSO, which is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum. It describes how a shipment of lipstick to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp immediately after its liberation at the end of World War II helped the internees regain their humanity. However, as of 18 January 2008, Banksy's Manifesto has been replaced with Graffiti Heroes No. 03, which describes Peter Chappell's graffiti quest of the 1970s that worked to free George Davis from imprisonment.[65] By 12 August 2009 he was relying on Emo Philips' "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised God doesn't work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness." A small number of Banksy's works can be seen in the movie Children of Men, including a stenciled image of two policemen kissing and another stencil of a child looking down a shop.[66]
Banksy, who "is not represented by any of the commercial galleries that sell his work second hand (including Lazarides Ltd, Andipa Gallery, Bank Robber, Dreweatts etc.)",[67] claims that the exhibition at Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York City (his first major exhibition in that city) is unauthorised. The exhibition featured 62 of their paintings and prints.[68]
Swinger in New Orleans Banksyin New Orleans
2008
In March, a stencilled graffiti work appeared on Thames Water tower in the middle of the Holland Park roundabout, and it was widely attributed to Banksy. It was of a child painting the tag "Take this—Society!" in bright orange. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham spokesman, Councillor Greg Smith branded the art as vandalism, and ordered its immediate removal, which was carried out by H&F council workmen within three days.[69]
In late August 2008, marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the associated levee failure disaster, Banksy produced a series of works in New Orleans, Louisiana, mostly on buildings derelict since the disaster.[70]
A stencil painting attributed to Banksy appeared at a vacant petrol station in the Ensley neighbourhood of Birmingham, Alabama on 29 August as Hurricane Gustav approached the New Orleans area. The painting, depicting a hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan hanging from a noose, was quickly covered with black spray paint and later removed altogether.[71] His first official exhibition in New York City, The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill, opened 5 October 2008. The animatronic pets in the store window include a mother hen watching over her baby Chicken McNuggets as they peck at a barbecue sauce packet, and a rabbit putting makeup on in a mirror.[72]
The Westminster City Council stated in October 2008 that the work One Nation Under CCTV, painted in April 2008 would be painted over as it was graffiti. The council said it would remove any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of its creator, and specifically stated that Banksy "has no more right to paint graffiti than a child". Robert Davis, the chairman of the council planning committee told The Times newspaper: "If we condone this then we might as well say that any kid with a spray can is producing art."[73] The work was painted over in April 2009. In December 2008, The Little Diver, a Banksy image of a diver in a duffle coat in Melbourne, Australia, was destroyed. The image had been protected by a sheet of clear perspex; however, silver paint was poured behind the protective sheet and later tagged with the words "Banksy woz ere". The image was almost completely obliterated.[74]
The Cans Festival (2008)
In London, over the weekend 3–5 May 2008, Banksy hosted an exhibition called The Cans Festival. It was situated on Leake Street, a road tunnel formerly used by Eurostar underneath London Waterloo station. Graffiti artists with stencils were invited to join in and paint their own artwork, as long as it did not cover anyone else's.[75] Banksy invited artists from around the world to exhibit their works.[76]
2009
The location of the damaged 1985 graffiti by Robbo in Camden, London allegedly painted over by Banksy and subsequently painted over by Robbo in retaliation.
In May 2009, Banksy parted company with agent Steve Lazarides and announced that Pest Control,[77] the handling service who act on his behalf, would be the only point of sale for new works. On 13 June 2009, the Banksy vs Bristol Museum show opened at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, featuring more than 100 works of art, including animatronics and installations; it is his largest exhibition yet, featuring 78 new works.[78][79] Reaction to the show was positive, with over 8,500 visitors to the show on the first weekend.[80] Over the course of the twelve weeks, the exhibition was visited over 300,000 times.[81] In September 2009, a Banksy work parodying the Royal Family was partially destroyed by Hackney Council after they served an enforcement notice for graffiti removal to the former address of the property owner. The mural had been commissioned for the 2003 Blur single "Crazy Beat" and the property owner, who had allowed it to be painted, was reported to have been in tears when she saw it was being painted over.[82]
In December 2009, Banksy marked the end of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference by painting four murals on global warming. One included the phrase, "I don't believe in global warming;" the words were submerged in water.[83] A feud and graffiti war between Banksy and King Robbo broke out when Banksy allegedly painted over one of Robbo's tags. The feud has led to many of Banksy's works being altered by graffiti writers.[84]
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
The world premiere of the film Exit Through the Gift Shop occurred at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on 24 January. He created 10 street artworks around Park City and Salt Lake City to tie in with the screening.[85] In February, The Whitehouse public house in Liverpool, England, was sold for £114,000 at auction. The side of the building has an image of a giant rat by Banksy.[86]
In March 2010, the work Forgive Us Our Trespassing was displayed at the London Bridge in conjunction with Art Below an arts company that put on art shows on the London Underground. The work was censored by the Transport for London (TfL), forbidding display of the work with its halo, because of the prevalence of graffiti in the underground.[87] It was displayed without the halo over the boy's head, but after a few days the halo was repainted by a graffitist, so the TfL disposed of the poster. This decline went through the press and several articles were published remarking on the progress of the poster.[87][88]
Banksy paints over the line between aesthetics and language, then stealthily repaints it in the unlikeliest of places. His works, whether he stencils them on the streets, sells them in exhibitions or hangs them in museums on the sly, are filled with wit and metaphors that transcend language barriers. Shepard Fairey in Time magazine on Banksy's entry in the Time 100 list, April 2010[89]
In April, to coincide with the premiere of Exit Through the Gift Shop in San Francisco, five of his works appeared in various parts of the city.[90] Banksy reportedly paid a San Francisco Chinatown building owner $50 for the use of their wall for one of his stencils.[91] In May 2010, seven new Banksy works of art appeared in Toronto, Canada,[92] though most have been subsequently painted over or removed.
In May, to coincide with the premiere of Exit Through the Gift Shop in Royal Oak, Banksy visited the Detroit area and left his mark in several places in Detroit and Warren.[93] Shortly after, his work depicting a little boy holding a can of red paint next to the words "I remember when all this was trees" was excavated by the 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios. They claim that they do not intend to sell the work but plan to preserve it and display it at their Detroit gallery.[94] There was also an attempted removal of one of the Warren works known as Diamond Girl.[95]
In late January 2011, Exit Through the Gift Shop was nominated for a 2010 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.[96] Banksy released a statement about the nomination, stating, "This is a big surprise... I don't agree with the concept of award ceremonies, but I'm prepared to make an exception for the ones I'm nominated for. The last time there was a naked man covered in gold paint in my house, it was me."[97] Leading up to the Oscars, Banksy blanketed Los Angeles with street art. Many people speculated if Banksy would show up at the Oscars in disguise and make a surprise appearance if he won the Oscar. Exit Through the Gift Shop did not win the award, which went to Inside Job. In early March 2011, Banksy responded to the Oscars with an artwork in Weston-super-Mare, UK, of a little girl holding the Oscar and pouting. Many people think that it is in reference to 15-month-old Lara, who dropped and damaged her father's (The King's Speech co-producer Simon Egan) Oscar statue.[98] Exit Through the Gift Shop was broadcast on British public television station Channel 4 on 13 August 2011.
Banksy was also credited with the opening couch gag for the 2010 The Simpsons episode "MoneyBart", depicting people working in deplorable conditions and using endangered or mythical animals to make both the episodes cel-by-cel and the merchandise connected with the program.[99] His name appears several times throughout the episode's opening sequence, spray-painted on assorted walls and signs. Fox sanitised parts of the opening "for taste" and to make it less grim. In January 2011, Banksy published the original storyboard on its website.[100] According to Banksy, the storyboard "led to delays, disputes over broadcast standards and a threatened walk out by the animation department." Executive director Al Jean jokingly said, "This is what you get when you outsource."[99]
2011
Banksy art in Bethlehem, 2007
In May 2011 Banksy released a lithographic print which showed a smoking petrol bomb contained in a 'Tesco Value' bottle. This followed a long running campaign by locals against the opening of a Tesco Express supermarket in Banksy's home city of Bristol. Violent clashes had taken place between police and demonstrators in the Stokes Croft area. Banksy produced the poster ostensibly to raise money for local groups in the Stokes Croft area and to raise money for the legal defence of those arrested during the riots. The posters were sold exclusively at the Bristol Anarchists Bookfair in Stokes Croft for £5 each.
In December, he unveiled Cardinal Sin at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The bust, which replaces a priest's face with a "pixelated" effect, was a statement on the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.[101]
2012
In May his Parachuting Rat, painted in Melbourne in the late 1990s, was accidentally destroyed by plumbers installing new pipes.[102]
In July, prior to the 2012 Olympic Games Banksy posted photographs of paintings with an Olympic theme on his website but did not disclose their location.[103][104]
2013
On 18 February, BBC News reported that a recent Banksy mural, known as the Slave Labour mural portraying a young child sewing Union Flag bunting (created around the time of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II) had been removed from the side of a Poundland store in Wood Green, north London, and soon appeared for sale in Fine Art Auctions Miami's catalogue (a US auction site based in Florida). News of this has reportedly caused "lots of anger" in the local community and is considered by some to be a theft. Fine Art Auctions Miami has rejected claims of theft, saying it had signed a contract with a "well-known collector" and that "everything was above board"; despite this, the local Councillor for Wood Green is campaigning for the work's return.[105]
On the scheduled day of the auction, Fine Art Auctions Miami announced that it had withdrawn the work of art from the sale.[106]
On 11 May, BBC News reports that the same Banksy mural is up for auction again in Covent Garden by the Sincura Group. The auction is scheduled to take place in June. It is expected to fetch up to £450,000.[107] On 24 September, after over a year since his previous piece, a new mural went up on their website along with the subtitle Better Out Than In.
Better Out Than In (2013)
On 1 October 2013, Banksy began a one-month "show on the streets of New York [City]", for which he opened a separate website[108] and granted an interview to The Village Voice via his publicist.[109]
A pop-up boutique of about 25 spray-art canvases appeared on Fifth Avenue near Central Park on 12 October. Tourists were able to buy Banksy art for just $60 each. In a note posted to his website, the artist wrote: "Please note this was a one-off. The stall will not be there again." The BBC estimated that the street-stall art pieces could be worth as much as $31,000. The booth was manned by an unknown elderly man who went about four hours before making a sale, yawning and eating lunch as people strolled by without a second glance at the work. Banksy chronicled the surprise sale in a video posted to their website noting, "Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 each."[110][111][112] Two of the canvasses sold at a July 2014 auction for $214,000.[113]
It was reported that then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Banksy a vandal whose work is not the definition of art, and that the NYPD's vandal squad was on the hunt for Banksy over his various graffiti art and installations.[114][115][116] One creation was a fiberglass sculpture of Ronald McDonald and a real person, barefoot and in ragged clothes, shining the oversized shoes of Ronald McDonald. The sculpture was unveiled in Queens but moved outside a different McDonald's around the city every day.[117][118][119] Other works included a YouTube video showing what appears to be footage of jihadist militants shooting down an animated Dumbo; travelling installations that toured the city including a slaughterhouse delivery truck full of stuffed animals and a waterfall; and a modified painting donated to a charity shop which was later sold in an online auction for $615,000.[120][121] Banksy also posted a mock-up of a New York Times op-ed attacking the design of the One World Trade Center after the Times rejected his submission.[122][123] The residency in New York concluded on 31 October 2013;[120][124] many of the pieces, though, were either vandalised, removed or stolen.[125]
2015
'Banksy in Gaza' clip
In February 2015 Banksy published a 2-minute video titled Make this the year YOU discover a new destination about his trip to Gaza Strip. During the visit he painted a few artworks including a kitten on the remains of a house destroyed by an Israeli air strike. ("I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website—but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens") and a swing hanging off a watchtower. In a statement to The New York Times his publicist said,
I don't want to take sides. But when you see entire suburban neighbourhoods reduced to rubble with no hope of a future—what you're really looking at is a vast outdoor recruitment centre for terrorists. And we should probably address this for all our sakes.[126]
Dismaland (2015), a "bemusement park" in Weston-super-Mare
Dismaland
Banksy opened Dismaland, a large scale group show modelled on Disneyland on 21 August 2015. It lampooned the many disappointing temporary themed attractions in the UK at the time. Dismaland permanently closed on 27 September 2015. The "theme park" was located in Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom.[127][128] According to the Dismaland website, artists represented on the show include Damien Hirst and Jenny Holzer.[129]
The Son of a Migrant from Syria
In December 2015, Banksy created several murals in the vicinity of Calais, France, including the so-called "Jungle" where migrants live as they attempt to enter the United Kingdom. One of the pieces, The Son of a Migrant from Syria, depicts Steve Jobs as a migrant.[130]
2017
Walled Off Hotel
In 2017, marking the 100th anniversary of the British control of Palestine, Banksy financed the creation of the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem. This hotel is open to the public, and contains rooms designed by Banksy, Sami Musa and Dominique Petrin, and each of the bedrooms face the wall. It also houses a contemporary art gallery.[131]
2018
Return to New York
2018 saw Banksy return to New York five years after his Better Out Than In residency. A trademark rat running around the circumference of a clock-face, dubbed Rat race, was torn down by developers within a week of it appearing on a former bank building at 101 West 14th Street,[132] but other works, including a mural of imprisoned kurdish artist Zehra Doğan on the famed Bowery Wall and a series of others across Brooklyn, remain on display.[133]
Balloon Girl Shredding
In October 2018, one of Banksy's works, Balloon Girl, was sold in an auction at Sotheby's in London for £1.04m. However, shortly after the gavel dropped and it was sold, an alarm sounded inside of the picture frame and the canvas passed through a shredder hidden within the frame, partially shredding the picture.[134] Banksy then posted an image of the shredding on Instagram captioned "Going, going, gone...".[135] After the sale, the auction house acknowledged that the self-destruction of the work was a prank by the artist.[136] The prank received wide news coverage around the world, with one newspaper stating that it was "quite possibly the biggest prank in art history."[134] Joey Syer, co-founder of an online platform facilitating art dealer sales,[137] told the Evening Standard: "The auction result will only propel this further and given the media attention this stunt has received, the lucky buyer would see a great return on the £1.02M they paid last night, this is now part of art history in its shredded state and we'd estimate Banksy has added at a minimum 50% to its value, possibly as high as being worth £2m+."[138] A man seen filming the shredding of the picture during its auction has been suggested to be Banksy.[139][140] Banksy has since released a video on how the shredder was installed into the frame and the shredding of the picture, explaining that he had surreptitiously fitted the painting with the shredder a few years previously, in case it ever went up for auction. To explain his rationale for destroying his own artwork, Banksy quoted Picasso: "The urge to destroy is also a creative urge".[141][142] (Although Banksy cited Picasso, this quote is usually attributed to Mikhail Bakunin.) [143] It is not known how the shredder was activated.[144] Banksy has released another video indicating that the painting was intended to be shredded completely. The video shows a sample painting completely shredded by the frame and says: "In rehearsals it worked every time...".[145]
The woman who won the bidding at the auction decided to go through with the purchase. The partially shredded work has been given a new title, Love is in the Bin, and it was authenticated by Banksy's authentication body Pest Control. Sotheby released a statement that said "Banksy didn't destroy an artwork in the auction, he created one," and called it "the first artwork in history to have been created live during an auction."[146][147]
Season's Greetings
Season's Greetings was created by Banksy in Port Talbot, Wales, in December 2018, and was quickly provided with a temporary protective covering to prevent vandalism.
A two-sided graffiti piece, one side depicting a child tasting the falling snow, the other revealing that the snow is in fact smoke and embers from a fire, appeared on two walls of a steelworker's garage in Port Talbot in December.[148][149] Banksy then revealed that the painting was in fact his via an Instagram video soundtracked by the festive children's song 'Little Snowflake'.[150] Many fans of the artist went to see the painting and Plaid Cymru councillor for Aberavon, Nigel Thomas Hunt, stated that the town was "buzzing" with speculation that the work was Banksy's. The owner of the garage, Ian Lewis, said that he had lost sleep over fears that the image would be vandalised.[151] A plastic screen, partially funded by Michael Sheen, was installed to protect the mural, but was attacked by a "drunk halfwit".[152] Extra security guards were subsequently drafted to protect the graffiti piece.[153]
Cultural icon
There exists a cult-like following for the artist. The ambiguity of his identity has drawn this group of followers. A concept, the "Banksy effect" has developed as a result of Banksy's artistic innovation. This term is in reference to the artist's ability to turn outsider art into the cultural mainstream.[154] It was coined to reference the way in which Banksy's work has led to an increased interest in street art. Street art has been incorporated into being a part of culture and daily life. His work in turn, has questioned the authenticity of art and its creators, furthering the cultural debate that has existed for centuries.[155]
In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film Exit via the Gift Shop.[156] In 2014, he was awarded Person of the Year at the 2014 Webby Awards.[9] As of 2014, Banksy was regarded as a British cultural icon, with young adults from abroad naming the artist among a group of people that they most associated with UK culture, which included William Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth II, David Beckham, The Beatles, Charlie Chaplin, J. K. Rowling, Elton John, and Adele.[157][158]
Other notable artworks
Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high-profile artworks, including the following:
Near Bethlehem – 2005
The ''Grin Reaper''
Show me the Monet. A reworking of Claude Monet's Water Lilies, showing the juxtaposition between nature and mankind
2014 work in Cheltenham
Dover, Brexit, by Banksy (2017)
Damaged artwork
Many artworks by Banksy have been vandalised, painted over or destroyed.
In 2008, in Melbourne, paint was poured over a stencil of an old-fashioned diver wearing a trench coat.[184] In April 2010, the Melbourne City Council reported that they had inadvertently ordered private contractors to paint over a rat descending in a parachute adorning the wall of an old council building behind the Forum Theatre.
Many works that make up the Better Out Than In series in New York City have been defaced, some just hours after the piece was unveiled.[185][186] At least one defacement was identified as done by a competing artist, OMAR NYC, who spray-painted over Banksy's red mylar balloon piece in Red Hook.[187] OMAR NYC also defaced some of Banksy's work in May 2010.[188][189]
Technique
ATM attacking a girl, Rosebery Avenue, London, January 2008
Because of the secretive nature of Banksy's work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in the stencils, though it is assumed he uses computers for some images due to the photographic quality of much of his work. He mentions in his book Wall and Piece that as he was starting to do graffiti, he was always either caught or could never finish the art in one sitting. He claims he changed to stencilling while hiding from the police under a rubbish lorry, when he noticed the stencilled serial number. He then devised a series of intricate stencils to minimise time and overlapping of the colour.
There exists a debate about the influence behind his work. Some critics claim Banksy was influenced by musician and graffiti artist 3D. Another source credits the artist's work to resemble that of French graffiti artist called Blek le Rat. It is said that Banksy was inspired by their use of stencils, later taking this visual style and transforming it through modern political and social pieces.[190]
Banksy's stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, apes, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly.
In the broader art world, stencils are traditionally hand drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or card, before being cut out by hand. This technique allows artists to paint quickly to protect their anonymity. There is dispute in the street art world over the legitimacy of stencils, with many artists criticising their use as "cheating".
In 2018, Banksy created a piece live, as it was being auctioned. The piece, titled, Love is in the Bin, was originally the painting, Girl with Balloon, before it was shredded at Sotheby's. While the bidding was going on, a shredder was activated from within the frame, and the piece was partially shredded, thus creating a new piece.
Political and social themes
Shop Until You Drop in Mayfair, London. Banksy has said "We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."[191] in Mayfair, London. Banksy has said "We can't do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."
Banksy once characterised graffiti as a form of underclass "revenge", or guerilla warfare that allows an individual to snatch away power, territory and glory from a bigger and better equipped enemy.[45] Banksy sees a social class component to this struggle, remarking "If you don't own a train company then you go and paint on one instead."[45] Banksy's work has also shown a desire to mock centralised power, hoping that their work will show the public that although power does exist and works against you, that power is not terribly efficient and it can and should be deceived.[45]
Banksy's works have dealt with various political and social themes, including anti-war, anti-consumerism, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, anti-authoritarianism, anarchism, nihilism, and existentialism. Additionally, the components of the human condition that his works commonly critique are greed, poverty, hypocrisy, boredom, despair, absurdity, and alienation.[192] Although Banksy's works usually rely on visual imagery and iconography to put forth their message, Banksy has made several politically related comments in their various books. In summarising his list of "people who should be shot", he listed "Fascist thugs, religious fundamentalists, (and) people who write lists telling you who should be shot."[193] While facetiously describing his political nature, Banksy declared that "Sometimes I feel so sick at the state of the world, I can't even finish my second apple pie."[194]
During the United Kingdom general election, 2017, Banksy offered voters a free print if they cast a ballot against the Conservative candidates standing in the Bristol North West, Bristol West, North Somerset, Thornbury, Kingswood and Filton constituencies.[195] According to a note posted on Banksy's website, an emailed photo of a completed ballot paper showing it marked for a candidate other than the Conservative candidate would result in the voter being mailed a limited edition piece of Banksy art. On 5 June 2017 the Avon and Somerset Constabulary announced it had opened an investigation into Banksy for the suspected corrupt practice of bribery,[196] and the following day Banksy withdrew the offer stating "I have been warned by the Electoral Commission that the free print offer will invalidate the election result. So I regret to announce that this ill-conceived and legally dubious promotion has now been cancelled."[197]
Criticism
Peter Gibson, a spokesman for Keep Britain Tidy, asserts that Banksy's work is simple vandalism,[198] and Diane Shakespeare, an official for the same organisation, was quoted as saying: "We are concerned that Banksy's street art glorifies what is essentially vandalism."[55] In his column for The Guardian, satirist Charlie Brooker wrote of Banksy "...his work looks dazzlingly clever to idiots."[199]
Banksy has also been long criticised for copying the work of Blek le Rat, who created the life-sized stencil technique in early 1980s Paris and used it to express a similar combination of political commentary and humorous imagery.[200] Blek has praised Banksy for his contribution to urban art,[200] but said in an interview for the documentary Graffiti Wars that some of Banksy's more derivative work makes him "angry", saying that "It's difficult to find a technique and style in art so when you have a style and you see someone else is taking it and reproducing it, you don't like that."[201]
Some have criticised the "obviousness" of Banksy's work and accused it of being "anarchy-lite" geared towards a middle class "hipster" audience. Much of this criticism came forward during his series of works in New York in 2013. Many New York street artists, such as TrustoCorp, criticised Banksy, and much of his work was defaced.[202][203]
Books
Banksy has published several books that contain photographs of his work accompanied by his own writings:
Banksy, Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall (2001) ISBN 978-0-9541704-0-0
(2001) ISBN 978-0-9541704-0-0 Banksy, Existencilism (2002) ISBN 978-0-9541704-1-7
(2002) ISBN 978-0-9541704-1-7 Banksy, Cut It Out (2004) ISBN 978-0-9544960-0-5
(2004) ISBN 978-0-9544960-0-5 Banksy, Pictures of Walls (2005) ISBN 978-0-9551946-0-3
(2005) ISBN 978-0-9551946-0-3 Banksy, Wall and Piece (2007) ISBN 978-1-84413-786-2
Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall, Existencilism, and Cut It Out were a 3 part self-published series of small booklets.[204]
Pictures of Walls is a compilation book of pictures of the work of other, graffiti artists, curated and self-published by Banksy. None of them are still in print, or were ever printed in any significant number.[205][206]
Banksy's Wall and Piece compiled large parts of the images and writings in their original three book series, with heavy editing and some new material.[207] It was intended for mass print, and published by Random House.[207]
The writings in their original three books had numerous grammatical errors, and his writings in them often took a dark, and angry, and a self-described paranoid tone.[208][209][210] While the content of most of his writings was kept in Wall and Piece, the stories were edited and generally took a less provocative tone, and the grammatical errors were resolved (presumably to make it suitable for mass market distribution).[207]
See also
References
Further reading
Official websites:
Slideshows and galleries:
News itemsKABUL (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents intercepted two minibuses travelling through central Afghanistan and killed at least 14 passengers overnight, officials said on Friday.
“These indiscriminate killings by the Taliban are aimed at instilling fear in the people,” said Sediq Sediqqi, an interior ministry spokesman.
At least three women and a three-year-old child were among those killed.
Local officials in the remote, mountainous province of Ghor said most of the passengers were from the ethnic Hazara Shi’ite minority, but that could not be independently verified.
“The insurgents stopped two vans and after checking peoples’ identifications cards, they separated 14 passengers from 32 others and shot them dead,” said provincial governor Sayed Anwar Rahmati.
The Taliban, an austere Sunni militant group that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, has been fighting U.S.-led and Afghan forces since they were removed after the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. targets.
The Taliban, made up mainly of ethnic Pashtuns, have often targeted Shi’ites, whom they see as infidels who deserve to die.
Related Coverage Obama calls Afghan candidates as vote recount drags on
Many of the Hazaras - believed to be descended from Mongol invaders - suffered enormously under Taliban rule and the Shi’ite minority saw many of its communities levelled.
Many were killed and buried in mass graves or thrown into wells. Tens of thousands were jailed. They still believe they are treated as second-class citizens and that President Hamid Karzai has done little to improve their lot.Abstract Estimate the amount of alcohol advertising in sport vs. non-sport programming in Australian free-to-air TV and identify children’s viewing audience composition at different times of the day. Alcohol advertising and TV viewing audience data were purchased for free-to-air sport and non-sport TV in Australia for 2012. We counted alcohol advertisements in sport and non-sport TV in daytime (6am-8.29pm) and evening periods (8.30pm-11.59pm) and estimated viewing audiences for children and young adults (0–4 years, 5–13 years, 14–17 years, 18–29 years). During the daytime, most of the alcohol advertising (87%) was on sport TV. In the evening, most alcohol advertising (86%) was in non-sport TV. There was little difference in the mean number of children (0–17 years) viewing TV in the evening (N = 273,989), compared with the daytime (N = 235,233). In programs containing alcohol advertising, sport TV had a greater mean number of alcohol adverts per hour (mean 1.74, SD = 1.1) than non-sport TV (mean 1.35, SD =.94). Alcohol advertising during the daytime, when large numbers of children are watching TV, is predominantly in free-to-air sport TV. By permitting day-time advertising in sport programs and in any programs from 8.30pm when many children are still watching TV, current regulations are not protecting children from exposure to alcohol advertising.
Citation: O’Brien KS, Carr S, Ferris J, Room R, Miller P, Livingston M, et al. (2015) Alcohol Advertising in Sport and Non-Sport TV in Australia, during Children’s Viewing Times. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0134889. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134889 Editor: Philip Allen, University of Akron, UNITED STATES Received: September 5, 2014; Accepted: July 15, 2015; Published: August 11, 2015 Copyright: © 2015 O’Brien et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited Data Availability: The data sets were purchased from Ebiquity (http://www.ebiquity.com) and OzTam (http://www.oztam.com.au). The authors confirm that they are not affiliated with the third-party sources. Funding: The research was supported by grant funding from the Australian Research Council (LP120100689), VicHealth, Australian Drug Foundation, and the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (460BR2011). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Introduction Exposure to alcohol advertising is associated with initiation of drinking in children who have not previously been drinkers, and greater consumption in pre-existing drinkers [1–3]. In Australia, regulations stipulate that TV alcohol advertising should not occur at times when large numbers of children (0–17 years) are viewing, with 6am to 8.30pm typically considered peak viewing times for children [4–6]. However, clauses in the regulations allowing alcohol advertising in sport TV programming [6], undermine the protective intent of the regulations. Greater restriction of alcohol advertising and sponsorship in TV programming has been recommended as a population-level strategy for delaying the initiation of drinking and reducing excessive alcohol consumption [7]. Bans or restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship have been called for by peak medical and public health bodies |
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Britain had stayed despite growing criticism at home, but its forces steadily diminished until only 100 remained this month.
The security agreement with Britain was stalled in the Iraqi Parliament by opposition from the Sadrist Bloc, followers of the militant Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, despite support from the Iraqi government.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Parliament will not reconvene until Sept. 8. A British diplomat suggested that the government might grant some temporary extension, but an Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said that would not be possible.
In Baghdad on Tuesday, a gang of armed men broke into a bank just after midnight, killing eight security guards and escaping with $6.3 million in Iraqi dinars. The American military said it feared that insurgents might use the money to recruit members and to buy weapons.
“While I cannot confirm that the attacks were terrorist-related, it does fit past trends of terrorist groups in Iraq of financing their operations through criminal enterprise, like kidnappings for ransom, robberies and black marketeering,” Maj. Dave Shoupe, a United States military spokesman in Iraq, wrote in an e-mail message.
Seven of the Iraqi guards were found bound and blindfolded with strips of tape placed over their mouths, the Iraqi police said. Each had been shot once in the head, and pillows had been used to muffle the sound, the police said.
The eighth dead guard, who the police suspect had helped the robbers, was not bound, but had also been shot once, the authorities said.
Several bank employees were questioned by the police on Tuesday.
The police officers and army personnel who had been stationed at two checkpoints near the bank were also questioned and have been suspended, an Iraqi police official said on the condition of anonymity because he was not cleared to speak to reporters.
In eastern Baghdad, a bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded Tuesday evening, killing at least eight people and wounding 13 others in the New Baghdad neighborhood, the Iraqi police said.Advertisement
Last week's was a record-breaking edition of Video Friday, with a total of 12 videos. But don't worry. We're outdoing ourselves this week: Sit back and enjoy 12 new awesome robot videos and one audio.
Snake robots are cool. They slither. They swim. They shoot laser with their mouths. Researchers often say that snakebots are great for search and rescue applications. You send one into a disaster site and use its cameras to see what's going on there. But with all the slithering and rolling and undulating, watching through a snakebot's eyes might be a nausea-inducing experience. Now the folks at the CMU Biorobotics Lab might have a solution. The clip below shows how their snake robot can point its head in a desired direction while climbing on a pole: the whole body moves; the head doesn't. Pretty cool. And check out their other vid as well, showing the snake tracking a moving object while climbing.
[ CMUBiorobotics on YouTube ]
Bartenders beware: the robots are coming for your job. The creators of Bartendro, an open-source cocktail dispensing robot, have put their project on Kickstarter. They've designed and fabricated their own liquid-dispensing devices, which include a custom control board and a "peristaltic pump." A Raspberry Pi computer commands up to 15 of these precision dispensers to concoct a variety of cocktails. The design still need some improvements (it can't handle carbonated beverages), but we can see this thing becoming a hit at parties and events. And some people have already suggested add-ons, such as a card reader for payment or a breathalyzer.
[ Kickstarter ]
Thanks, Garran!
What's that below? PR2 learning to use chopsticks? Not quite. The video is a demo, created by researcher Johnathan Brookshire from MIT, of "teleoperation with constraints." As the name implies, the idea is you impose constraints in how the robot can move its body, especially its arms and hands, and this can help tremendously in accomplishing a variety of tasks that involve motion in a specific direction or plane. It might even help to master chopsticks after all.
A twelve-year-old geek finds a humanoid robot in a dumpster. They become best buddies. It turns out the robot was created by a scientist who, unhappy with the idea of his company using the robot for military applications, had programmed the humanoid to flee. Now the company wants the robot back. This is the plot of Robosapien: Rebooted, a movie so stuffed with cheap CGI and cringe-worthy cliches that it might as well become a cult. To debut sometime this year.
Via [ io9 ]
Okay, watching four Turtlebot 2s follow this little girl around is just adorable:
[ TurtleBot ]
Nao is a lucky robot. Its owners are always eager to teach it new things. How to tell stories. How to dance. How to be a comedian. How to groom cats. Now the robot is learning, thanks to some patient instruction, how to play golf:
[ Franck Calzada ]
ROS, the Robot Operating System, is steadily making its way into industrial robotics. In the demo below, a Universal Robots UR5 arm and a Motoman SIA20 manipulator collaborate to sort parts. Using 3D sensors, the robots locate, identify, and retrieve the parts, using on-the-fly path planning to perform the task. The cool thing is that two different robots are controlled by a single ROS-Industrial program. The demo was shown at Automate 2013 in Chicago.
[ ROS-Industrial ]
Thanks, Paul!
RoboCup 2013 takes place in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, starting June 26th. Here's a teaser:
[ RoboCup 2013 ]
And here are some German teams getting ready...
[ Berlin United - Nao Team Humboldt ]
Thanks, Thomas!
Australian artist and builder Geoffrey Drake-Brockman wants to create four life-size robot ballerinas and teach them to dance. His previous robotic creations look pretty cool, and we hope he gets the funding for this project as well (check it out on Indiegogo).
[ Coppelia Project on Indiegogo ]
Swarm Slinky is a project at the Technical University of Madrid. The idea is to build a multi-robot system consisting of six independent units designed to explore difficult terrain. The vid below shows a prototype, built with 3D-printed parts, during a test of one of its locomotion modes.
[ Swarm Slinky ]
Robotis, the Korean company that created the awesome Darwin humanoid and the popular Dynamixel actuators, is launching something called KidsLab. Looks like a robotics kit and course for kids. We don't know what they're saying in the vid below, but we want this!
[ Robotis KidsLab ]
What's this? Yes, in addition to being Video Friday, it's also Audio Friday. On Wednesday, NPR's Talk of the Nation tackled drones and privacy issues, featuring friend o' the blog Ryan Calo. It's half an hour, but definitely worth your time.
[ NPR ]Some parts of the country make you feel like Eyes on the Prize never went to commercial break. Some stories are so racist and over the top, you figure even Attorney General Jeff Sessions might give them a side eye.
That looks to be the case in Camilla, Ga., a town so segregated, the cemetery has a black and a white section. A town so segregated, 99 percent of the black children and 99 percent of the white children attend separate schools. A town so segregated, the City Council refused to give the newly elected black mayor keys to City Hall …. for two years.
Now Mayor Rufus Davis is boycotting his own City Council meetings until changes are made, and has hired civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump to bring the story of Camilla to a national audience.
“The problems in the city are obvious,” Davis, who was elected mayor of Camilla in 2015, told The Root. Davis, a University of Michigan- and Rutgers-educated lawyer with Wall Street and global experience, is passionate and eloquent on the phone, describing what drove him to run for mayor and what has led to his current boycott:
The city is 70 percent African American, but there are no black police officers. There are only three black employees out of about 35 in City Hall, and one of them is the janitor. The highest-ranking black man on the city payroll is a meter reader. About 99 percent of white students in the town attend a small private school that I believe has maybe three or four black students in athletics now.
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Bennett Adams, who is white, is the outgoing city manager after serving for six years. He disputes most of Davis’ claims, but according to Davis, Adams is part of the city’s pattern of discrimination. Davis contends that after being elected just the second African-American mayor of Camilla, Adams began discriminating against him and the larger black community that got him elected:
The city manager said he would not provide me with keys to City Hall unless the City Council said so. Essentially, although he reports to the council, he pretty much dictates to them, and they take direction from him. If I made a request for a paper clip, he would say I need a majority of the council’s approval, and they would say no.
But the battle over Camilla isn’t entirely a black-and-white issue. Black City Council members, clearly representing the sunken place, voted along with white council members to deny Davis keys to City Hall. They have also done little or nothing about the lack of black officers or the segregated schools or cemetery.
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How does this happen? Although the city is 70 percent African American, Camilla’s voting districts are drawn in a way that guarantees the white minority at least three seats on the six-seat City Council. According to Davis, those black council members who have been elected would be traded in the first round of the racial draft.
“Historically, black City Council members are hardly engaged,” Davis said. “They never make proposals, they never ask questions, they vote consistently with the white members. I looked at the minutes of our [black] City Council members over the last 10 years, and there has never been a situation where they said anything on a substantive issue, and that’s just how far I went back.”
Inspired by Davis’ ongoing battle with the City Council, black residents pushed for a recall election this year and managed to remove one black council member and elect Venterra Pollard, who has vowed to boycott the City Council along with Davis until changes are made. Annie Doris Willingham, the other black council member recalled, managed to disqualify her opponent at the last minute and keep her seat.
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The final straw for Davis and Pollard is that outgoing City Manager Adams pushed through a new charter that would strip the mayor of all powers of appointment for city employees and hand those powers to the city manager. Not only would this reduce Camilla’s mayor to a powerless figurehead, but it would also guarantee that management of the city would likely stay in white hands. (Camilla’s City Council has summarily rejected all black applicants for the city-manager job.)
“If you have this kind of record of invidious discrimination... if this kind of power was given, it would damage the community for years to come,” Davis said.
Consequently, he has hired Crump to bring the plight of Camilla to a national audience and highlight this fight.
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“This is nothing more than the work of crafty individuals who are trying to turn back the clock of time to a deeply flawed period in our history,” Crump said in a press release. “I will use every legal resource available to assist Mayor Davis in desegregating Oakview Cemetery, and to ensure that all the residents of Camilla are treated with the dignity, equality and respect they deserve.”
Does it seem likely that Camilla will see any changes? Will the city’s own black leadership finally address endemic discrimination or sit by the wayside? The Root reached out to Council Member Willingham by phone for an answer.
“You gon’ have to ask the mayor,” she responded. “Cuz ain’t nothing going on to me. It’s FINE!”
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And she hung up the phone.
Looks like Davis and Crump are in for a long fight.But it's true -- the Civil War was still a full two decades away and the Oregon Trail was experiencing the height of its dysentery-ridden rush hour when the fax machine was built by Scottish inventor Alexander Bain. He had just patented the first electric clock, and apart from being a pioneer of electricity, Bain enjoyed dabbling in communication technology: He contributed to telegraph lines on the railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow and invented an electric timing system for railway engines while he was at it.
It was the 19th century. Inventing things and typhus were the only pastimes.
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The electrical telegraph was an extremely new technology, but Bain was a natural. He figured that if telegraph transmission was good enough for transmitting the sound of Morse code, it should be good enough for pictures.
"Finally, the world will know what my junk looks like."
And before anyone could explain to him that sounds and pictures were two completely different things, he had already converted parts of his electrical clocks into an image scanner and rigged it to the telegraph system. Did it work? Did it ever! What's more, it looked like this:
Forgotten Futures
Damn, this guy was into steampunk way before it was cool.
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Various inventors tinkered with the design, and by 1899, newspaper offices were actually using them. Sure, it'd take 20 to 30 minutes to send a single photograph, but that's a hell of a lot faster than having a dude deliver that shit by horse.On February 22, 2017, astronomers announced the discovery of seven Earth-sized planets around the star TRAPPIST-1, only 40 light-years away. Since then, they’ve been looking at next steps in exploring these worlds, and one has been to think about how the next-generation space telescope – Hubble’s successor, called the James Webb Space Telescope – will be able to help, after its October 2018 launch. Astronomers said last week (March 2, 2017) that it’ll be possible to use the new space telescope to find out if any of these planets might support life.
Sara Seager, astrophysicst and planetary scientist at MIT, commented in a NASA statement:
For thousands of years, people have wondered, are there other planets like Earth out there? Do any support life? Now we have a bunch of planets that are accessible for further study to try to start to answer these ancient questions.
Depending upon their atmospheric composition, at least three of TRAPPIST-1’s planets – e, f and g – could have the appropriate conditions for supporting liquid water. In other words, they orbit in the habitable zone of their star. Because the planets orbit a star that is small, a signal from them will be relatively large, and just strong enough for Webb to detect atmospheric features. Shawn Domagal-Goldman, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said:
Two weeks ago, I would have told you that Webb can do this in theory, but in practice it would have required a nearly perfect target. Well, we were just handed three nearly perfect targets.
The James Webb Space Telescope is currently housed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The final mirrors in the telescope’s giant segmented mirror were installed a year ago, and now engineers and scientists are testing the telescope. The June 7, 2016 video below is a time-lapse showing some two dozen engineers and technicians in a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, hard at work installing the package of science instruments on the telescope. Fun, yes?
NASA explained that, in hunting for a potentially life-supporting planet, you need to know more than just the planet’s size or distance from its star. Detecting the relative proportions of certain molecules in a planet’s atmosphere – water, methane, carbon monoxide/dioxide and/or oxygen – could tell researchers whether a planet could support life. The James Webb Space Telescope will have even more powerful infrared observing capabilities that of the Hubble Space Telescope, and those capabilities will aid in detecting and characterising the molecular make-up of the atmospheres of TRAPPIST-1’s planets. Hannah Wakeford, a postdoctoral fellow at Goddard, commented in NASA’s March 2 statement:
These are the best Earth-sized planets for the James Webb Space Telescope to characterize, perhaps for its whole lifetime. The Webb telescope will increase the information we have about these planets immensely. With the extended wavelength coverage we will be able to see if their atmospheres have water, methane, carbon monoxide/dioxide and/or oxygen.
One of Webb’s main goals will be to use spectroscopy – the technique of splitting light into its component color, and analyzing the resulting spectrum. Spectroscopy lets astronomers identify the chemical components in a star, or planetary atmosphere. NASA explained:
Webb will especially seek chemical biomarkers, like ozone and methane, that can be created from biological processes. Ozone, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation here on Earth, forms when oxygen produced by photosynthetic organisms (like trees and phytoplankton) synthesizes in light. Because ozone is largely dependent on the existence of organisms to form, Webb will look for it in alien atmospheres as a possible indicator of life. It will also be able to look for methane which will help determine a biological source of the oxygen that leads to ozone accumulation. The discovery of the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system means that Webb will be able to use its immense capabilities on a relatively nearby system.
The number of planets in the system will also enable new research in the field of comparative planetology, which uncovers fundamental planetary processes by comparing different worlds. That means we’ll be able to use this system of planets to understand more about our own Earth.
So – for the sake of TRAPPIST-1’s planets and many other reasons – astronomers are eagerly awaiting Webb’s October 2018 launch.
In the meantime, NASA’s missions like Spitzer, Hubble, and Kepler are now following up on these planets, NASA said.
#TRAPPIST1 is the smallest, nearest star with planets close to Earth-size in the Habitable Zone, that transit. Perfect target for #JWST. — NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) February 23, 2017
Bottom line: NASA plans to use the James Webb Space Telescope – Hubble’s successor – to probe for certain life-related molecules in the atmospheres of TRAPPIST’1’s newly discovered planets.
Via NASA
Wow! Nearby TRAPPIST-1 has 7 planets
What would life be like near TRAPPIST-1?Partial Show:
Set 1
Playing In The Band
Set 2
Morning Dew
Greatest Story Ever Told
Dark Star ->
Brokedown Palace
Not Fade Away ->
Goin'Down The Road Feeling Bad ->
Not Fade Away
*track this how you want to - since this is a split up partial
I chose to name the tracks according to their place in the show.
_________________________________________
General Notes:
This is a birthday show for me and I am seeding it on its 34th
anniversary. The Dew and Brokedown are excellent along with an
inspired Star. Special thanks to Lossless Legs and their 1972
project which was the impetus for assembling this martrix.
Enjoy!!!
Chappy
plus-circle Add Review
comment Reviews
Reviewer: dj Dark Star Dan - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 17, 2014
Subject: Yes! Man, just love, love, love this show! Jerry's guitar in the "Playin'", as my friend says, growls. "Darkstar" is elegant, spacey, bouncy, captivating - perfect for a journey into ones' mind or thoughts in a very positive way. Great Matrix! Thanks for taking the time to do it. And agreed with previous post, I enjoy hearing people's excitement on the Matrix. It brings a fun energy. Someone's mind was blown and yes, I too wonder where they are today. It would be great to hear from them. Love, love, love this show... :] - September 17, 2014Yes!
Reviewer: Visionaries - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 16, 2014
Subject: @jinglebell radio What a negative comment, brother. This is such a great version of Dark Star, and it's upsetting that these guys are experiencing one of the greatest moments ever in their life and all you can do is shit on them.
I sit back and wonder, are they still alive? What are they doing on this cold January night? Those fellow heads may have stumbled upon this same recording and said "oh my god, that's me!!" Or maybe they were too fried out to remember. Either way, just try to keep spreading good vibes. It's a good recording - January 16, 2014@jinglebell radio
Reviewer: Jinglebell Rainbow - favorite favorite - August 21, 2010
Subject: Great Music but.. The last thing I want to hear is an idiot's whistle or F ya Dark star WHOHOHO You can take your audience noise it's not for me at all - August 21, 2010Great Music but..
Reviewer: timhorpo - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 5, 2010
Subject: Awesome!! I was born on this day and so I am a little biased but this show is awesome!! Dark star>Brokedown is superb!!! Thanks guys for my birthday show.... - April 5, 2010Awesome!!
Reviewer: sakanaband - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 11, 2010
Subject: Favorite Dark Star I have searched out and listened to almost every Dark Star ever played by the band and this one remains my favorite. Why? It is positively bursting at the seams with ideas and is one of the best examples of ensemble Type II jamming that the band has ever done. The jams are much more on the rocking side of things vs. the spacey side and this is a very, very good thing to behold. The rest of the show is consistently fantastic even by 1972 standards. The Matrix mix is also one of the top-notch with an "in the room" feel that is just about perfect. - January 11, 2010Favorite Dark Star
Reviewer: oh_uh_um_ah - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 8, 2009
Subject: The GRATEFUL DEAD "Live On Stage" September 16, 1972 at the Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
~^|\_@|@_/|^~
~/\~
!wow----> 'Matrix' Soundboard/Audience Mix
I love these 'Matrix' shows!
The sound is far superior to just a soundboard.
The mix sounds balanced and the GRATEFUL DEAD sound superb. Great "live" sound.
Beautiful.
Magnificent sound, I highly recommend you get all the shows that have been Matrixed...I am.
Get em at:
Thank you Chris Chappell for mixing this show properly.
The IA recommends users of Windows XP view this web-page with RealPlayer. RealPlayer is a free media player you can download at
For easy streaming or downloading use RealPlayer. Click the VBR M3U link to open the songs in the Playlist. If your Playlist is not open, open it by clicking the Playlist icon at the lower right hand corner of RealPlayer. Once the songs are in the Playlist, double click the song to play it, then click the record button at the lower left hand corner of Realplayer to record it. When the red line reaches the other end click the stop button to download the song. Your song is in the RealPlayer Downloads folder. Repeat these steps for each song.
Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.
Thanks for the LOVE from 1972. ~^|\_@|@_/|^~~/\~!wow----> 'Matrix' Soundboard/Audience MixI love these 'Matrix' shows!The sound is far superior to just a soundboard.The mix sounds balanced and the GRATEFUL DEAD sound superb. Great "live" sound.Beautiful.Magnificent sound, I highly recommend you get all the shows that have been Matrixed...I am.Get em at: http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Sick%20Bits%22 Thank you Chris Chappell for mixing this show properly.The IA recommends users of Windows XP view this web-page with RealPlayer. RealPlayer is a free media player you can download at www.realplayer.com For easy streaming or downloading use RealPlayer. Click the VBR M3U link to open the songs in the Playlist. If your Playlist is not open, open it by clicking the Playlist icon at the lower right hand corner of RealPlayer. Once the songs are in the Playlist, double click the song to play it, then click the record button at the lower left hand corner of Realplayer to record it. When the red line reaches the other end click the stop button to download the song. Your song is in the RealPlayer Downloads folder. Repeat these steps for each song.Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.Thanks for the LOVE from 1972. - May 8, 2009The GRATEFUL DEAD "Live On Stage" September 16, 1972 at the Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA, U.S.A.Anime creator Kazuya Sasahara (Cat Shit One: The Animated Series) began streaming a second trailer for his CG-animated reboot of Dai - Shogun - Great Revolution on Tuesday. Sasahara also announced that he is planning to crowdfund the project via Kickstarter beginning in January.
ILCA has is handling the 3D animation for the project. The video features music produced by Ray Sato with Shiori Sasaki on vocals, Yoshiyuki Shichiku on bamboo flute, and Takumichi Ishibashi on shamisen. Studio Gooneys is supporting the project.
Crunchyroll streamed the original television anime as it aired in Japan last year, and Sentai Filmworks will release the series on Blu-ray and DVD in North America in January.
Sentai Filmworks describes the story:
In the land of the rising sun the horizon is darkened by a fleet of black ships from foreign soil. Just when it seems that all hope is lost ancient mecha of unknown origins appear, pushing back the black ships and forever altering the course of history. Thus, the timeline splits and a new Japan is born, one free of modernization and foreign influence. In this country secluded from the world, an energetic young man known as Keiichiro Tokugawa faces off with his greatest enemy- boredom. Keiichiro yearns to leave behind his life at the family bathhouse and prove himself as a real man once and for all. But can a virgin who breaks out in hives at the faintest touch of a woman really become a hero for his nation? Especially when he's surrounded by beautiful women at every turn, from his family's striking shinobi servant, Kiriko, to the feisty fugitive half-fox, Chiharu. Keiichiro's dream of a life of action and adventure is about to be fulfilled- in a very big way!
Update: Sasahara contacted ANN to confirm that while Studio Gooneys supports Sasahara and the reboot project, ILCA is handling the project's animation.Audi prepared for the new DTM season in a three-day test on the Portuguese race track at Portimão, covering 1,971 kilometers in total. It was the last test with an interim car before the world premiere of the new Audi RS 5 DTM that will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on March 7 – marking the first debut of the DTM car to take place at the same time as that of the new production model.
For Audi’s DTM team, these days are particularly intensive ones. Fine-tuning of the new Audi RS 5 DTM’s aerodynamics and technology can continue until next Tuesday. On March 1, the final design has to be submitted to the motorsport authority, after which no modifications are possible anymore.
Many things in the 2017 DTM will be new: more engine power, less downforce, a more efficient Drag Reduction System (DRS) and softer tires, which may no longer be pre-heated either. All this is intended to make the DTM races even more thrilling and varied for the spectators.
“The tests at Portimão have confirmed that we’re heading in the right direction,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass, who was on site to get a personal impression of the current state. “The cars have a throatier sound and are faster. I feel that’s even visible on track. The biggest step, however, are the softer tires. Depending on how they’re used, the differences in lap times can be considerable. There’ll be many different strategic options – which will make things very interesting. The driver will be playing a greater part than before as well.”
Accordingly, the impressions and data gathered for Audi by Mattias Ekström, Loïc Duval, René Rast and Jamie Green on the three test days at Portimão were highly important. The seasoned campaigners, Ekström (177 DTM races) and Green (139 starts), in winter performed the lion’s share of the test work for Audi for the 2017 season. For the two DTM newcomers, Duval and Rast, Portimão was about making optimum use of one of the few testing opportunities before the season opens at Hockenheim on May 6/7.
“This worked out well,” says Le Mans winner and World Endurance Champion Loïc Duval. “It was a productive day for me and we covered every aspect of our program: qualifying, race distance and even a start practice unit. For the first time, I was also able to work with my new engineer, Mathieu Le Nail. As we all know, the interaction between the driver and the engineer is very important in the DTM.”
Duval shared Wednesday’s test with René Rast, who was visibly impressed by the 2017-spec technology: “The car’s handling is completely different. That was tremendous fun. It’ll be interesting to see which manufacturer will be doing the best job this year.”
“The new tires are a lot softer and degrade quickly,” says Mattias Ekström, who drove on Tuesday. “We burned plenty of rubber. After just one day, things around the track were looking pretty wild. I’m already dying to see 18 cars on track together for the first time at Hockenheim – they’re going to leave a lot of rubber on it.”
Jamie Green was the driver on Thursday, the final test day with the interim car. “We again learned a lot during the test,” says the Briton. “Now I can hardly wait to drive the new car. It looks spectacular. And obviously we’re hoping for it to be fast too.”
Following the world premiere in Geneva, the new Audi RS 5 DTM will be doing its first public test laps at the Italian race track of Vallelunga near Rome from March 14 to 16. The final pre-season test will take place at Hockenheim from April 3 to 6.Shares Pinterest
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The one thing that separates the best strikers in the world from the rest of us is timing. Timing is the difference between landing a clean strike on an opponent or having your shins busted from leg checks.
The question is how do you develop better timing? The answer is very simple: sparring
Timing is developed in training by sparring against opponents who are actively trying to defend against your strikes. If you practice throwing leg kicks against someone who stands idle and allows you to kick them, it won’t teach you how to land leg kicks against a real opponent.
While most people understand the importance of sparring, there are a lot of people that don’t understand the right sparring levels.
Typically there are 3 different sparring levels that you will encounter in Muay Thai: Technical Sparring, Medium Sparring, and Hard Sparring.
Read: 12 Types of Sparring Partners You’ll Find in Thailand
While there are benefits to every type of sparring, technical sparring is the best way to improve your timing and technique.
Most people who spar 100% are not doing it because they are trying to be an asshole (a few people definitely are) most of them are doing it because that is probably the culture at the gym. Every gym has their own norms.
If you are training in at a gym that has a lot of testosterone and egos floating around, you can bet that there are going to be a few guys who go too hard in sparring.
Defining Technical Sparring
Technical sparring is sparring that is done at a controlled pace without throwing any power behind your strikes. This means that every punch and kick you throw is under complete control. You should be able to spar without any pads on and walk away without any bruises or busted up shins.
When you land a punch on your opponent, they shouldn’t feel any pain from the strike. Everything that you land should be controlled so there is no risk of getting injured during the sparring.
Technical sparring is a difficult concept for people who are used to swinging for the fence against their sparring partners. If you are used to sparring with full power, it is very difficult trying to dial back that mind set and focus on developing your technique and timing.
In addition to technical sparring, someone who is preparing for a fight should also understand the benefits of Hard sparring. Learning how to get hit is a skill that is only developed through experience. Read: A Guide to Hard Sparring in Muay Thai – Everything You Should Know
When someone first starts sparring, it is important to slow everything down in a controlled environment. Beginners need to get used to the idea of someone punching and kicking them, without worrying about getting knocked out by their opponents.
As a person progresses and becomes more comfortable sparring, they can start to add speed to their strikes, while still holding back from using power. Good technical sparring is very controlled, but at the same time both sparring partners throw strikes with speed to try and get through their opponents defense.
The Importance of Technical Sparring in Muay Thai Development
For many people, sparring is the closest thing they will come to getting ring experience. Starting out, sparring can intimidate a lot of people, especially those who are not used to getting hit.
Being scared in sparring will result in the body becoming tenser, which will lead to poor technique and bad habits. If you take someone who is new to sparring and put them in a situation that makes them scared, they will throw their strikes without confidence. If you are tense when you strike, it can wreck havoc on your form.
Sparring with poor technique will result in you cementing bad habits that can take years to undo. This is why you should ALWAYS start off sparring in a very controlled and soft environment.
Technical sparring allows you to improve and work on different things, without worrying about injuries
If you take away the fear of getting ‘rocked’ by a punch or hurt with a kick, it is much easier to stay relaxed when you spar. Staying relaxed will allow you to work on your technique, timing and speed of your strikes, without being tense.
This is how you develop good technique that will translate into the ring when you fight.
Read: 12 Sparring Tips that Will Make You Better
What Technical Sparring Should Look Like
If you want to see a real example of technical sparring in action, watch this sparring video of Penake and myself playing around. Notice how there is no power behind any of the strikes. This sparring is great for working on your timing on offense and defense.
Things to Look For:
Control your strikes, if you land a clean strike on your opponent it shouldn’t hurt them.
Use Muay Thai techniques that you have worked on in training (except elbows)
Allow your sparring partner to work on his offense and defense also.
Be fluid and always stay in your Muay Thai rhythm
Try to stay relaxed and focus on using correct techniques
Here is a short video I made demonstrating some light technical sparring with Dane Sky. I review some important points in this video to help you with your sparring. Check it out below:
Technical Sparring Will Make You Better
If you want to improve your timing you need to focus on technical sparring. Technical sparring is the best way to improve your technique, timing, and rhythm, without worrying about any injuries.
While it may not seem realistic when you spar at a light pace, you will be working on a number of important skills that will benefit your game. Beginners who start off trying to spar at full power, end up developing a lot of bad habits because they don’t have a good Muay Thai foundation.
By focusing on your technique over power, you will be able to develop a good foundation, rather than worrying about getting knocked out when you spar. Sparring in a safe environment will also teach you how to think when you spar, which will make you a better fighter.
If you enjoyed reading this article, then you will enjoy reading my book Muay Thai Strategy. This book talks about the different concepts that you need to develop a complete Muay Thai game.
6978Check back regularly or hit refresh for the latest weather updates, staff reports and social media posts about the line of severe thunderstorms moving through metro New Orleans Monday (April 27).
2:00 p.m.: With the return of sunlight to the CBD (see below) and the expiration of the high wind warnings, we'll shut down the severe weather live blog and return you to your regularly scheduled reporting. Check back to NOLA.com throughout the afternoon and evening for updates and additional photos and video of today's severe weather aftermath.
1:52 p.m.: Damage from the tornado that touched down near the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse was minor, officials there say. Story here.
1:48 p.m.: Those pictures of double-waterspouts that are making the rounds on social media today are apparently not from Lake Pontchartrain. They were taken on Lake Michigan in July and posted on the National Weather Service website.
1:27 p.m.: Mark Schleifstein reports: "The National Weather Service has canceled the high wind warning for areas west of Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas. But the warning remains in effect for St. Tammany, St. Charles, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St Bernard, and Lafourche parishes until 2 p.m. The cancellation is for Washington, Ascension, Livingston, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa and Pearl River par |
in the /var space.
User space applications
User space provides a number of access points for reading and managing kernel logging. Let's begin with the lower-level interfaces (such as the /proc file system configuration elements), and then expand to the higher-level applications.
The /proc file system exports more than just a binary interface for accessing log messages ( kmsg ). It also presents a number of configuration elements both related and independent of those discussed through the syslog / klogctl. Listing 1 shows an exploration of these parameters.
Listing 1. Exploring the printk configuration parameters in /proc
mtj@ubuntu:~$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/printk 4 4 1 7 mtj@ubuntu:~$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/printk_delay 0 mtj@ubuntu:~$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/printk_ratelimit 5 mtj@ubuntu:~$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/printk_ratelimit_burst 10
From Listing 1, the first entry defines the log levels currently used in the printk API. These log levels represent the console log level, default message log level, minimum console log level, and default console log level. The printk_delay value represents the number of milliseconds to delay between printk messages (to add readability in some scenarios). Note here that it's set to zero, and it cannot be set through /proc. The printk_ratelimit defines the minimum length of time allowed between messages (currently defined as some number of kernel messages every 5 seconds). The number of messages is defined by printk_ratelimit_burst (currently defined as 10). This is particularly useful if you have a chatty kernel but a bandwidth-constrained console device (such as over a serial port). Note that within the kernel, rate limiting is caller controlled and is not implemented within printk. A printk user who desires rate limiting calls the printk_ratelimit function.
The dmesg command can also be used to print and control the kernel ring buffer. This command uses the klogctl system call to read the kernel ring buffer and emit it to standard output (stdout). The command can also be used to clear the kernel ring buffer (using the -c option), set the level for logging to the console (the -n option), and define the size of the buffer used to read the kernel log messages (the -s option). Note that if the buffer size is not specified, dmesg identifies the proper buffer size using the SYSLOG_ACTION_SIZE_BUFFER operation to klogctl.
Finally, the mother of all logging applications is syslog, a standardized logging framework that is implemented in major operating systems (including Linux® and Berkeley Software Distribution [BSD]). syslog has its own protocol used to convey event notification messages over a variety of transport protocols (dividing components into originators, relays, and collectors). In many cases, all three are implemented in a single host. In addition to syslog's many interesting features, it specifies how logging information is collected and filtered as well as where to store it. syslog has gone through numerous changes and evolved. You've probably heard of syslog, klog, or sysklogd. In more recent distributions of Ubuntu, a new version of syslog called rsyslog is used (based upon the original syslog ), which refers to the reliable and extended syslogd.
The rsyslogd daemon, through its configuration file in /etc/rsyslog.conf), understands the /proc file system kmsg interface and uses it to extract kernel logging messages. Note that internally, all log levels are written through /proc/kmsg so that instead of the kernel defining which log levels to transport, the task is left to rsyslog itself. The kernel log messages are then stored in /var/log/kern.log (among other configured files). In /var/log, you'll find a plethora of log files that include general message and system-related calls (/var/log/messages), system boot log (/var/log/boot.log), authentication logs (/var/log/auth.log), and others.
Although the logs are available for your review, you can also use them for automated audits and forensics. A variety of log file analyzers exists for troubleshooting or compliance with security regulations and automatically look for problems using techniques such as pattern recognition or correlation analysis (even across systems).
Going farther
This article gave a glimpse into kernel logging and applications—from kernel log message creation in the kernel to its storage within the kernel's ring buffer to its transport into user space through syslog / klogctl or /proc/kmsg to its routing through the rsyslog logging framework to its final resting place in the /var/log subtree. Linux provides a rich and flexible framework for logging (both in the kernel and external).
Downloadable resources
Related topicsMy initial experience with Rust First, a digression about superhero movies I am apparently incapable of hating any movie about a comic book superhero. I can usually distinguish the extremes. Yes, I can tell that "The Dark Knight" was much better than "Elektra". My problem is that I tend to think that the worst movies in this genre are still pretty good. And I have the same sort of unreasonable affection toward programming languages. I have always been fascinated by languages, compilers, and interpreters. My opinions about such things skew toward the positive simply because I find them so interesting. I do still have preferences. For example, I tend to like strongly typed languages more. In fact, I think it is roughly true that the stricter a compiler is, the more I like it. But I can easily find things to like in languages that I mostly dislike. I've spent more of my career writing C than any other language. But in use cases where I need something like C, I am increasingly eager for something more modern. I started learning Rust with two questions: How successful might Rust become as a viable replacement for C?
If I enjoy functional programming, how much of that enjoyment can I retain while coding in Rust? The context My exploration of Rust has taken place in one of my side projects: https://github.com/ericsink/LSM LSM is a key-value database with a log-structured merge tree design. It is conceptually similar to Google LevelDB. I first wrote it in C#. Then I rewrote/ported it to F#. Now I have ported it to Rust. (The Rust port is not yet mentioned in the README for that repo, but it's in the top-level directory called 'rs'.) For the purpose of learning F# and Rust, my initial experience was the same. The first thing I did in each of these languages was to port LSM. In other words, the F# and Rust ports of LSM are on equal footing. Both of them were written by someone who was a newbie in the language. Anyway, although Rust and F# are very different languages, I have used F# as a reference point for my learning of Rust, so this blog entry walks that path as well. This is not to say that I think Rust and F# would typically be used for the same kinds of things. I can give you directions from Denver to Chicago without asserting they are similar. Nonetheless, given that Rust is mostly intended to be a modern replacement for C, it has a surprising number of things in common with F#. The big comparison table F# Rust Machine model Managed,.NET CLR Native, LLVM Runtime CLR None Style Multi-paradigm, functional-first Multi-paradigm, imperative-first Syntax family ML-ish C-ish Blocks Significant whitespace Curly braces Exception handling Yes No Strings.NET (UTF-16) UTF-8 Free allocated memory Automatic, garbage collector Automatic, static analysis Type inference Yes, but not from method calls Yes, but only within functions Functional immutable collections Yes No Currying Yes No Partial application Yes No Compiler strictness Extremely strict Even stricter Tuples Yes Yes Discriminated unions type Blob = | Stream of Stream | Array of byte[] | Tombstone enum Blob { Stream(Box ), Array(Box), Tombstone, } Mutability To be avoided Safe to use Lambda expressions let f = (fun acc item -> acc + item) let f = |acc, &item| acc + item; Higher-order functions List.fold f 0 a a.iter().fold(0, f) Integer overflow checking No open Checked Yes Let bindings let x = 1 let mutable y = 2 let x = 1; let mut y = 2; if statements are expressions Yes Yes Unit type () () Pattern matching match cur with | Some csr -> csr.IsValid() | None -> false match cur { Some(csr) => csr.IsValid(), None => false } Primary collection type Linked list Vector Naming types CamelCase CamelCase Naming functions, etc camelCase snake_case Warnings about naming conventions No Yes Type for integer literals Suffix ( 0uy ) Inference ( 0 ) or suffix ( 0u8 ) Project file foo.fsproj (msbuild) Cargo.toml Testing framework xUnit, NUnit, etc. Built into Cargo Debug prints printf "%A" foo println!("{:?}", foo); Memory safety I have written a lot of C code over the years. More than once while in the middle of a project, I have stopped to explore ways of getting the compiler to catch my memory leaks. I tried the Clang static analyzer and Frama-C and Splint and others. It just seemed like there should be a way, even if I had to annotate function signatures with information about who owns a pointer. So perhaps you can imagine my joy when I first read about Rust. Even more cool, Rust has taken this set of ideas so much further than the simple feature I tried to envision. Rust doesn't just detect leaks, it also: frees everything for you, like a garbage collector, but it's not.
prevents access to something that has been freed.
prevents modifying an iterator while it is being used.
prevents all memory corruption bugs.
automatically disposes other kinds of resources, not just allocated memory.
prevents two threads from having simultaneous access to something. That last bullet is worth repeating: With Rust, you never stare at your code trying to figure out if it's thread safe or not. If it compiles, then it's thread safe. Safety is Rust's killer feature, and it is very compelling. Mutability If you come to Rust hoping to find a great functional language, you will be disappointed. Rust does have a bunch of functional elements, but it is not really a functional language. It's not even a functional-first hybrid. Nonetheless, Rust has enough cool functional stuff available that it has been described as "ML in C++ clothing". I did my Rust port of LSM as a line-by-line translation from the F# version. This was not a particularly good approach. Functional programming is all about avoiding mutable things, typically by using recursion, monads, computation expressions, and immutable collections.
In Rust, mutability should not be avoided, because it's safe. If you are trying to use mutability in a way that would not be safe, your code will not compile. So if you're porting code from a more functional language, you can end up with code that isn't very Rusty. If you are a functional programming fan, you might be skeptical of Rust and its claims. Try to think of it like this: Rust agrees that mutability is a problem -- it is simply offering a different solution to that problem. Learning curve I don't know if Rust is the most difficult-to-learn programming language I have seen, but it is running in that race. Anybody remember back when Joel Spolsky used to talk about how difficult it is for some programmers to understand pointers? Rust is a whole new level above that. Compared to Rust, regular pointers are simplistic. With Rust, we don't just have pointers. We also have ownership, borrows, and lifetimes. As you learn Rust, you will reach a point where you think you are starting to understand things. And then you try to return a reference from a function, or store a reference in a struct. Suddenly you have lifetime <'a> annotations <'a> all <'a> over <'a> the <'a> place <'a>. And why did you put them there? Because you understood something? Heck no. You started sprinkling explicit lifetimes throughout your code because the compiler error messages told you to. I'm not saying that Rust isn't worth the pain. I personally think Rust is rather brilliant. But a little expectation setting is appropriate here. Some programming languages are built for the purpose of making programming easier. (It is a valid goal to want to make software development accessible to a wider group of people.) Rust is not one of those languages. That said, the Rust team has invested significant effort in excellent documentation (see The Book). And those compiler error messages really are good. Finally, let me observe that while some things are hard to learn because they are poorly designed, Rust is not one of those things. The deeper I get into this, the more impressed I am. And so far, every single time I thought the compiler was wrong, I was mistaken. I have found it helpful to try to make every battle with the borrow checker into a learning experience. I do not merely want to end up with the compiler accepting my code. I want to understand more than I did when I started. Error handling Rust does not have exceptions for error handling. Instead, error handling is done through the return values of functions. But Rust actually makes this far less tedious than it might sound. By convention (and throughout the Rust standard library), error handling is done by returning a generic enum type called Result<T,E>. This type can encapsulate either the successful result of the function or an error condition. On top of this, Rust has a clever macro called try!. Because of this macro, if you read some Rust code, you might think it has exception handling. // This code was ported from F# which assumes that any Stream // that supports Seek also can give you its Length. That method // isn't part of the Seek trait, but this implementation should // suffice. fn seek_len (fs: &mut R) -> io::Result where R : Seek { // remember where we started (like Tell) let pos = try!(fs.seek(SeekFrom::Current(0))); // seek to the end let len = try!(fs.seek(SeekFrom::End(0))); // restore to where we were let _ = try!(fs.seek(SeekFrom::Start(pos))); Ok(len) } This function returns std::io::Result<u64>. When it calls the seek() method of the trait object it is given, it uses the try! macro, which will cause an early return of the function if it fails. In practice, I like Rust's Result type very much. The From and Error traits make it easy to combine different kinds of Result/Error values.
The distinction between errors and panics seems very clean.
I like having the compiler help me be certain that I am propagating errors everywhere I should be. (I dislike scanning library documentation to figure out if I called something that throws an exception I need to handle.) Nonetheless, when doing a line-by-line port of F# to Rust, this was probably the most tedious issue. Lots of functions that returned () in F# changed to return Result in Rust. Type inference Rust does type inference within functions, but it cannot or will not infer the types of function arguments or function return values. Very often I miss having the more complete form of type inference one gets in F#. But I do remind myself of certain things: The Rust type system is far more complicated than that of F#. Am I holding a Foo? Or do I have a &Foo (a reference to a Foo)? Am I trying to transfer ownership of this value or not? Being a bit more explicit can be helpful.
F# type inference has its weaknesses as well. Most notably, inference doesn't work at all with method calls. This gives the object-oriented features of F# a very odd "feel", as if they don't belong in the language, but it would be unthinkable for a CLR language not to have them.
Rust has type inference for integer literals but F# does not.
The type inference capabilities of Rust may get smarter in the future. Iterators Rust iterators are basically like F# seq (which is an alias for.NET IEnumerable). They are really powerful and provide support for functional idioms like List.map. For example: fn to_hex_string(ba: &[u8]) -> String { let strs: Vec = ba.iter().map(|b| format!("{:02X}", b)).collect(); strs.connect("") } This function takes a slice (a part of an array) of bytes (u8) and returns its representation as a hex string.
Vec is a growable array
.iter() means something different than it does in F#. Here, it is the function that returns an iterator for a slice
.map() is pretty similar to F#. The argument above is Rust's syntax for a closure.
.collect() also means something different than it does in F#. Here, it consumes the iterator and puts all the mapped results into the Vec we asked for.
.connect("") is basically a join of all the resulting strings. However, there are a few caveats. In Rust, you have a lot more flexibility about whether you are dealing with "a Foo" or "a reference to a Foo", and most of the time, it's the latter. Overall, this is just more work than it is in F#, and using iterators feels like it magnifies that effect. Performance I haven't done the sort of careful benchmarking that is necessary to say a lot about performance, so I will say only a little. I typically use one specific test for measuring performance changes. It writes 10 LSM segments and then merges them all into one, resulting in a data file.
On that test, the Rust version is VERY roughly 5 times faster than the F# version.
The Rust and F# versions end up producing exactly the same output file.
The test is not all that fair to F#. Writing an LSM database in F# was always kind of a square-peg/round-hole endeavor.
With Rust, the difference in compiling with or without the optimizer can be huge. For example, that test runs 15 times faster with compiler optimizations than it does without.
With Rust, the LLVM optimizer can't really do its job very well if it can't do function inlining. Which it can't do across crates unless you use explicit inline attributes or turn on LTO.
In F#, there often seems to be a negative correlation between "idiomatic-ness" and "performance". In other words, the more functional and idiomatic your code, the slower it will run.
F# could get a lot faster if it could take better advantage of the ability of the CLR to do value types. For example, in F#, option and tuple always cause heap allocations. Integer overflow Integer overflow checking is one of my favorite features of Rust. In languages or environments without overflow checking, unsigned types are very difficult to use safely, so people generally use signed integers everywhere, even in cases where a negative value makes no sense. Rust doesn't suffer from this silliness. For example, the following code will panic: let x: u8 = 255; let y = x + 2; println!("{}", y); That said, I haven't quite figured out how to get overflow checking to happen on casts. I want the following code (or something very much like it) to panic: let x: u64 = 257; let y = x as u8; println!("{}", y); Note that, by default, Rust turns off integer overflow checking in release builds, for performance reasons. Miscellany F# is still probably the most productive and pleasant language I have ever used. But Rust is far better than C in this regard.
IMO, the Read, Write, and Seek traits are a much better design than.NET's Stream, which tries to encapsulate all three concepts.
'cargo test' is a nice, easy-to-use testing framework that is built into Cargo. I like it.
crates.io is like NuGet for Rust, and it's integrated with Cargo.
If 'cargo bench' wants to always report timings in nanoseconds, I wish it would put in a separator every three digits.
I actually like the fact that Rust is taking a stance on things like function_names_in_snake_case and TypeNamesInCamelCase, even to the point of issuing compiler warnings for names that do not match the conventions. I don't agree 100% with their style choices, and that's my point. Being opinionated might help avoid a useless discussion about something that never really matters very much anyway.
I miss printf-style format strings.
I'm not entirely sure I like the automatic dereferencing feature. I kinda wish the compiler wouldn't help me in this manner until I know what I'm doing. Bottom line I am seriously impressed with Rust. Then again, I thought that Eric Bana's Hulk movie was pretty good, so you might want to just ignore everything I say. In terms of maturity and ubiquity, C has no equal. Still, I believe Rust has the potential to become a compelling replacement for C in many situations. I look forward to using Rust more.President Trump's forthcoming tax plan will be the "biggest" tax cut in history, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday at an event hosted by The Hill.
Mnuchin provided several clues as to what will be in the package, which will be unveiled later in the day.
He confirmed that the proposal would cut tax rates for businesses to 15 percent. That rate would apply to both corporations and owner-operated businesses known as "pass-throughs."
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The 15 percent rate was also part of Trump's campaign plan. Mnuchin said that Trump thinks that's "absolutely critical" for driving economic growth.
He also said that the administration wants to simplify the personal tax system and that most Americans should be able to file their taxes on a large postcard.
"The average American should have simple taxes," Mnuchin said, adding that many people won't end up paying any taxes under the administration's plan.
House Republicans have been working on a tax bill based on a plan they released last year. That blueprint includes a controversial provision known as "border adjustment" that would tax imports and exempt exports.
Mnuchin said that the White House doesn't think the border-adjustment provision "works in its current form." He said that the administration will continue to discuss potential revisions to the proposal with lawmakers.
Mnuchin also said that Trump's proposal won't include infrastructure spending.
"This plan is just tax reform," he said.
Trump has floated linking tax reform and infrastructure in the past, but some conservatives have argued that the two issues should be kept separate.
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist said in a panel after Mnuchin spoke that the decision not to mix taxes and infrastructure was a "big step forward," since infrastructure spending would provide fewer resources for lowering tax rates.
Mnuchin said that he's been meeting with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady Kevin Patrick BradySmaller tax refunds put GOP on defensive Key author of GOP tax law joins Ernst and Young Lawmakers beat lobbyists at charity hockey game MORE (R-Texas) and Senate lawmakers on a weekly basis since he's been confirmed.
The Treasury secretary and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn met Tuesday night with Brady and other top GOP lawmakers. Mnuchin called the meeting "very successful" and that lawmakers are all in agreement that tax reform is a top priority in order to help boost the economy.
The new White House plan is likely to resemble Trump's campaign tax plan, which was estimated to cost trillions of dollars over 10 years.
A tax-reform bill that increases the deficit could be challenging to pass with just Republican votes under budget reconciliation, since reconciliation bills cannot add to the deficit outside of the 10-year budget window. Tax cuts that lose revenue either need to pass with Democratic support or expire.
Mnuchin said the administration's goal is for a tax bill to be permanent. However, "if we have it for 10 years, that’s better than nothing," he said.
He also said that the White House is focused on tax reform rather than tax cuts, noting that tax reform is "the center and the core" of Trump's economic plan.
Trump has been "very involved" in the tax-reform efforts, Mnuchin said.
The Treasury secretary said that he hopes that Democrats will work with Republicans on taxes.
Mnuchin also touched on the debt ceiling, vowing that it would be lifted later this year.
He said he had already begun talks with Congress and that the issue would not become a political crisis.
"Again, this is a discussion we're having with the House and Senate. I do think we need to raise the debt ceiling" he said.
"There's no question about that. People agree... we're not going to let this become an issue."
He added: "By the way, we're not going to do one of these wait to the last minutes either. So we'll get the debt limit done in plenty of time."
Mnuchin said he does have the money to manage the government through the summer, and he noted that the Treasury took in a huge amount of revenue on April 18, the deadline for filing last year's taxes.
"We have the cash flow to manage the government. Matter of fact, we had one of the largest days ever of collecting tax receipts on April 18."Back in May 2011, we were the first to bring AirPlay music streaming to Android, helping hundreds of thousands of Android users listen to their favorite tunes through their Apple TV and other AirPlay-compatible devices.
Fast forward to April 2017 and Apple, in a surprising and anachronistic move, released a 4th generation Apple TV firmware update (tvOS 10.2) that blocked 3rd party apps from supporting AirPlay by requiring a proprietary pairing process conveniently restricted to Apple apps and devices. Yep, Apple wants you to switch to an iPhone if you happen to own an Apple TV! But users today demand interoperability between their devices. Modern households are diverse ecosystems of connected devices, full of iPhones, Android phones, smart TVs and a cacophony of gadgets.
So we went ahead and added support for Apple’s new pairing process in the latest doubleTwist Pro release because we believe the era of walled gardens is long gone. The AirPlay functionality is also live for CloudPlayer so you can stream your cloud music to your Apple TV.
Happy listening!
doubleTwist apps are handcrafted with ❤ in Austin, Texas.MSNBC hosts, NBC correspondents, and MSNBC contributors are in open revolt over a planned NBC Entertainment miniseries on potential 2016 presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The response has echoed calls from Republicans that the miniseries makes the channel look too cozy with the 2016 frontrunner.
"This is why this miniseries is a total nightmare for NBC News, because … we know there's this giant firewall, we know we have nothing to do with it, we know that we'd love probably to be as critical or whatever it is going to be if it comes out," NBC News White House correspondent and host of MSNBC's Daily Rundown Chuck Todd said Thursday on Morning Joe.
Todd added that it would only be a negative for the news network.
"But there's nothing we can do about it. And we're going to only own the negative, whether it's negative because the Clinton people are upset that it's too tough on them or negative because the Republicans think it's this glorification of her," he said. "No matter what, only we are going to own it because people are going to see the peacock and they see NBC and they see NBC News and they think, 'Well, they can't be that separate.'"
Andrea Mitchell, NBC's foreign correspondent and host of Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC, said as well on her show Thursday that RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, who has threatened to not allow NBC to host debates if it goes forward with the Clinton miniseries, was "understandably miffed."
"A lot of newspeople would say, including NBC News people, including Chuck Todd and all the rest of us, a really bad idea given the timing," Mitchell added, questioning MSNBC contributor and former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about the RNC's reasoning behind their ploy to stop the miniseries.
Gibbs added that he as well thought the miniseries was "a bad idea."
"What Chuck Todd showed everybody is he's like, 'Yeah, we hate them," MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said on Morning Joe of NBC Entertainment while interviewing RNC chairman Reince Priebus. "Like, obviously you do understand that somebody like Brian Williams is pulling his hair out, going, I mean, I haven't talked to Brian, but I can tell you the entire news division has got to be pulling their hair out going, 'We're doing what?' You do understand there is that split there?"
"I totally agree with the chairman," Scarborough added, talking with MSNBC contributor Nicole Wallace. "I would be doing the same thing."Even before the extremists were in control in Anbar, selling alcohol was banned. During extremist control, selling liquor was punishable by death. But now liquor stores have become a sign of freedom.
Sign of hope? Beer on sale at a bar in Iraqi Kurdistan.
These days as you head into Karmah, one of the smaller cities in the central Anbar province, you may notice a small store on the way into town. It’s not a big shop but its doors are wide open and it is selling alcohol. It is an unusual sight in this province, where conservative traditions and religious customs prevent the open sale and consumption of alcohol. But things have changed since the extremist group known as the Islamic State was in charge here.
“While we were displaced we lived in both Baghdad and in northern Iraq,” says Ahmad Abu Ali, a 44-year-old local; Karmah was part of the territory controlled by the extremist Islamic State, or IS, group and Abu Ali and his family fled their hometown. “And we used to see a lot of these shops there, close to where we lived. To us, it was an indication that these cities were safe and secure.”
“Although the drinking of alcohol is against our religion, the shop is a good sign. It is proof that the militants who once had such a big role in this city, and those who supported the militants, no longer play a part here,” Abu Ali explains. “Each person can practice their own religion. And when we saw this [the alcohol store] it gave us hope.”
It’s not logical to describe the opening of these [liquor] stores as some sort of issue of personal freedom.
Although Abu Ali doesn’t drink, his fellow townspeople who do are happy about the alcohol store for other, more obvious reasons.
“In the past we used to have to go to Baghdad to buy spirits,” Ibrahim Abdo, a 38-year-old local of Fallujah, told NIQASH. Abdo used to travel to the capital to buy enough alcohol to last a couple of weeks but he no longer has to do this. “We used to hide the bottles in the car so that the police and people at checkpoints wouldn’t harass us. They would destroy the drinks if they found them. Today I can just buy what I want even while the security forces are watching,” he says, somewhat incredulous.
Abdo says he used to feel like some sort of smuggler even though Iraqi law doesn’t prevent anyone from drinking or selling alcohol.
Selling alcohol is a fairly lucrative business in some parts of Iraq. A bottle of spirits can be sold for double the original price in areas where alcohol shops don’t operate. A kind of network of contacts brings the spirits into those areas.
One local taxi driver, Yahya Darwish (not his real name), often takes passengers between Baghdad and Ramadi in Anbar. He got to know the soldiers deployed at checkpoints on the way between the two cities and was able to pass through with minimal inspection.
No beer here: A park in Ramadi.
“At the beginning it was just one of my friends who asked me to bring back two bottles of spirits. When I got back, he was waiting for me and paid double what I had paid for the drinks, as well as the taxi fare,” the 44-year-old says. “After that I realized I could do good business with this trade and I started bringing back bottles to sell to friends and family.”
Darwish says that he has since expanded the trade and that his income is now dependent on it. “I know it’s a risky business but I now have customers of all kinds, from army officers to engineers and clerical staff,” he says.
The demand is another reason why locals are starting to open alcohol shops in the aftermath of the extremists. Under the IS group, selling and consuming alcohol or cigarettes could see the perpetrator punished severely, perhaps even executed. Even before that, selling alcohol was seen as a sort of insult to local society here and to religious customs. Opening an alcohol store was a very risky business in the past. Even if one had a license, it could mean being harassed by locals and in some cases the presence of liquor stores have made people so angry that the shops have been blown up or vandalised and owners beaten or killed.
But now it has become possible to open a store selling beer and spirits. Anbar’s big cities such as Ramadi are seen as having particularly good potential.
“Some of our customers came to Baghdad regularly and they encouraged us to open a store in Ramadi,” explains Awat Haiwa, 54, a local from Baghdad who has just completed his application for a liquor license. His next step will be to find a suitable property in Ramadi where he can open the store. “They encouraged us because the province is now free of extremists and the people are feeling free.”
A lot of Haiwa’s customers come to his Baghdad premises from other parts of Iraq and take alcohol back to their home towns to sell. “This has resulted in a lot of unlicensed vendors who are exploiting the buyers, charging at least double what the price really should be,” he says. They also make for more competition for the licensed store owners such as himself, he notes.
Of course, not everyone in Anbar is happy about the new access to alcohol. One 48-year-old resident of Ramadi, Abdul Razak al-Fawhan, says he thinks this new trend aims to upset the local way of life and goes against religious, cultural, and tribal norms in Anbar.
“It is an attempt to undermine our values,” he told NIQASH. “Of course, we know that a lot of people go to Baghdad or to other provinces to buy spirits but it’s not logical to describe the opening of these stores as some sort of issue of personal freedom. The opening of liquor stores is dangerous for locals. They are going to see what God has banned, out in the open, and that the government is supporting it. The locals themselves don’t even get a say as to whether they want this or not,” he concluded.For years, Apple has kept its autonomous car plans under wraps. And while there have been a few breaking stories here and there on various tech media platforms regarding the same, an official word from Apple on the same has never come out.
Until now.
In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, that happened on June 5th, Apple CEO Tim Cook agreed and in fact elaborated on Apple’s autonomous systems. He further laid stress, that since car projects form a major part of these systems, thus Apple is indeed working on the same and we could see some tests happening soon.
In Cook’s own words,
We are working on autonomous car systems and clearly, one purpose of autonomous drive systems is autonomous car. There are others. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects.
Apart from autonomous car projects in particular, Apple is also working on a host of other AI projects. But clearly, autonomous car systems is a major focus by some distance, made apparent by Cook, via his remarks.
Apple’s autonomous car project has been a long kept secret. However, we’ve had glimpses of the technology and the fact that Apple is working on such a thing, both from leaks and official Apple news.
For example, a couple of months back, there were reports wherein folks had sighted the test vehicle currently being used by Apple to test its technology. The clip came after a major report, that Apple isn’t planning to jump in by designing its own car, but will instead develop its own technology (very much like Google) and tie-up with third party car makers to install the same. The car spotted as the test bed was a Lexus SUV, fitted with all sorts of 3rd party hardware. You can read more about the spotting, here.
Post that, Apple was among a list of manufacturers and tech companies, granted permission in California, to test its autonomous fleet. The list included the likes of Volkswagen’s American subsidiary, Tesla, Google, Mercedes among others.
According to another report, the Cupertino giant has also developed its own driver training document, to train drivers who will be testing its self driving test vehicles. The failsafe technology used for these tests is called “Apple Automated System” in the document.
According to the documents, Apple drivers are required to pass seven different tests. Each safety driver has two practice runs and three trials to pass each test. They need to be ready to take manual control of the vehicle.
Apple has applied for a permit for six drivers to drive three Lexus RX450h SUVs. Apple’s drivers who are named in the application, are mostly Ph.Ds specializing in machine learning. Few of them have also previously worked for companies like Bosch and Tesla.
Apple’s plans came into highlight last December, when Steve Kenner, Apple’s director of product integrity, scribed a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealing the company’s interest in automotive technology. It became public when it was published on a federal website. In the letter, Kenner wrote about the company’s excitement surrounding the potential for automated systems in fields like transportation.For other people named Julio Franco, see Julio Franco (disambiguation)
Franco and the second or maternal family name is Robles. This name uses Spanish naming customs : the first or paternal family name isand the second or maternal family name is
Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958)[note 1] is a former professional baseball player and coach who is a hitting coach for the farm team of the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization. He spent most of his playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), entering the major leagues in 1982 and last appearing in 2007, when he was the oldest active MLB player. During that stretch, he also spent two seasons playing professional baseball in Japan and one season playing in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
While Franco was an All-Star and posted above-average hitting statistics throughout his career, he is best known for being the oldest regular position player in MLB history. Franco was the all-time hits leader among Dominican-born players until surpassed in 2011 by Vladimir Guerrero. He made his MLB debut as a shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies. During his long career, Franco saw significant time as a shortstop, second baseman, first baseman, and designated hitter.
Early life [ edit ]
Franco was born in Hato Mayor in the Dominican Republic. As a child, he lived in Consuelo, San Pedro |
that of the Almighty, who had said through his prophet Ezekiel: “Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women....”
The slaves talked and schemed through the evening. Night came on. Around two in the morning of August 22 they left the woods, by-passed Giles Reese’s farm, where Cherry lived, and headed for the Travis homestead, the first target in their crusade.
All was still at the Travis house. In the darkness the insurgents gathered about the cider press, and all drank except Turner, who never touched liquor. Then they moved across the yard with their axes. Hark placed a ladder against the house, and Turner, armed with a hatchet, climbed up and disappeared through a second-story window. In a moment he unbarred the door, and the slaves spread through the house without a sound. The others wanted Turner the prophet, Turner the black messiah, to strike the first blow and kill Joseph Travis. With Will close behind, Turner entered Travis’ bedroom and made his way to the white man’s bed. Turner swung his hatchet—a wild blow that glanced off Travis’ head and brought him out of bed yelling for his wife. But with a sure killer’s instinct Will moved in and hacked Travis to death with his axe. In minutes Will and the others had slaughtered the four whites they found in the house, including Mrs. Travis and young Putnam Moore, Turner’s legal owner. With Putnam’s death Turner felt that at last, after thirty years in bondage, he was free.
The rebels gathered up a handful of old muskets and followed “General Nat” out to the barn. There Turner paraded his men about, leading them through every military maneuver he knew. Not all of them, however, were proud of their work. Jack sank to his knees with his head in his hands and said he was sick. But Hark made him get up and forced him along as they set out across the field to the next farm. Along the way somebody remembered the Travis baby. Will and Henry returned and killed it in its cradle.
And so it went throughout that malignant night, as the rebels took farm after farm by surprise. They used no firearms, in order not to arouse the countryside, instead stabbing and decapitating their victims. Although they confiscated horses, weapons, and brandy, they took only what was necessary to continue the struggle, and they committed no rapes. They even spared a few homesteads, one because Turner believed the poor white inhabitants “thought no better of themselves than they did of negroes.” By dawn on Monday there were fifteen insurgents —nine on horses—and they were aimed with a motley assortment of guns, clubs, swords, and axes. Turner himself now tarried a light dress sword, but for some mysterious reason (a fatal irresolution? the dread again?) he had killed nobody yet.
At Elizabeth Turner’s place, which the slaves stormed at sunrise, the prophet tried once again to kill. They broke into the house, and there, in the middle of the room, too frightened to move or cry out. stood Mrs. Turner and a neighbor named Mrs. Newsome. Nat knew Elizabeth Turner very well, for she was the widow of his second master, Samuel Turner. While Will attacked her with his axe the prophet took Mrs. Newsome’s hand and hit her over the head with his sword. But evidently he could not bring himself to kill her. Finally Will moved him aside and chopped her to death as methodically as though he were cutting wood.
With the sun low in the east, Turner sent a group on foot to another farm while he and Will led the horsemen at a gallop to Caty Whitehead’s place. They surrounded the house in a rush, but not before several people fled into the garden. Turner chased after somebody, but it turned out to be a slave girl, as terrified as the whites, and he let her go. All around him, all over the Whitehead farm, there were scenes of unspeakable violence. He saw Will drag Mrs. Whitehead kicking and screaming out of the house and almost sever her head from her body. Running around the house, Turner came upon young Margaret Whitehead hiding under a cellar cap between two chimneys. She ran crying for her life, and Turner set out after her—a wild chase against the hot August sun. He overtook the girl in a field and hit her again and again with his sword, but she would not die. In desperation he picked up a fence rail and beat her to death. Finally he had killed someone. He was to kill no one else.
After the Whitehead massacre the insurgents united briefly and then divided again, those on foot moving in one direction and Turner and the mounted slaves in another. The riders moved across the fields, kicking their horses and mules faster and faster, until at last they raced down the lane to Richard Porter’s house, scattering dogs and chickens as they went. But the Porters had fled—forewarned by their own slaves that a revolt was under way. Turner knew that the alarm was spreading now, knew that the militia would soon be mobilizing, so he set out alone to retrieve the other column. While he was gone Will took the cavalry and raided Nathaniel Francis’ homestead. Young Francis was Will’s owner, but he could not have been a harsh master: several free blacks voluntarily lived on his farm. Francis was not home, and his pregnant young wife survived Will’s onslaught only because a slave concealed her in the attic. After killing the overseer and Francis’ two nephews Will and his men raced on to another farm, and another, and then overran John Barrow’s place on the Barrow Road. Old man Barrow fought back manfully while his wife escaped in the woods, but the insurgents overwhelmed him and slit his throat. As a tribute to his courage they wrapped his body in a quilt and left a plug of tobacco on his chest.
Meanwhile Turner rode chaotically around the countryside, chasing after one column and then the other, almost always reaching the farms alter his scattered troops had done the killing and gone. Eventually he found both columns waiting for him at another pillaged homestead, took charge again, and sent them down the Barrow Road, which intersected the main highway to Jerusalem. They were forty strong now and all mounted. Many of the new recruits had joined up eager “to kill all the white people.” But others had been forced to come along as though they were hostages. A Negro later testified that several slaves —among them three teen-age boys—“were constantly guarded by negroes with guns who were ordered to shoot them if they attempted to escape.”
On the Barrow Road, Turner’s strategy was to put his twenty most dependable men in front and send them galloping down on the homesteads before anybody could escape. But the cry of insurrection had preceded them, and many families had already escaped to nearby Jerusalem, throwing the village into pandemonium. By midmorning church bells were tolling the terrible news—insurrection, insurrection—and shouting men were tiding through the countryside in a desperate effort to get the militia together before the slaves overran Jerusalem itself.
As Turner’s column moved relentlessly toward Jerusalem one Levi Waller, having heard that the blacks had risen, summoned his children from a nearby schoolhouse (some of the other children came running too) and tried to load his guns. But before he could do so, Turner’s advance horsemen swept into his yard, a whirlwind of axes and swords, and chased Waller into some tall weeds. Waller managed to escape, but not before he saw the blacks cut down his wife and children. One small girl also escaped In crawling up a dirt chimney, scarcely daring to breathe as the insurgents decapitated the other children—ten in all—and threw then bodies in a pile.
Turner had stationed himself at the rear of his little army and did not participate in these or any other killings along the Barrow Road. He never explained why. He had been fasting for several days and may well have been too weak to try any more’ killing himself. Or maybe as God’s prophet he preferred to let Will and the eight or nine other lieutenants do the slaughtering. All he said about it afterward was that he “sometimes got in sight in time to see the work of death completed” and that he paused to view the bodies “in silent satisfaction” be founding on.
Around noon on Monday the insurgents reached the Jerusalem highway, and Turner soon joined them. Behind them lay a zigzag path of unredeemable destruction: some fifteen homesteads sacked and approximately sixty whites slain. By now the rebels amounted to fifty or sixty—including three or four free blacks. But even at its zenith Turner’s army showed signs of disintegration. A few reluctant slaves had already escaped or deserted. And many others were roaring drunk, so drunk they could scarcely ride their horses, let alone do any fighting. To make matters worse, many of the confiscated muskets were broken or too rusty to fire.
Turner resolved to march on Jerusalem at once and seize all the guns and powder he could find there. But a half mile up the road he stopped at the Parker farm, because some of his men had relatives and friends there. When the insurgents did not return, Turner went after them—and found his men not in the slave quarters but down in Parker’s brandy cellar. He ordered them back to the highway at once.
On the way back they met a party of armed men—whites. There were about eighteen of them, as far as Turner could make out. They had already routed his small guard at the gate and were now advancing toward the Parker house. With renewed zeal Turner rallied his remaining troops and ordered an attack. Yelling at the top of their lungs, wielding axes, clubs, and gun butts, the Negroes drove the whites back into Parker’s cornfield. But their advantage was short-lived. White reinforcements arrived, and more were on the way from nearby Jerusalem. Regrouping in the cornfield, the whites counterattacked, throwing the rebels back in confusion. In the fighting some of Turner’s best men fell wounded, though none of them died. Several insurgents, too drunk to fight any more, fled pell-mell into the woods.
If Turner had often seemed irresolute earlier in the revolt, he was now undaunted. Even though his force was considerably reduced, he still wanted to storm Jerusalem. He led his men away from the main highway, which was blocked with militia, and took them along a back road, planning to cross the Cypress Bridge and strike the village from the rear. But the bridge was crawling with armed whites. In desperation the blacks set out to find reinforcements: they fell back to the south and then veered north again, picking up new recruits as they moved. They raided a few more farms, too, only to find them deserted, and finally encamped for the night near the slave quarters on Ridley’s plantation.
All Monday night news of the revolt spread beyond Southampton County as express riders carried the alarm up to Petersburg and from there to the capitol in Richmond. Governor John Floyd, fearing a statewide uprising, alerted the militia and sent cavalry, infantry, and artillery units to the stricken county. Federal troops from Fortress Monroe were on the way, too, and other volunteers and militia outfits were marching from contiguous counties in Virginia and North Carolina. Soon over three thousand armed whites were in Southampton County, and hundreds more were mobilizing.
With whites swarming the countryside, Turner and his lieutenants did not know what to do. During the night an alarm had stampeded their new recruits, so that by Tuesday morning they had only twenty men left. Frantically they set out for Dr. Simon Blunt’s farm to get volunteers—and rode straight into an ambush. Whites barricaded in the house opened fire on them at pointblank range, killing one or more insurgents and capturing several others—among them Hark Travis. Blunt’s own slaves, armed with farm tools, helped in the defense and captured a few rebels themselves.
Repulsed at Blunt’s farm, Turner led a handful of the faithful back toward the Cross Keys, still hoping to gather reinforcements. But the signs were truly ominous, for armed whites were everywhere. At last the militia overtook Turner’s little band and in a final, desperate skirmish killed Will and scattered the rest. Turner himself, alone and in deep anguish, escaped to the vicinity of the Travis farm and hid in a hole under some fence rails.
By Tuesday evening a full-scale manhunt was under way in southeastern Virginia and North Carolina as armed whites prowled the woods and swamps in search of fugitive rebels and alleged collaborators. They chased the blacks down with howling dogs, killing those who resisted—and many of them resisted zealously—and dragging others back to Jerusalem to stand trial in the county court. One free black insurgent committed suicide rather than be taken by white men. Within a week nearly all the bona fide rebels except Turner had either been executed or imprisoned, but not before white vigilantes—and some militiamen—had perpetrated barbarities on more than a score of innocent blacks. Outraged by the atrocities committed on whites, vigilantes rounded up Negroes in the Cross Keys and decapitated them. Another vigilante gang in North Carolina not only beheaded several blacks but placed their skulls on poles, where they remained for days. In all directions whites took Negroes from their shacks and tortured, shot, and burned them to death and then mutilated their corpses in ways that witnesses refused to describe. No one knows how many innocent Negroes died in this reign of terror—at least a hundred twenty, probably more. Finally the militia commander of Southampton County issued a proclamation that any further outrages would be dealt with according to the articles of war. Many whites publicly regretted these atrocities but argued that they were the inevitable results of slave insurrection. Another revolt, they said, would end with the extermination of every black in the region.
Although Turner’s uprising ended on Tuesday, August 24, reports of additional insurrections swept over the South long afterward, and dozens of communities from Virginia to Alabama were seized with hysteria. In North Carolina rumors flew that slave armies had been seen on the highways, that one—maybe led by Turner himself—had burned Wilmington, butchered all the inhabitants, and was now marching on the state capital. The hysteria was even worse in Virginia, where reports of concerted slave rebellions and demands for men and guns swamped the governor’s office. For a time it seemed that thousands of slaves had risen, that Virginia and perhaps the entire South would soon be ablaze. But Governor Floyd kept his head, examined the reports carefully, and concluded that no such widespread insurrection had taken place. Actually no additional uprisings had happened anywhere. Out of blind panic whites in many parts of the South had mobilized the militia, chased after imaginary insurgents, and jailed or executed still more innocent blacks. Working in cooperation with other political and military authorities in Virginia and North Carolina, Floyd did all he could to quell the excitement, to reassure the public that the slaves were quiet now. Still, the governor did not think the Turner revolt was the work of a solitary fanatic. Behind it, he believed, was a conspiracy of Yankee agitators and black preachers—especially black preachers. “The whole of that massacre in Southampton is the work of these Preachers,” he declared, and demanded that they be suppressed.
Meanwhile the “great bandit chieftain,” as the newspapers called him, was still at large. For more than two months Turner managed to elude white patrols, hiding out most of the time near Cabin Pond where the revolt had begun. Hunted by a host of aroused whites (there were various rewards totalling eleven hundred dollars on his head), Turner considered giving himself up and once got within two miles of Jerusalem before turning back. Finally on Sunday, October 30, a white named Benjamin Phipps accidentally discovered him in another hideout near Cabin Pond. Since the man had a loaded shotgun, Turner had no choice but to throw down his sword.
The next day, with lynch mobs crying for his head, a white guard hurried Turner up to Jerusalem to stand trial. By now he was resigned to his fate as the will of Almighty God and was entirely fearless and unrepentant. When a couple of court justices examined him that day, he stated emphatically that he had conceived and directed the slaughter of all those white people (even though he had killed only Margaret Whitehead) and announced that God had endowed him with extraordinary powers. The justices ordered this “fanatic” locked up in the same small wooden jail where the other captured rebels had been incarcerated.
On November 1 one Thomas Gray, an elderly Jerusalem lawyer and slaveholder, came to interrogate Turner as he lay in his cell “clothed with rags and covered with chains.” In Gray’s opinion the public was anxious to learn the facts about the insurrection—for whites in Southampton could not fathom why their slaves would revolt. What Gray wanted was to take down and publish a confession from Turner that would tell the public the truth about why the rebellion had happened. It appears that Gray had already gathered a wealth of information about the outbreak from other prisoners, some of whom he had defended as a court-appointed counsel. Evidently he had also written unsigned newspaper accounts of the affair, reporting in one that whites had located Turner’s wife and lashed her until she surrendered his papers (remarkable papers, papers with hieroglyphics on them and sketches of the Crucifixion and the sun). According to Gray and to other sources as well, Turner over a period of three days gave him a voluntary and authentic confession about the genesis and execution of the revolt, recounting his religious visions in graphic detail and contending again that he was a prophet of Almighty God. “Do you not find yourself mistaken now?” Gray asked. Turner replied testily, “Was not Christ crucified?” Turner insisted that the uprising was local in origin but warned that other slaves might see signs and act as he had done. By the end of the confession Turner was in high spirits, perfectly “willing to suffer the fate that awaits me.” Although Gray considered him “a gloomy fanatic,” he thought Turner was one of the most articulate men he had ever met. And Turner could be frightening. When, in a burst of enthusiasm, he spoke of the killings and raised his manacled hands toward heaven, “I looked on him,” Gray said, “and my blood curdled in my veins.”
On November 5, with William C. Parker acting as his counsel, Turner came to trial in Jerusalem. The court, of course, found him guilty of committing insurrection and sentenced him to hang. Turner, though, insisted that he was not guilty because he did not feel so. On November 11 he went to his death in resolute silence. In addition to Turner, the county court tried some forty-eight other Negroes on various charges of conspiracy, insurrection, and treason. In all, eighteen blacks—including one woman—were convicted and hanged. Ten others were convicted and “transported”—presumably out of the United States.
But the consequences of the Turner revolt did not end with public hangings in Jerusalem. For southern whites the uprising seemed a monstrous climax to a whole decade of ominous events, a decade of abominable tariffs and economic panics, of obstreperous antislavery activities, and of growing slave unrest and insurrection plots, beginning with the Denmark Vesey conspiracy in Charleston in 1822 and culminating now in the worst insurrection Southerners had ever known. Desperately needing to blame somebody besides themselves for Nat Turner, Southerners linked the revolt to some sinister Yankee-abolitionist plot to destroy their cherished way of life. Southern zealots declared that the antislavery movement, gathering momentum in the North throughout the 1820’s, had now burst into a full-blown crusade against the South. In January, 1831, William Lloyd Garrison had started publishing The Liberator in Boston, demanding in bold, strident language that the slaves be immediately and unconditionally emancipated. If Garrison’s rhetoric shocked Southerners, even more disturbing was the fact that about eight months after the appearance of The Liberator Nat Turner embarked on his bloody crusade—something southern politicians and newspapers refused to accept as mere coincidence. They charged that Garrison was behind the insurrection, that it was his “bloodthirsty” invective that had incited Turner to violence. Never mind that there was no evidence that Turner had ever heard of The Liberator; never mind that Garrison categorically denied any connection with the revolt, saying that he and his abolitionist followers were Christian pacifists who wanted to free the slaves through moral suasion. From 1831 on, northern abolitionism and slave rebellion were inextricably associated in the southern mind.
But if Virginians blamed the insurrection on northern abolitionism, many of them defended emancipation itself as the only way to prevent further violence. In fact, for several months in late 1831 and early 1832 Virginians engaged in a momentous public debate over the feasibility of manumission. Out of the western part of the state, where antislavery and anti-Negro sentiment had long been smoldering, came petitions demanding that Virginia eradicate the “accursed,” “evil” slave system and colonize all blacks at state expense. Only by removing the entire black population, the petitions argued, could future revolts be avoided. Newspapers also discussed the idea of emancipation and colonization, prompting one to announce that “Nat Turner and the blood of his innocent victims have conquered the silence of fifty years.” The debate moved into the Virginia legislature, too, and early in 1832 proslavery and antislavery orators harangued one another in an unprecedented legislative struggle over emancipation. In the end most delegates concluded that colonization was too costly and too complicated to carry out. And since they were not about to manumit the blacks and leave them as free men in a white man’s country, they rejected emancipation. Indeed, they went on to revise and implement the slave codes in order to restrict blacks so stringently that they could never mount another revolt. The modified codes not only strengthened the patrol and militia systems, but sharply curtailed the rights of free blacks and all but eliminated slave schools, slave religious meetings, and slave preachers. For Turner had taught white Virginians a hard lesson about what might happen if they gave slaves enough education and religion to think for themselves.
In the wake of the Turner revolt, the rise of the abolitionists, and the Virginia debates over slavery, the other southern states also expanded their patrol and militia systems and increased the severity of their slave codes. What followed was the Great Reaction of the 1830’s and 1840’s, during which the South, threatened it seemed by internal and external enemies, became a closed, martial society determined to preserve its slave-based civilization at whatever cost. If Southerners had once apologized for slavery as a necessary evil, they now trumpeted that institution as a positive good—“the greatest of all the great blessings,” as James H. Hammond phrased it, “which a kind providence has bestowed.” Southern postmasters set about confiscating abolitionist literature, lest these “incendiary” tracts invite the slaves to violence. Some states actually passed sedition laws and other restrictive measures that prohibited Negroes and whites alike from criticizing slavery. And slave owners all across the South tightened up slave discipline, refusing to let blacks visit other plantations and threatening to hang any slave who even looked rebellious. By the 1840’s the Old South had devised such an oppressive slave system that organized insurrection was all but impossible.
Even so, southern whites in the antebellum period never escaped the haunting fear that somewhere, maybe even in their own slave quarters, another Nat Turner was plotting to rise up and slit their throats. They never forgot him. His name became for them a symbol of terror and violent retribution.
But for ante-bellum blacks—and for their descendants—the name of Nat Turner took on a profoundly different connotation. He became a legendary black hero who broke his chains and murdered white people because slavery had murdered Negroes. Turner, said an elderly black man in Southampton County only a few years ago, was “God’s man. He was a man for war, and for legal rights, and for freedom.”A new cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly method of desalination that could use up to 80 per cent less energy has been developed by a team of Sydney researchers.
With an El Nino weather pattern expected to develop in Spring, possibly triggering droughts and bushfires, researchers from the UTS Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater (CTWW) have developed an innovative way of desalinating water for irrigation.
Traditional methods of desalination rely on large-scale heating and evaporation processes or high pressure water pumps that force water through filtering systems. Dr Hokyong Shon and his CTWW colleagues have designed an alternative process they have dubbed Fertiliser Drawn Forward Osmosis (FDFO).
In the new system, chemicals withdraw saline from water via osmosis by employing soluble fertiliser on the opposite side of a membrane filter.
This design has much to offer a country that uses so much of its water for irrigation, said Dr Shon.
The pilot-scale FDFO desalination plant being installed. Picture supplied by the research team
"By reducing the demand that irrigation places on our traditional water supplies, we are conserving precious water for domestic use in our homes," said Dr Shon, who hopes his team's research into osmotic energy – the energy available from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water – can be used in other areas.
"For example, using osmotic energy to drive power generating turbines is just one of the many exciting possibilities," said Dr Shon.
Australia uses 60 per cent of its water supply for irrigation. Desalination plants have been built around the country to reduce reliance on rainfall but they have been criticised for pushing water prices higher and for adding to greenhouse gas emissions because of the heavy energy use. The plants have also traditionally been expensive to maintain because of the damage saline does to plant parts.
The UTS system partly addresses that problem by making all its products and by-products re-useable. It converts saline water and directs it straight into an irrigation system via a process called fertigation. Fertiliser serves a dual purpose as a process material and part of the end product, maximising resources and eliminating waste.
A pilot installation of a FDFO system has been adopted by NSW State Water through the National Centre of Excellence for Desalination Australia and is currently being used at a Newcastle coal mining site to desalinate saline ground water.If you are unhappy with an aspect of your child's public schooling, you can raise it with the teacher, or complain to the principal. If still not satisfied, you can go to your state education department. When Queensland father Ron Williams had exhausted all those avenues for his concerns about the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program, he took the ultimate step: he challenged the program's constitutional validity in the High Court of Australia.
His campaign was largely crowd-funded by often similarly disgruntled parents and kick-started with a seeding grant from the Humanist Society of Queensland, with logistical support from extremely articulate members of the Australian Secular Lobby. All this gave Williams a certain folk hero status.
Folk hero status: Ron Williams, who succeeded in his case in the High Court challenging the national school chaplaincy program. Credit:Andrew Meares
In 2012, the court agreed with Williams that the program was unconstitutional. The Federal Parliament passed "quick fix" legislation that it hoped would legitimise not just the chaplaincy program but the 400-odd other Commonwealth-funded activities, accounting for up to 10 per cent of federal government spending, that were similarly invalidated by the decision.
So back to the High Court. On Thursday, the judges ruled, 6-0, that the Commonwealth's legal Band-Aid had not worked: the spending on the chaplaincy program was as illegal as ever.Ultramarathon Training
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Training "To Finish" Advice from George Parrott ( Twice a Day & Interval Runs ) : www.ultrunr.com
Training to Race 100 km ( Don Wallace ) : www.aura.asn.au
Ultra Advice from a Master ( Never give up. Never Surrender. ) : www.irunfar.com
Ultramarathon 101 ( Basics Overview ) : www.canlake50.org
Ultramarathon Advice and Training ( 7 Steps inc. motivation and self discipline ) : www.acrossthedivide.com
ultraRunning - Getting Started : www.ultrarunning.com
ultraRunning - Training & Racing ( Electrolytes, visualization, acclimatization, strategy ) : www.ultrarunning.com
Ultrarunning Tips : www.fellrnr.com/wiki/
Ultrarunning Training : www.trailrunnermag.com
Ultra Trail Running Made Easy ( A guide for misguided beginners ) : www.coolrunning.com.au
Ultra Distance Training Tips ( Adrian Stott ) : www.runandbecome.com
Using the Marathon as Training for Your First 50 Miler : www.marathonandbeyond.com
Using Marathons as Training for Ultras : www.ultrunr.com
William Sichel - Training for the Last Third : www.williamsichel.co.uk
You Can Train for Ultras & Still Have a Life ( Tim Twietmeyer Interview ) : www.runnersworld.com
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FEET & BLISTER CARE
Blister Free Running ( Cathy Tibbetts' foot taping technique ) : www.backcountryrunner.com
Foot Blister Prevention and Care : www.4deserts.com
Healthy Feet Running the 100's ( John Vonhof's Fixing Your Feet Blog ) : fixingyourfeet.com
Preventing Blisters and Black Toenails : badbenkc.blogspot.com
Taping for Blisters : fixingyourfeet.com
Taping Feet to Prevent or Treat Blisters : fellrnr.com
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MEDICAL
Altitude Sickness / Acute Mountain Sickness ( Symptoms, treatment & prevention ) : www.4deserts.com
Exercise and the Common Cold : www.dreamchaserevents.com
Hydration 101 ( Effects, symptoms, sodium loss, retention & intake, sweat rates, caffeine, alcohol... ) : fellrnr.com
Hyperthermia ( Abnormally high temperature : Symptoms, treatment & prevention ) : www.4deserts.com
Hyponatremia ( Low sodium levels in the blood : Symptoms, treatment & prevention ) : www.4deserts.com
Medical Advice for UTMB Runners : www.ultratrailmb.com
Medical Mechanics of Ultrarunning : www.lehigh.edu
Preventing Hyponatremia ( Symptoms, causes, risk factors & preventing ) : fellrnr.com
WSER Medical Research Publications : ws100.com
Vitamin and Mineral Supplements and Exercise : www.dreamchaserevents.com
Water / Electrolyte Balance Table ( Karl King ) : www.succeedscaps.com
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NUTRITION AND HEALTH
Biochemical Strategies for Ultrarunning : blogs.cybersym.com/ultrarunning
Dietary Advice for UTMB Runners : www.ultratrailmb.com
Energy Balance in Ultramarathon Running ( Study of Yannis Kouros' Sydney-Melbourne race ) : www.ajcn.org
Nutrition : www.centurions1911.org.uk
Nutritional Demands of Ultra-Endurance Running : www.sportsdietitians.org.uk
Nutrition Guidelines for Ultra Running ( healthy diet advice by Marshall Ulrich ) : marshallulrich.com
Practical Nutrition Advice for Preparation and Race Day : www.endurancescience.com
Race Nutrition : www.4deserts.com
Sports Nutrition - Fluid, Electrolytes, and Minerals ( Report by Timothy D Noakes ) : www.ultrunr.com
ultraRunning - Health & Nutrition ( Fuelling your Attitude & Demystifying the BONK ) : www.ultrarunning.com
Ultra Foods ( Finding the Key To Fueling your Body for Optimum Performance ) : www.lehigh.edu
What Food to Eat During an Ultramarathon ( Fueling by Sunny Blende, Sports Nutritionist ) : www.ultrarunning.com
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OTHER
Books
Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons : www.irunfar.com
Coaching
Andy Dubois (Australia) ( Ultra Running Online Coaching ) : www.mile27.com.au
Andy Mouncey (UK) ( Coaching for Ultramarathon Racing ) : www.bigandscaryrunning.com
Henry Morris (UK) ( London ) : www.ultra-fit.me
James Elson / Ian Sharman (UK) ( |
spell if that was possible.
From here we should make a list of likely hands and whether we should counter this Cabal Ritual or not. We can also consider the hands where our choice makes no impact and dismiss these.
The opponent has Past In Flames as one of their cards in hand
If we let the Cabal Ritual Resolve then the opponent has 9 black mana in pool, 1 red/blue, 1 black/green, 1 blue/green and a Lions’s Eye Diamond on the battlefield. This would allow them to cast PIF without using the LED, using the Volcanic Island and 3 of the pool mana. We could then counter the PIF with our Force of Will and exile the Snapcaster Mage leaving the Spell Snare in hand for the Infernal tutor in the graveyard. We then lose to the flashbacked Thoughtseize on our Snare. The other option after letting CR resolve would be to also let PIF resolve. Now we lose our Monastery Mentor to the Abrupt Decay in the graveyard and if the Ponder finds a second discard spell we lose. If Ponder does not find a second discard spell our opponent can pass the turn and hope to draw more discard before flashing back PIF. This does not seem like the best line to me.
If however we counter the Cabal Ritual they have 4 black mana in pool. They can cast PIF using the Volcanic and 3 from the pool. If we then counter with FOW they do not have enough mana to flashback the PIF and then cast one of their Cabal Rituals. During this line we would have created two monk tokens. If our SDT finds another spell we then win on our turn because of the prowess triggers.
If the opponent has two high CMC business spells in hand
If the opponent has PIF and Tendrils we need to counter this Cabal Ritual to survive. Storm would go to 6 and if they cast Tendrils at Storm 7 we survive. If they instead cast PIF after we have countered CR we can FOW it and they do not have the available black mana to cast Tendrils, they also can not flash back PIF using the LED and cast Tendrils as discussed above. However letting the CR resolve in this spot allows for the PIF and Tendrils to be lethal no matter what we counter after this point. Oddly for this point in the game constraining their mana is the correct play even though it seems they have lots.
This line also applies if they have both Dark Petition or Ad Nauseam and Infernal Tutor. It also applies to every combination of two high cmc business spells.
If the opponent has any of the other high CMC business spells in hand
Tendrils of Agony and nothing else – We can counter this Cabal Ritual, storm will be 6. Storm will then be 7 when Tendrils goes on the stack. We survive whatever.
We can also counter any one Dark Petition or Infernal Tutor with the FOW. We are likely to beat Empty the Warrens as we have Monastery Mentor, monk tokens and we will be creating more next turn with SDT.
It should also be noted that the Thoughtseize may well point to the Storm deck not playing Ad Nauseam because of the lifeloss. The usual discard spells are Duress and Cabal Therapy for this reason. This and the Abrupt Decay could mean a list that is very nonstandard.
The opponent has Infernal Tutor and either discard or a cantrip that finds discard in hand
With this combination of cards we lose if we counter the Cabal Ritual. The opponent needs to bait out one of our counterspells here of they can not go off this turn. As discussed above this seems less likely after considering the relative merits of using the cantrip earlier.
Losing to what is in hand no matter what we do
If they have discard and any of the non Infernal tutor business spells in hand then we are going to lose no matter what we do. However, as discussed earlier we think this is unlikely due to their playstyle. We can not play around it either so this option does not matter.
If the opponent has sandbagged a Land or Lotus Petal and has a PIF we lose as we can not constrain their mana no matter what we do.
The answer
At this point we have worked out what is likely to be in their hand and what actions we can take that will interact with our opponents hand.
The question then becomes, does the opponent have Infernal Tutor and another discard spell, or do they have Past in Flames and something relevant? Only you can decide which you think is the likelier option. However, it seems to me, that the likeliest combination of cards remaining in our opponents hand are some combination of high CMC business spells due to the information gleaned from the graveyard and how they have played their hand. If this is true then we should counter the Cabal Ritual.
Post your disagreements with this analysis in the comments below!
You can also watch what happened in this game here
I hope you all enjoyed the question posed and well done to Rodrigo Togores for getting the answer right in the comments. Who would have guessed winning a GP with Storm would mean you could work out this problem…… 😉
P.S
They had Past in Flames and Tendrils of Agony in hand. Francis did not counter here and he lost.
Like and Follow The Library at Pendrell Vale:
Tom has played Magic since Alara block. He became quickly enamoured with Legacy after being strangled by a Pox and 43 Lands deck in 2011 while piloting Affinity. This experience also started a love of Prison strategies in a manner typical of Stockholm Syndrome sufferers. He now only really plays Legacy, with Top8’s in Europe at BoM and here in the UK.An evening cocktail rendezvous with the longest lasting, shapeliest ice.
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Product Details:AL West Fixing the Houston Astros’ Lineup By
I took a lot of guff recently from Astros Reddit for my projected lineup in a recent post. A post, mind you, in which I picked the Astros to win the World Series, so you’d think they’d have cut me some slack. Nope.
I will admit that upon further consideration my initial thoughts about the Astros starting lineup leave some things to be desired. I’m not going to use this space for an impassioned defense of a hypothetical batting order full of players who happen to be healthy right now for use in 1 out of 162 games. I admit, I made some mistakes.
However!
It seems like making an Astros batting order might be a pretty difficult thing to do, considering that real life manager AJ Hinch made an absolute mess of it on Opening Day. I contend that whatever faults my sample lineup had, it was still better than the nonsense that the Astros actually went with to start the season.
To understand why, let me go over my theory of lineup construction based- I hope at least- on a heavy dose of analytics and rational thinking, sprinkled with just a little old school baseball tradition. In a perfect world, with absolutely no understanding of who the individual players are, this is how I’d structure my lineup (if I have a DH, like the Astros do):
High OBP hitter with as much speed as possible. Power not so important and I won’t trade OBP for speed, but both is ideal. Best overall hitter no matter what. This is the guy I want at the plate more than any other. Second best overall hitter. High average guy with some pop is ideal Depending on the power I have elsewhere in the lineup, a power hitter here is ideal. I’d like a guy who takes walks and hits doubles and homers. Some power, maybe a doubles guy. Speed not necessary but an extra base hit guy. The most talented of my remaining hitters. Perhaps a younger guy with a lot of potential, who isn’t very consistent yet. Very flexible depending on the team. Also very dependent on who else I have. Typically, I’d like to put my weakest hitter 8th and a higher OBP guy with a little speed 9th so this would be the remaining player. Overall weakest hitter. A defensive specialist or a guy struggling or a big slow catcher who might run into one from time to time. Lower average player. Higher OBP guy, ideally with some speed.
There it is. I’m sure you could nit-pick it to death but I think it should be generally uncontroversial. I’m not going for anything too revolutionary. Additionally, I’ll admit that there are of course exceptions that can and should be made. For instance, a lot has been written about the Cubs batting Kyle Schwarber leadoff this season because he’s a great hitter whom the team hopes can get on base a lot (and they don’t have better options). I like that and I support that decision.
The Astros lineup on Opening Day? Not so much. Let’s first look at what the Astros are working with in terms of players, without putting them in any batting order:
C: Brian McCann– a former middle of the order guy who’s now in the lineup for his defense mostly. Has been a power hitter most of his career and has some power.
1B: Yuli Gurriel- A Cuban import known as a strong hitter but without much MLB experience. Struggled a bit in his brief time last season.
2B: Jose Altuve– The reigning MLB leader in hits and the batting champion. Also steals bases.
SS: Carlos Correa– Young, but great with a lot of power and a lot of potential. MVP candidate.
3B: Alex Bregman– Highly touted rookie who got a cup of coffee last season and is expected to be a strong bat for years to come. Though he struggled in the MLB last year, he had a high average and a lot of power in the minors.
LF: Nori Aoki– small slap hitter who aims for a high OBP, little power, and some speed.
CF: George Springer– Tons of power, not the highest average or OBP.
RF: Josh Reddick– Power, not the highest average or OBP but can get hot for stretches
DH: Carlos Beltran– 20 year veteran with about 20 homer power at this point. Very experienced hitter should have a high.200’s average and decent OBP
That’s what AJ Hinch was working with. This is what he came up with:
George Springer Alex Bregman Jose Altuve Carlos Correa Carlos Beltran Josh Reddick Yuli Gurriel Brian McCann Nori Aoki
???????????
Why? The Cubs are doing it so you should to? Houston has what might be baseball’s best leadoff hitter and they go with George Springer, a career.356 OBP, who stole 9 bases last year (but hit 29 homers) first? Altuve had a.396 OBP and 30 steals to go with leading the league in hitting. Just saying.
My (new and improved) lineup?
Jose Altuve Carlos Correa Alex Bregman George Springer Carlos Beltran Josh Reddick Brian McCann Yuli Gurriel Nori Aoki
Get your best hitters to the plate most often with men on base. Yes, Carlos Correa hit just.274 last year but you need to know that if your team makes it to October this year, it’s because Correa got you there. He’s the best hitter on the team, treat him like it.
If you like Bregman and think he can hit enough to be at the top of the order, why not third where he can bring Altuve and Correa around? Springer has all the power you want, Beltran has doubles power and is a middle of the lineup bat, Reddick is the backup Springer, McCann is still one of the best hitting catchers in the game, Gurriel is still figuring it out in the MLB but could move up in the order later if he gets hot, and Aoki gets it all started again.
This makes so much more sense than what the Astros had. Altuve should be first, everything else follows.
Oh, in that first game, George Springer led off the season with a home run.
-Max FrankelBy Ian Dunt
Pope Benedict XV has arrived in Britain promoting an outspoken anti-secular message sure to further anger his opponents.
In a speech outside Holyrood House, the Pope warned against "aggressive forms of secularism" and "atheist extremism".
The comments had strong overtones of those which came from his advisor, Cardinal Walter Kasper, who stepped out of the trip yesterday after a German magazine quoted him saying the UK was in the grip of "a new and aggressive atheism".
Papal visit: All the quotes
The Pope's decision to deliver a highly political speech while stood next to the Queen will enhance the sense that he has come with a warning about the direction of British society.
Concluding a passage on the Nazis, he said: "As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the Twentieth Century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a reductive vision of the person and his destiny."
He added: "Today, the United Kingdom strives to be a modern and multicultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate.
Poll: Should the Pope be making political speeches?
"Let it not obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms; and may that patrimony, which has always served the nation well, constantly inform the example your government and people set before the two billion members of the Commonwealth and the great family of English-speaking nations throughout the world."
The comments instantly triggered an angry response from secular groups, who took particular exception to a mention of the Nazi's earlier in the speech.
"The notion that it was the atheism of Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views or that somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God," said a spokesperson from the British Humanist Association (BHS).
Pope speech in full
"The notion that it is non-religious people in the UK today who want to force their views on others, coming from a man whose organisation exerts itself internationally to impose its narrow and exclusive form of morality and undermine the human rights of women, children, gay people and many others is surreal."
It is the first ever official state visit to the UK from the head of the Vatican, but the trip has been hounded by controversy and protest.
It is the first papal visit of any sort since 1982, when Pope John Paul II visited at the invitation of Catholics in the UK.
Pope Benedict XVI's arrival as a head of state rather than a religious leader has angered many protestors, who say the Vatican's status as a nation state is merely a useful and arbitrary fiction reflecting the disproportionate power of the church.
They are also enraged by the pope's alleged role covering up child abuse by Catholic priests and his views on a host of moral issues, including homosexuality and abortion.
The antipathy towards him was not made any easier by Cardinal Walter Kasper's comments to a German magazine branding the UK a "Third World country" because of its multiculturalism.
Pope adviser brands UK 'Third World country'
He has now pulled out the trip citing a medical condition, but it prompted the head of the Scottish Catholic Church to demand an apology.
Top Scottish Catholic demands apology for 'Third World' comment
The Pope landed in Edinburgh, where he met the Queen at Holyrood House. He shook hands with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and Scottish first minister Alex Salmond.
"I am delighted to welcome you to the UK, and particularly to Scotland, on your first visit as Pope," the Queen said during a speech outside Holyrood House.
"Much has changes in the world during the nearly 30 years since Pope John Paul II's visit.
"The Holy See continues to have an important role in international issues," she continued.
"Your presence here today reminds us of our common Christian heritage.
"On behalf of the people of the UK I wish you a most fruitful and memorable visit."
Thousands of people gathered in Glasgow later for an open-air mass.
Some analysts believe the visit to the UK reflects Vatican concerns about the lack of church attendance in the country. Many figures within the Vatican view Britain as a secular stronghold and want a 'bridge-building' trip to increase the role of faith in the society.
Tory party chairman Sayeeda Warsi seemed happy to compliment that mission statement when she told Church of England bishops the coalition government does "do God".
Warsi: The coalition 'does God'
The phrase comes from Alastair Campbell, who famously told journalists the Labour government "doesn't do God", despite Tony Blair's faith.
Baroness Warsi wants a greater role for faith groups in public service provision, but many of her Liberal Democrat coalition partners are committed atheists.
That includes deputy prime minister Mr Clegg, who will spend ten minutes discussing climate change with the Pope later in the trip.
Mr Clegg will be on his best behaviour though. His Spanish wife, Miriam, is a Roman Catholic.Turkey’s Syria policy is increasingly at odds with those of its Western allies, who are frustrated with Ankara’s attempt to shift the focus of the mission of the US-led military coalition from the Islamic State (IS) to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Unable to get its allies to target Assad directly, Ankara is not only fighting a losing battle in this regard, but also fueling the anger of its neighbors that continue to support the Syrian regime.
Russia and Iran are now openly chastising Turkey for pushing regime change in Damascus and indicating that they will not accept the buffer zone Ankara is seeking on the Syrian side of the border. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says the zone is necessary for the protection of Syrian refugees.
Domestic criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Davutoglu’s regional policies is also increasing, with critics charging that their failures have deepened Ankara’s international isolation while producing threats to social stability and security in Turkey.
This point is currently being hammered home by rioting by Turkish Kurds, who accuse Ankara of inaction as their kin face defeat and destruction at the hands of IS in Kobani, the northern Syrian town literally a stone’s throw from the Turkish border.
Davutoglu blames agitation by the pro-Kurdish opposition for these riots, in which nearly 35 people have died. He is also adamant that the UN Security Council is to blame for the chaos in Syria, and is determined to keep the focus on the Assad regime, rather than IS.
“Those who were silent as 300,000 people were killed during the past 3½ years, who ignored the use of chemical weapons, SCUD missiles and barrel bombs, are now trying to create the impression that Turkey must instantly solve the problem in Kobani. The blame for all these developments is on the Security Council and its five permanent members,” Davutoglu said during a press conference after an Oct. 8 security summit in Ankara.
Meanwhile, government sources continue to stress that Turkey will consider putting boots on the ground in Kobani only if others take the lead. While the government has parliamentary authorization now to intervene militarily in Iraq and Syria, there is little evidence to suggest that Turkey will participate in coalition airstrikes against IS.
Ankara continues instead to push for a buffer zone in Syria and was momentarily heartened this week when France provided support for the idea while US Secretary of State John Kerry and his British counterpart Philip Hammond paid lip service to it in a press conference in Washington. The White House, however, clarified later that such a plan is not presently under consideration.
Turkey is facing further difficulties after Russia criticized Davutoglu for stressing the need to topple the Syrian regime, and Iran warned Ankara not to stir up trouble in the region.
“It is impermissible to use the slogans of anti-terrorist struggle for attempts to replace existing regimes,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow during a press conference with his Venezuelan counterpart Rafael Ramirez on Oct. 8.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich also put a damper on Turkey’s efforts to set up a buffer zone when he declared Oct. 9 that this could only be done with UN Security Council approval.
Iran, for its part, criticized the parliamentary authorization Ankara recently received that permits it to intervene militarily in Syria. “The countries in the region should act responsibly with regard to the current situation and not contribute to the exacerbation of the situation,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reportedly told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu over the phone on Oct. 2.
Meanwhile, Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein-Amir Abdollahian as saying Oct. 9 that Tehran has warned Turkey against any kind of military intervention in Syria. Turkey is clearly caught between a rock and a hard place. Russia and Iran are warning Turkey not to intervene in Syria, while the United States and other NATO allies are doing the opposite.
Retired US Gen. John Allen, appointed by President Barack Obama to oversee the coalition against IS, and his deputy Brett McGurk were in Ankara on Oct. 9 trying to work out the modalities of the Turkish contribution to the coalition. All the evidence suggests, however, that Turkey remains reluctant to get directly involved unless the toppling of the Syrian regime becomes the main aim.
In the meantime, Davutoglu is countering charges that Turkey is simply watching as Kobani's Kurds face a potential massacre by underlining the fact that Turkey has taken in tens of thousands of Kurdish refugees from that part of Syria, along with the 1.5 million refugees it has taken in since civil war erupted in that country.
Western diplomats in Ankara, however, are not convinced that this exonerates Turkey from contributing to the military efforts against IS. One diplomat who wished to remain anonymous due to his sensitive position told Al-Monitor, “Having declared an open-door policy for predominantly Sunni refugees from Syria, and used this to tout its humanitarian approach to the Syrian crisis, it would have been odd if Turkey left the Syrian Kurds stranded at a time when they faced destruction. International condemnation would have been widespread.”
Erdogan and Davutoglu are also eliciting strong domestic criticism over their Syria policy. According to Hurriyet’s widely read columnist Ertugrul Ozkok, they are dragging Turkey toward disaster in the Middle East. “The policy of trying to topple Assad has collapsed. Turkey must immediately stop its policy of sticking its nose into the internal affairs of regional countries. If this policy continues it could open a period of great enmity toward Turkey in the region,” Ozkok wrote Oct. 9.
Retired Ambassador Ozdem Sanberk, who heads the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization, also believes that the government’s Syria policy needs overhauling. “This policy is not sustainable,” Sanberk told Al-Monitor, adding that conditions in that country are not now what they were initially. “There is a whirlpool there now. It is difficult to maintain former policies as if conditions had not changed,” he said.
“Assad said at the time that his departure would not be like that of [late Libyan leader Moammar] Gadhafi. He said, ‘If I go, the whole region will become unstable.’ These words appear prophetic today.” Sanberk added. He also pointed out that Turkey is isolated today, not just in the region, but in the world, because of its policies toward crises in the Middle East.
“The risks of this are evident. There is a price to be paid for international isolation. Every country wants to promote its national interest, but doing so in isolation is difficult,” he said.
Sanberk went on to add that Turkey’s relations with Washington are also very tense at the moment and said it is hard in today’s world for a country to promote its interests while its ties with the United States are strained in this way.You can’t write an article on dystopian movies without mentioning utopian ideals. Many volumes have been written on the human impulse to construct and/or invest in utopian visions – visions that can be either celestial or corporeal in nature. And there’s a good reason for this – life is a combination of pain and joy, and each of us must, at the most primal level, imagine an existence where the former no longer exists. I’d suggest that all human beings are driven towards ideas of a perfect world, bereft of fallibility and suffering in all its forms.
Indeed, the very notion (or myth) of progress is Utopian in nature. The belief that “things are getting better” is a core part of Western thinking (excuse the premature reference to 1984). If we look at any governing power, the search for an ordered existence that comprehensively satisfies the needs of all inhabitants is the (partially) unattainable goal to which they aspire. Having said that, if we look closely at history, it also immediately becomes apparent that there is a strong correlation between governments with utopic visions, and societies that are decidedly dystopic in nature. But why should this be?
The answer is clear – a government’s attainment of absolute perfection requires the subjugation of those individuals who do not align with this utopic vision. As long as human beings behave as individuals, rather than ants, utopia is not possible. Furthermore, the concept of a Utopia is ahistorical – it can only exist in a conceptual vacuum in which external stimuli, ideologies and individuality are eternally neutralized.
Perhaps this is why, in the literary and cinematic forms, the most common dystopian vision is that of the failed utopia, in which one party’s idea of perfection becomes another’s nightmare. Which bring us to this list of 20 great dystopian movies, in which the search for perfection has brought about something very different.
Metropolis (1927)
Metropolis follows that most popular of dystopian conventions, that of the individual fundamentally implicated in the inner-workings of a dystopian culture, only to find their thinking disrupted and set against the oppressive machinations of the establishment. In this instance, the wealthy son of a dictator falls in love with a member of the working class, and gains new insights into the injustices of his father’s regime.
Fritz Lang’s science fiction masterwork is clumsily binary in its approach by contemporary benchmarks, but this set the standard for science fiction and dystopian cinema for decades to come.
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
There is something less than cinematic about Francois Truffaut’s single entry into the science fiction genre. This isn’t a bad thing, however, and seems to give the film a greater authenticity in its representation of a subtle and banal repression. Based on the Ray Bradbury book of the same name, the plot concerns a world in which “firemen” are charged with the task of burning books in order to prevent citizens from getting “ideas”. When one fireman is encouraged by a young schoolteacher to read one of these books, he begins to see the world for what it is and becomes increasingly dissatisfied.
Animal Farm (1954)
I’m sure George Orwell’s novel needs very little introduction. His allegorical look at the Russian revolution and subsequent Stalinist regime, relocated to a simple farm, is standard reading in many secondary school English classes around the world. However, fewer people might have seen this animated take on the tale. Worth a look.
THX-1138 (1971)
George Lucas’ first feature film is, ironically, probably his most adult. Robert Duvall plays a simple worker in an underground civilization, in which the populace are controlled through heavy medication designed to eliminate emotions. When a series of events see this man’s dosage interfered with, he finds himself in a prohibited emotional and sexual relationship. There is no alternative but to attempt escape.
Alphaville (1965)
Jean-Luc Godard’s entry into the genre is a typically tongue-in-cheek affair, loaded with references to various works of noir, science-fiction and horror, while deliberatively subverting the conventions of the genre by having the futuristic nature of the narrative juxtapose with the fact that the whole film is clearly shot in contemporary Paris.
The narrative concerns the plight of private detective, Lemmy Caution, played by Eddie Constantine (many will recognise that Constantine had played the same character previously in many far more conventional detective films). Caution is on a mission to track down a missing secret agent, and ultimately destroy a dictatorial supercomputer named Alpha 60. Alpha 60 is on a mission to suppress individualism and force human beings to stop asking “Why?” and start saying “Because”. Well… why not?
Demolition Man (1993)
Why the hell is this on the list? Well there’s one very good reason – no American film that I can think of has more amusingly captured the phobic reaction of middle-America in the early 1990s to the increasing threat of that most horrible of concepts – progressive thinking. And who better to act as a conduit for loveable regressive ideals than that good old lump of iron, Sylvester Stallone.
When a super-cop (Stallone) and super-criminal (Wesley Snipes) both end up being cryogenically frozen for reasons that we needn’t cover here, they are awoken in the year 2032 to discover that the world has become a far more peaceful place. Great news for Snipes, whose penchant for violence goes unchallenged in the new world. Not so good for Stallone, who must work with a pacifist police force, digitized sexual encounters and vegetarianism. Violence follows, and Stallone works with an underground movement who indulge in meat-eating, graffiti and other outdated practices. Sandra Bullock is also on hand as the futuristic cop with a morbid interest in the old world. Soon enough, this utopian existence is revealed to have a dystopian undercurrent and the way is paved for an uncertain future.
The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)
This film is imperfect, and I’ll be the first to admit that it wouldn’t make the list except for my great admiration for Margaret Atwood’s novel, on which it is based. Volker Schlöndorff directs this tale of a young woman living under the tyrannical rule of a Christian theocratic state, in which a tight rein is clumsily justified by the alleged threat of invasion by unseen Islamic forces. Natasha Richardson plays a fertile woman in a future in which giving birth is rare, and as such is forced into sexual slavery to fulfill her purpose as a breeder. A forbidden relationship only further emphasizes her total subjugation.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
George Orwell’s source novel for Michael Radford’s film adaptation is perhaps the definitive dystopian vision of the twentieth century… so much so that terms like ‘big brother’, ‘thoughtcrime’, and ‘newspeak’ have been integrated into popular discourse. Indeed, combined with Animal Farm, this novel secured the term ‘Orwellian’ to describe any political practice viewed as draconian in nature.
Radford’s film may not be quite as perfect as Orwell’s novel, but it is a solid account of the fate of Winston Smith, a pen-pusher in the ‘Ministry of Truth’ assigned the task of realigning history to the current political agenda. As occurs very frequently in these dystopian works (a standard probably set by this one), a chance encounter leads to a love interest that sets Smith’s ideals at odds with Big Brother. Much suffering ensues in this insightful deconstruction of Orwell’s worst societal nightmares.
Gattaca (1997)
Responding to the developing interest in genetic engineering prevalent in the 1990s, Andrew Niccol’s film envisions a future world in which the ability of parents to genetically alter their young has seen a society split into “valids” and “in-valids”, the latter of which are essentially considered uninsurable liabilities. Enter Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), a genetic train-wreck of sorts, who works as a cleaner at the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation, while dreaming of becoming an astronaut (an impossible dream given his genetics). Freeman makes up for his inferior genes with pure determination however, and he pays a paraplegic super-athlete (Jude Law) for his identity, enabling him to sneak into the space program. A developing relationship with another aspiring astronaut (Uma Thurman) further complicates things. Much sneakiness, suspense, and introspection follows.
Niccol’s, whose directorial career shows an obsession with the impact of scientific advancement on societies, cannot be faulted here. A subtly executed film that manages to deliver a broader societal vision within the microcosm of one individual’s struggle.
Sleeper (1973)
Some light relief is probably a good idea at this point, and Woody Allen’s dystopian vision of the future is the lightest that comes to mind. When the owner of a health-food store ends up inadvertently placed into cryogenic stasis, he awakens 200 years later to find himself amongst a group of rebels fighting against a totalitarian state. Referencing countless other dystopian works, but never taking itself particularly seriously, Allen’s film is a playful but literate take on the genre.
Things to Come (1936)
William Cameron Menzies’ screen version of H. G. Wells’ novel is clunky by modern standards (actually it was probably already a little clunky at the time) but Menzies should be congratulated for attempting to give life to a narrative far too grand and impersonal to be effectively captured within the cinematic frame. It’s also a little hard to fully appreciate the film when the longest surviving version is 30 minutes shorter than the original cut. Either way, this imagining of the events that befall humanity between 1940 and 2036 is enlightening in its encapsulation of the thoughts and concerns prevalent at the time (some of which would later prove entirely valid).
Logan’s Run (1976)
A personal favourite, largely due to the pretty/tacky Technicolor vision of failed utopia, Michael Anderson’s Logan’s Run is never dull. Set within an underground society whose residents indulge in seemingly endless amounts of hedonistic pleasure, the one draw back is that everybody gets vaporized on their 30th birthday. Enter Michael York, a ‘Sandman’ whose job is to hunt down anybody who attempts to run away from their birthday bash. When York encounters a girl from an underground rebel group, the computer running the show declares that his birthday has come early, and he’s forced to switch sides.
Brazil (1985)
If there is a film that out 1984s 1984, then this is it. Terry Gilliam takes the conceit of Orwell’s masterpiece and accentuates its bureaucratic elements. Indeed, if there is a single point to Brazil, it is that nobody is really in charge, and that this nightmare world has become overwhelmed and diseased by paper-pushing. Gilliam’s fusion of the tragic and the Python-esque makes for a deeply disturbing vision.
Jonathan Pryce plays a low-level government employee with a privileged background, whose attempts to hide from the endless absurdities of the modern world are undercut by a bureaucratic error that results in the torture of an innocent man. As he attempts to correct the error, while dealing with his plastic-surgery addicted mother’s (Katherine Helmond) demands for a more aspirational son, Pryce’s character escapes into a world of fantasy. When a chance encounter with the girl of his dreams (Kim Greist) awakens a rebellious urge, Pryce finds himself becoming the victim of the government machine, rather than its instrument. Bob Hoskins, Robert De Niro and Michael Palin all have minor roles worthy of mention in this masterpiece.
District 9 (2009)
Neill Blomkamp’s feature film debut is the kind of beginning that most filmmaker’s could only dream about – a near perfect science-fiction blockbuster that also functions as a scathing indictment of apartheid. When a ship full of disorganized and dying aliens lands in South Africa in 1982, an alternate history comes to pass, in which an underclass of aliens (contemptuously referred to as “prawns”) are forced to live a segregated existence in a horrid slum known as ‘District 9’. When a decision is made to relocate the slum, the project is helmed by Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley). However, as with so many dystopian protagonists before him, an unfortunate series of events see Wilkus losing his privileged position and beginning to side with society’s least fortunate.
The Hunger Games (2012)
I was more than a little reticent when people began attempting to foist this one on me. The idea of sitting through a dystopian teen-flick based on a novel for young adults triggered all sorts of prejudices. However, I’m quite willing to admit that I was wrong about this one, and quite frankly, women need far more representation within the genre. This list reveals a disgraceful lack of female representation in dystopian cinema (outside of being catalysts for a male epiphany).
Set within a future world in which social tensions are redirected into the Hunger Games, a televisual death sport into which various districts enter their best young fighters. Jennifer Lawrence plays the reluctant representative of one of these districts. This in itself is nothing new, and the film doesn’t necessarily expound on its themes to any great degree – there is no pointed critique within the text itself – but the world is beautifully envisioned and the dystopian genre has |
against disclosure of drone materials by next month.
The court order isn't all good news, though. The judge bought the city's claim that my second and third requests were mere duplicates of the one I filed in October 2012. By this standard, I should have filed suit when NYPD records officials gave their absurd response that my request violated personal privacy. That the department's answer was bogus on its face then and remains so now is immaterial, the city's brief suggests, as the clock to sue ran out long ago.
MuckRock's attorneys countered that the city was trying to "sweep noncompliance under the rug by inappropriately invoking the statute of limitations as a catchall." Specifically, the city's statute of limitations argument fails to account for disclosures of NYPD's drone aspirations since I filed my first request in 2012, including a number of official statements on the matter.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton (second from right) and Deputy Commissioner John Miller (left) speaking during an NYC city council session in 2014.
For instance, in May 2014, the month before I submitted my third request, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton and Deputy Commissioner John Miller confirmed in a public city council hearing that the department has researched unmanned technology as a potential investment.
To illustrate how drones might be useful in the future, Miller suggested that a drone equipped with gunshot detection technology might be useful at identifying criminals. He pointed specifically to shooting hot spots in the Bronx or in Brooklyn.
"But we're not there yet, we don't have it and we're watching it carefully to see if it eventually develops into something that would be practical," Miller summarized.
Such public acknowledgements by top brass clearly give lie to previous claims that the department cannot safely release its drone paper trail. If the deputy commissioner can testify publicly about drone market research, the NYPD can release documentation of the same. In light of these and other revelations, MuckRock filed a third request, hoping that some saner heads within the NYPD's records office might prevail. When they did not, we sued.
But in its June order, the court sided with the city and deemed our third request a facsimile of the previous two in terms of subject matter.
The judge might have dismissed the entire matter but for two words: "to date." As her order notes, each time I asked the NYPD for drone documents, I requested all records created up to the postmark date for the request. The most recent slice of NYPD records are still fair game.
This is bureaucratic retribution that would make Kafka giggle. The NYPD swatted away my first appeal for drone materials because it was "untimely" and so launched us on the path to litigation. Now, the calendar's march entitles me to keep suing the NYPD for records created between October 2013, when I submitted my second request, through June 2014, when I submitted my third.
Precious little sense as it makes that I can press on for nine months' worth of documents but not the whole batch—or that anyone else could file a request for the remainder without being branded "duplicative"—it's still progress.
Meanwhile, we've submitted a fresh FOIL request for all NYPD drone documents from June 2014 to date.
Correction: This caption for the screenshot of the May 2014 City Council meeting originally misidentified Deputy Commissioner Miller due to an editing mistake. We've fixed the image and caption, sorry about that.Labour has moved to counter a potentially damaging letter from 103 senior business executives calling on voters to embrace Conservative economic policy with a counter-missive on Wednesday from what it described as a true cross-section of British society.
The Labour letter, signed by actors, business leaders, writers, nurses and a host of low-paid workers, came in response to a pro-Tory letter that appeared in the Daily Telegraph signed by an array of leading UK businessmen, many of them Conservative donors.
Labour’s 100 signatories, including about 50 people currently working on zero-hours contracts, declare: “We come from all walks of life – this is what Britain looks like.”
The Tory 100: captains of industry, party donors (and a few tax avoiders) Read more
They argue that the fundamental choice at the election is whether the country works only for those at the top or for all working people, including those struggling to make ends meet.
The businesspeople and other high-profile figures who have signed Labour’s letter include Trevor Beattie, the advertising guru, Susie Orbach, the feminist writer, Wayne Hemingway, the fashion designer, Dale Vince, who founded green energy company Ecotricity, Philip Hedley, director emiritus of the Theatre Royal Stratford East, and Peter Duncan, the actor. It also includes shelf stackers, farm hands and firemen.
Focusing on the issue of zero-hours employment, the letter said that the proliferation of such contracts had become a symbol of the failure of the government’s economic plan, “which has helped fuel the low-wage, low-skill economy that is letting down working people and letting down Britain”.
Tory business letter: important for what it didn't say Read more
Although the letter risks underlining Labour’s lack of high-level business support, the organisers insist it was not designed to match the Conservative letter, but instead to make the point that everyone, not just business, has a stake in the coming election.
Labour also dismissed the Telegraph letter as a Tory stunt, adding that business needed to be careful that it was not seen to be in a cosy alliance with the Conservative party.
Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, said: “This was a letter organised by the Conservative party in a Conservative-supporting newspaper. We’ve got almost 5m businesses in our country. At best you could say the people who signed this represent 0.002% of them.” He said Labour would maintain a competitive tax regime while prioritising support for small firms by cutting business rates on 1.5m small business premises.
Labour sources said 22 of the Telegraph letter’s signatories were Tory donors who had given up to £7.5m to the party.
However, Labour will be watching nervously to see if the Telegraph letter has a political impact and will be hoping that business leaders no longer have the traction with the public they once had after years of corporate scandals and excessive pay rises.
But the Conservatives continued to drip-feed details of senior businessmen who were supporting the party, such as Yo! Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe, who appeared in a 2004 Labour broadcast.
He said it would be madness to change economic direction with the job half done. “They are halfway through a job, and I know what it is like in business when you’re halfway through the job – you do not necessarily look the rosiest,” he said. “To change now, halfway through a recovery from the worst recession we have had in my lifetime, seems to be a madness”
Labour will be aware that the Conservatives have managed to fill the airwaves during the first three days of the short campaign with a series of warnings about the fragile relationship between UK business and Labour. Polls shows the Tories have managed to make the economy the number one issue again, something that will please Tory high command, since they regard it as their strongest suit.
Labour leader Ed Miliband will need a strong showing in Thursday’s seven-way leaders’ debate on ITV to put his campaign back on the front foot. It will be the only debate in which he faces prime minister David Cameron directly.
Miliband deliberately sharpened the dividing line on the economy with a call on Wednesday morning to end the use of zero-hours contracts, saying he had decided to reduce the proposed length of time that an employee could be on such terms before an employer was required to provide a full-time contract.
Miliband had originally proposed a one-year qualification period, but said he would reduce this to three months, a move that would cover 90% of zero-hours contracts and was not welcomed by employers’ organisations.
Meanwhile, the chancellor, George Osborne, said the letter sent to the Daily Telegraph showed that British business believed Labour could not be trusted to run the economy.
He said: “We have just 36 days left to save Britain’s economic recovery. A British general election has never seen a business letter like this – 103 business leaders employing over half a million people, the chairmen and chief executives of businesses that represent a roll-call of British economic success, innovation and job creation.
“We have the leaders of some of our biggest companies like BP, Dixons-Carphone, and the Prudential.”
He claimed that Labour may be planning to raise taxes for hundreds of thousands of middle-class professionals after the next election by lowering the £41,865 threshold for the 40p rate. But on a visit to a Britvic factory in Leeds, Osborne conceded it “would be very difficult” for him to live on a zero-hours contract, before adding: “There are some zero-hour contracts that people want.”
The shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, refused to rule out changing the point at which the higher rate kicked in, saying he had to be “honest” with the public that there was still a £90bn deficit to pay off.In another one of her mad rants, pop diva Cher blamed Democrats for her beloved Hillary's loss last year. At age 70, Cher still talks like she's 17, employing F-bombs like a catty teenager.
In an interview with Billboard, Cher blamed the old fuddy-duddies in her party for not brainwashing young people enough to turn them into mindless sycophants for Hillary Clinton.
“The Democrats f–cked up so bad in their message, and how old [the leadership] is,” Cher said.
She then looked forward to their deaths. She and director Joss Whedon, becoming better known now for his vile anti-conservative hatred than his movies, would make a great couple.
“You’ve got to pray that old people die before young people can get involved with the party,” she continued.
Cher did point some of the blame at Hillary, for whom she helped raise funds, saying the candidate did not take her advice to "have a group of millennials give their ideas about government.”
The anti-Trump rage has heated to fever-pitch levels for aging pop icons like Cher. Madonna spoke about wanting to blow up the White House, Barbara Streisand blamed Trump for her weight gain, and Cher said she now hides her phone to stop herself tweeting sometimes.
“Since Trump was elected, I have to hide my telephone, because I’m so outraged. Twitter is like a drug,” Cher said. “It creeps into your life, and you have to say, ‘Time to put a stop to this. I’m a grown-up.'”
Cher says "I'm a grownup." Let's unpack her Twitter history to see if that's accurate. She has openly called Sara Palin the C-word, lamented how she (a millionaire) would pay for her asthma under Trump, and likened his election to a "death in my family."
Never too late to grow up, Cher. "Believe!"Although many consider Christianity’s message a thing of beauty, the typical Bible is an ugly thing. Most editions are a mess of numbers, notes, translucent pages, and invariably tiny type. While the traditional arrangement makes for a great reference tool, it's anything but an easy read. Adam Greene, a book designer based in Santa Cruz, California, thinks he can change that with a Kickstarter for a new version of the Bible titled Bibliotheca.
Bibliotheca is the realization of Greene’s long-held desire to help others discover the Bible. The premise is at once simple and daring: to lay out the Bible as a collection of literature, rather than a single encyclopedic volume. Bibliotheca consists of four volumes, three for the Old Testament and one for the New. There are no chapter divisions, no verse numbers, and no annotations. Greene hopes this will transform the biblical text, making it as easy to read as a New York Times bestseller. This newly arranged Bible isn’t meant to appeal to a particular demographic, nor is it intended to replace the more traditional format. Instead, Greene is targeting anyone who wants to "enjoy the biblical library anew, as great literary art," and believes his creation could make people question "the ubiquity of the encyclopedic form."
"Growing up with the Bible, there were so many interpretive lenses held up to it for me," Greene tells The Verge. "As I grew older and learned more about its history, I began to see that it had been made to ‘say’ so many things to so many different ends over the past 2,000 years... I couldn’t quite pin down what the Bible was, or why figuring out what it was mattered to me."
It wasn't until Greene was introduced to writings like N.T. Wright's Scripture and the Authority of God and Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative that he began to see the Bible as a library of liturgical texts "compiled of masterfully crafted literary art, infused by its authors with needle-sharp significance, rich symbolism, and enthralling beauty."
Every element has been carefully considered to make reading a pleasurable experience
Greene's background is in book design, and his understanding of the art behind a great book is infused into Bibliotheca. Every element of the four volumes has been carefully considered to make reading a pleasurable and distraction-free experience. It all starts with the spine and the way the volumes are bound, which together make up the first physical interaction a reader has with a book. Greene has chosen a European-style rounded spine with flat-opening sewn binding. This type of ornate binding has fallen out of favor for modern, mass-produced books, which generally have their pages glued directly to the spine, but it considerably improves readability.
Gluing pages to a book’s spine is known as "perfect binding." It leads to a "v" shape forming in the center of the pages, causing an endless battle between reader and book to keep it from closing in on itself, and can often lead to cracks and creases along the spine. With flat-opening sewn binding, however, the pages can bend and rotate freely, allowing the two pages you're reading to sit flat. It's a more expensive and time-consuming way of building a book, but it immediately creates a more enjoyable experience.
This attention to detail extends to the text. Each page is laid out according to the measurements of the Ark of the Covenant, the chest described in Exodus that housed the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The text is left-aligned, rather than justified as in many Bibles, with each paragraph gently indented. The alignment is a simple change which Greene says will make the volumes far more readable.
"You're guaranteed the same optical rhythm on every line of text."
"Even spacing contributes to legibility, equal line length does not," Greene explains. "When typesetting, an optimal amount of space needs to be established in order to sufficiently isolate words without creating undesirable gaps. Justified text pushes and pulls on this space, and left-aligned text deploys it with absolute consistency... You're guaranteed the same optical rhythm on every line of text."
In addition to carefully reconsidering the overall construction and layout, Greene has also crafted a pair of custom typefaces for Bibliotheca, a simple sans serif for titles, and a more adventurous typeface for the general text. His main motivation in creating what he aptly refers to as his "original book typeface" was to mimic the reverence that's given to text in Hebrew traditions, whereby a "set apart" script is used exclusively for sacred writings. Inspired by this tradition, Greene taught himself to write traditional letterforms by hand, before streamlining the letters into a coherent, idealized typeface. The result of this work is not radically different from the norm — Greene explains "a good typeface does nothing so unruly or unique as to draw undue attention to itself" — and draws inspiration from some of the last century's most influential type designers.
"The two threads that run through... are balanced contrast and rhythmic spacing, which are interdependent," says Greene. While the positive forms (the type itself) are carefully considered, equal consideration needs to be given to the space within and between each letter. Greene poetically describes the positive forms as "dancing to the beat of the white space" they rest in, explaining that "the space within letterforms, the space interlocking letterforms as they combine to make distinct word units, and the space between word units as they combine to make fluid lines" must each be contemplated when designing a typeface.
There are other design flourishes to be found adorning Bibliotheca, including ribbon bookmarks and foil spine stamps for each volume. The pages are opaque, acid-free book paper, rather than the transparent sheets almost derogatorily referred to as "Bible paper," and will be printed using traditional offset printing. These small touches all help Greene achieve his goal of making Bibliotheca’s volumes look, feel, and most importantly, read like books rather than like a giant compendium of biblical text.
The text itself, and the splitting of the Old and New Testament into four distinct volumes, will likely be a problem for some. Greene has chosen the American Standard Version (ASV) of the Bible, and will modify it slightly to replace archaic terms with their modern alternatives ("doth" will become "does"; "sitteth," "sits"; and so on) and will be minimally adjusting the word order from the Young's Literal Translation (YLT). This will undoubtedly sit well with American audiences, but somewhat limits the appeal in international markets like the UK, where more neutral translations such as the New International Version (NIV) and New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) are more appealing.
Many will find small issues with any translation or reworking of such a historically important text
The division of the volumes is also contentious. Although the segmentation of the Old Testament into three categories (namely "The Five Books of Moses & the Former Prophets," "The Latter Prophets," and "The Writings," which comprises everything from Psalms through to Chronicles) makes sense, grouping the entire New Testament into a single volume seems to go against the principles behind dividing the Bible in the first place. The four Gospels and Acts would make an extremely readable short novel, for example, and do not sit very well with the letters and Revelation that they precede. But while many will find small issues with any translation or reworking of such a historically important text, it’s undoubtable that Greene has put a lot of thought into making Bibliotheca appealing to as wide an audience as possible.
Speaking with Greene, it’s clear he has a real love for his craft. He bemoans the lack of quality first editions, and the general shift from publishers to save dollars per unit at the expense of "the aesthetic and tactile experience." He’s put hundreds of hours of work into the books already, and the long task of editing the text and laying out, printing, and binding the books awaits him after the Kickstarter campaign ends. When starting the crowdfunding drive, Greene asked for $37,000 to make Bibliotheca a reality as a small print run of 500 sets. The Kickstarter total currently stands at well over $300,000 with nearly 4,000 sets ordered, and those figures will likely rise before the campaign ends this Sunday.
Greene accepts that digital books have eaten into the market of their traditional counterparts, but doesn’t necessarily equate their rise with the end of the paper and hardbacks. "If we embrace digital forms for ephemeral content, and reserve the ‘reverence’ of a bound book for enduring literature, I think we’ll see a resurgence of intrinsically beautiful books," he explains. "We need to critically allocate proper vehicles to varied types of content, not simply treat all literature the same. Read the news on your tablet, and then curl up with your clothbound, woodcut-illustrated copy of Walden."Jennifer Kent reached critical acclaim with her directorial debut The Babadook in 2014. Since then she's had multiple projects in various stages of development and was even in the running to direct Wonder Woman, a job that would eventually land with Patty Jenkins. One of those projects is The Nightingale, which will offiically go into production in March in Tasmania, Australia under Causeway Films and Made Up Stories.
The Nightingale is a period thriller set in Tasmania in 1825 that is being written and directed by Kent. It will star Aisling Franciosi as a "beautiful 21-year-old Irish female convict who witnesses the brutal murder of her husband and baby by her soldier master and his cronies. Unable to find justice, she takes an Aboriginal male tracker with her through the hellish wilderness to seek revenge on the men, and gets much more than she bargained for."
The film also stars Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Ewen Leslie, Harry Greenwood, Aboriginal Djuki Mala dancer Baykali Ganambarr, and East Arnhem Land indigenous model Magnolia Maymuru.
The producers are Kristina Ceyton (The Babadook, Cargo) and Bruna Papandrea (Wild, “Big Little Lies,” Warm Bodies, Gone Girl). Aaron L. Gilbert, Andy Pollack, Jason Cloth (Fences, The Birth of a Nation, Tully) and Brenda Gilbert (Beatriz at Dinner, The Birth of a Nation, I Saw the Light) are executive producers for Bron; Ben Browning and Alison Cohen are executive producers for FilmNation; and Steve Hutensky (2:22) is exec producer for Made Up Stories. Jeanne Snow will oversee for Made Up Stories.NATO Supreme Allied Commander Philip Breedlove recently took US hawks' campaign of Russia-baiting up a notch, suggesting Russia and Syria have 'deliberately weaponized' refugees to 'break European resolve'. The remarks, and the mainstream media's ability to convey them with a straight face, are an indication of a broken system, experts suggest.
Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month, Breedlove said that "together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration from Syria in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve."
© REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst Russian MoD Slams Breedlove's Claims Russia Responsible for EU Migrant Crisis
Moreover, the commander warned, criminals and terrorists have mixed in with the refugees, and may now be planning attacks on the West; this too, apparently, is Russia's fault.
Analyzing the general's remarks, and the Western mainstream media's ability to convince many of its readers and listeners that there is truth behind his words, some Russian commentators are simply at a loss for words.
"Generally, we have long become accustomed to Western propaganda's capability to work long and hard to 'prove' that white is black and black is white," Svobodnaya Pressa journalist Alexei Verhoyantsev noted.
"But in this case the charges simply look ridiculous. Is it really possible this time to convince the so-called international community that 'Russia is to blame' for all the ills of the world?"
© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev NATO Ramps Up Anti-Russian Propaganda Just as Syria Reaches Peace
Asked for comment, Alexander Shatilov, the dean of the faculty of sociology and political science at Moscow's Financial University, told the newspaper that this is a 'classical example' of using propaganda to reject even basic facts and logic.
"It's an open secret to everyone with any understanding of foreign policy that it is Washington that is behind the influx of refugees from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe. Firstly, in agreement with Turkey, the borders were opened. Secondly, American charitable organizations have been used to stimulate the flow of refugees to the Old World."
"And all this began five years ago, when the US catalyzed the Arab Spring and, in Libya, openly overthrew the authoritarian but robust regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Therefore, more than anyone, Americans should blame themselves," that is – their own government's policies.
Breedlove's remarks, according to Shatilov, have several goals in mind, including "serving as one more reason to sculpt the 'enemy image' of [Russia] for the average European man in the street, and attempting to pressure Moscow, in order to get it to give up its support for Bashar al-Assad, or at least become more amenable to negotiations."
"Washington fears that with Russia's help, Assad may become the first Middle Eastern leader to successfully resist US pressure and to stay in power. This would mean a serious moral and political defeat. The last time something like this happened to the Americans occurred after the war in Vietnam, where they were forced to ignominiously withdraw, sinking their reputation in the world for many years afterward."
Asked whether Breedlove's comments and biased media coverage can really convince Europeans that Moscow is to blame for the migrant crisis, despite the fact that the crisis started months and even years before Russia's intervention in Syria, Shatilov suggested that unfortunately, the chances are good.
"Given the fact that the authorities of the major European countries are figures approved and vetted by Washington, the EU's leaders have done everything possible to cover for the 'American trace' to the refugee crisis."
"Earlier, Europeans were told that it was an uncontrolled process, and that they should pity migrants and help them adapt to their new homes. Today, an emphasis has shifted to the 'dark outsiders', in the form of Putin and Assad, who are pictured to be scheming against the continent."
Today, the political scientist suggested, the "precise and well-crafted" tools of media manipulation make it possible to convince large numbers of people to believe in patent untruths.
"The Western media has long become very adept at shaping public opinion; combining informational and socio-cultural influences; it's possible, with time, to convince a majority to believe that Russia is to blame for Europe's migration problem. All the more so because many have not yet forgotten the old stereotypes about the Soviet Union, which many continue to associate our country with."
For his part, Vyacheslav Tetekin, a member of the Russian parliament's Defense Committee, said that while he has "great respect for the US military personnel as professionals…lately their officials have been speaking blatant nonsense."
"If they wanted to shift the blame for the flow of refugees to Europe on someone else's shoulders, they could at least have come up with something more intelligent," the lawmaker noted.
"It's obvious that Washington is behind the migration flows to the Europe — it is their strategy to weaken Europe to some extent. The US and the EU are geopolitical allies, but in economic terms they are sharp competitors. Washington does not want to see Europe feel itself to be self-sufficient."
© AP Photo / Alik Keplicz Obama Nominates Army General Scaparrotti for Top NATO Commander Position Set to Replace Breedlove
"Take the war in Yugoslavia in the 90s," Tetekin noted. "For Europe, this war was completely unnecessary; but at this precisely this moment the Europeans were forming their common currency –the Euro. Washington helped to organize a local war to reduce the stability of the new currency."
In other words, "the current influx of refugees is but a new tool, which the US has not yet used against Europe. The EU is now facing serious economic, political and moral costs, while Washington can rub its hands in satisfaction; it's a slimy tactic."
Asked whether there is anything Russia can do to effectively counter the claim that it is to blame for all the world's ills, including the refugee crisis, Tetekin said that unfortunately, there is little to be done.
"Unfortunately, contemporary informational techniques have led to a situation where even intelligent people can be made to believe all sorts of nonsense. It is unlikely that Russia will be able to 'dismantle' this powerful Western informational machine; our task, instead, must be not to pay too much attention to this type of slander, to continue our work, and defend our national interests, including in Syria," Tetekin concluded.Dave King is a former Rangers director who has become a current shareholder
Rangers' board hopes to avoid a general meeting called by shareholder Dave King that aims to oust four directors.
In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Rangers International Football Club says it intends to seek the withdrawal of the notice.
It points out that Stock Exchange rules require all individuals appointed to the board to be suitable.
This is a clear reference to King's criminal record for tax offences in South Africa.
In a separate statement, the board acknowledges that Ibrox Stadium may be used as security for funding.
But it stressed that this will not "unfairly advantage the party with whom it was agreed".
King and Murray's directorship hurdles Dave King and Paul Murray will have to satisfy both AIM Stock Exchange and the Scottish Football Association they meet "fit and proper" criteria in their bid to become Rangers directors should they win an extraordinary general meeting vote. Both men were part of the Rangers board in the year prior to going into administration, while King paid £44m to avoid jail after pleading guilty to contravening South African tax laws. To be a director of an AIM company, an individual must declare - (i) any unspent convictions in relation to indictable offences;(iii) details of any receiverships, compulsory liquidations, creditors' voluntary liquidations, administrations, company voluntary arrangements or any composition or arrangement with its creditors generally or any class of its creditors of any company where such director was a director at the time of or within the 12 months preceding such events;King, however, sits on the board of a listed company in South Africa, while both men were vocal critics of Whyte in his time in charge of Rangers. AIM depends on company shareholders and nominated advisers to vet directorial appointments.The SFA would only become involved upon being notified of a change of director. Among its "fit and proper" criteria, over which the board has discretion to decide on an individual's ability to act as a director, are whether he "has been convicted within the last 10 years of (i) an offence liable to imprisonment of two years or over, (ii) corruption or (iii) fraud."Or "been a director of a club in membership of any national association within the five-year period preceding such club having undergone an insolvency event".King and Murray would have to argue mitigating factors, with the SFA's professional game board likely to hear their case.
Last week, the board lodged an advanced notice for a charge over Ibrox in favour of shareholder Mike Ashley's company, Sports Direct.
Ashley and a consortium including Douglas Park and George Letham are in separate talks with the board over providing funding to Rangers.
RIFC noted "shareholder concern" about the future of Ibrox but stresses that the club needs "urgent short-term financing" and that a new share issue was not possible in the timeframe required, leading to the talks over possible loans.
"These discussions contemplate a significant amount of capital being available to the business on a long-term basis in order to enhance the squad, which the directors believe is necessary," it states.
"A consequence of funding to this level is that, in reality, it may be necessary to use Ibrox Stadium as security; such a decision would not be taken lightly."
"No decision has been taken at the current time while discussions are being finalised in good faith.
"The advance notice does not mean that security will be given and the directors are adamant that it will not unfairly advantage the party with whom it was agreed."
Rangers fans staged a protest against the board before and after Friday's abandoned match against Hearts and several supporters groups had hoped for regime change at the general meeting called by King.
RIFC has confirmed to the AIM Stock Exchange that the former Rangers director's notice demands a vote for the removal of David Somers, Derek Llambias, Barry Leach and James Easdale as directors.
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is a significant shareholder in Rangers
The resolution also calls for the appointment of King and his associates, Paul Murray and John Gilligan.
"The company is currently verifying that the notice is properly constituted," added RIFC. "If valid, the board intends to seek to have such notice withdrawn in order to avoid the cost and disruption of an ad hoc general meeting.
"The AIM rules require that all individuals appointed to the board of an AIM company are suitable to be a director of a UK public company."
Meanwhile, former Rangers defender Richard Gough has joined the Rangers Supporters Trust as a life member and contributor to its Buy Rangers campaign.
He follows Rangers fan Lynsey Sharp, the Olympian and Commonwealth athletics medalist, who last week joining those backing the group, which now claims 4,000 members.
Meanwhile, former Rangers midfielder Claudio Reyna, currently director of football operations at New York City FC, has joined the Rangers First group, which wants community ownership at Ibrox.For other people with the same name, see Robert Altman (disambiguation)
Robert A. Altman (born in 1947) is the Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media, parent company of publisher Bethesda Softworks, LLC. Altman also serves on the Advisory Board of The George Washington University Law School.[1]
Biography [ edit ]
Early life [ edit ]
Robert was born to a Jewish family[2][3] in 1947. He is the son of Norman Altman and Sophie Altman. Norman Altman, a graduate of Harvard Law School, who died in 1997, was a real estate lawyer and investor, and founded the Washington, DC law firm Krooth and Altman.[citation needed] Sophie Altman, a graduate of Yale Law School, worked in television broadcasting, and was a multiple Emmy award-winning producer. Among the television shows Sophie produced was the high school educational program, It's Academic, now in its 56th year. Robert is one of 4 children.[4][5]
Law office [ edit ]
Altman practiced law for many years in Washington DC as a partner of Clark Clifford, former United States Secretary of Defense, in the law firm of Clifford and Warnke. Altman later opened his own law firm, the Law Offices of Robert Altman, where Clifford was of counsel. As a Washington lawyer, Altman represented major companies before federal regulatory agencies, before Congress, or in litigation.[6]
From 1978-82, Altman and Clifford represented a group of wealthy Arab businessmen, including members of the royal family from Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, in their efforts to acquire a multi-state bank holding company, Financial General Bankshares. The Arab investors used a British bank, Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), as their financial advisor in this transaction. Following the acquisition, Altman became President of Financial General, which was renamed First American Corporation.[6][7]
In 1980, he was the lawyer of Bert Lance, Jimmy Carter's adviser, during the his trial regarding the financial management of the Calhoun First National Bank.[7]
ZeniMax Media [ edit ]
Altman resumed his Washington legal practice after the trial. In May 1999, he cofounded ZeniMax Media with Bethesda Softworks founder Christopher Weaver, as a new parent company for Bethesda.[8][9] Altman was brought in as CEO, with Weaver serving as CTO.[10] Weaver was pushed out of an operational role in 2002, and filed a related lawsuit that was settled out of court.
Active board members include Jerry Bruckheimer, Cal Ripken Jr. and Robert S. Trump.[11]
Personal life [ edit ]
On January 29, 1984, Robert married former Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter. Together they have two children, James and Jessica Altman. They live in Potomac, Maryland.[12]
In 2007 Altman endorsed Barack Obama for president.[citation needed] In 2015, both Robert and his wife Lynda Carter endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.[13]
BCCI trial [ edit ]
In 1991, it was alleged that BCCI, the financial adviser to the Arab shareholders and their “communications link”, had acquired by means of offshore loans that were in default, the shares of the Arab investors in First American. Questions were raised whether the Arab investors had falsely represented to bank regulators the true ownership of First American.[14] During the ensuing investigations, Altman and Clifford testified at length before Congress, federal and state grand juries, and the Federal Reserve. Audits of First American by the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller, and state banking agencies confirmed that the bank had been operated under Altman’s management without any BCCI influence.
In 1992, Clifford and Altman were charged in indictments by the New York District Attorney and the Department of Justice, as well as being named in a civil suit by the Federal Reserve. Clifford, then in poor health, was severed from the case as he was physically unable to go to trial. Altman maintained his innocence, refused offers of a plea to resolve the cases, and insisted on going to trial. In the summer of 1993, after a five-month trial, the court dismissed the central count in the indictment of bribery, saying no evidence had been presented by the government to support it. Altman declined to present a defense case, and was acquitted by the jury of all remaining charges.[15] The Department of Justice dismissed the companion federal indictment. The civil suit by the Federal Reserve was settled,[16] with Altman agreeing to be banned permanently from banking.[17] He was defended by a famous white-collar criminal defense lawyer Gustave Newman.[18]
Publications [ edit ]
The Upper Division College, 1970There is a long and storied history between Florida State football and the cultural phenomenon that is ESPN’s College GameDay. While the show has actually been broadcasting since 1987, it wasn’t until 1993 that the show was filmed at the location of the biggest college football game of the weekend. The initial road show was none other than No. 1 Florida State at No. 2 Notre Dame on November 13, 1993. The game lived up to the billing of “Game of the Century,” as it was hotly contested and decided in the final moments, and ESPN quickly realized that it had a marketable attraction on its hands. Although this would be the only game GameDay attended in 1993, it was the beginning of a cultural event that has become synonymous with college football today.
All told, GameDay has attended 243 regular-season games held on college campuses, 22 regular season games at neutral sites, 10 conference championship games, and 38 bowl games, for a grand total of 313 total games. Florida State has been involved in 24 of the 243 regular season games— Saturday at Louisville will be No. 25; that’s tied for fourth most with Alabama, trailing only Ohio State (27), Florida (26), and Notre Dame (26).
So how has Florida State fared when GameDay is in town? Are there any trends we can find? Does hosting GameDay provide a boost and a better chance for an FSU victory? We will concentrate on only the regular season games, since neutral sites include evenly distributed tickets, travel for both teams and fan bases, and typically involve long layoffs and extra practice time.
Florida State is 13-11 overall when playing a regular |
it high-ground because it looked better at first. Anywhoooooo, take a look at the sketch and tell me what you think.
- The numbers on the ramps mean how wide they are.
EDIT: I could finish these changes sooner than expected, so here is the updated version with the low-ground golds!
+ Show Spoiler +
I'm still not sure of those big fourths though. Any suggestions?
progress gif:
+ Show Spoiler +
I made the fourth a little bit bigger and the expansion itself a bit further from the third. But putting it on low-ground makes it look somewhat silly imo. I got pic of it being on the low-ground on one side and high-ground on the other, tell me what you think is the best solution. Or how to fix the low-ground fourth. Maybe it's cause the left side is a bit too wide for any purpose, but I don't just want to get rid of it cause I lose a lot of space that way.I sketched over that map overview to fit more what I intended with my first sketch:Basically what I intended for the gold base that it would be ninja-able, however easily spotted. So there's 3 attack paths, obviously the middle one is the main attack path. But if people go through one of the other attack paths and your opp took a ninja gold expo you would spot it and act accordingly. So I wanted to make the gold as vulnerable as possible and put it on low-ground. When I first started mapping I sorta just made it high-ground because it looked better at first. Anywhoooooo, take a look at the sketch and tell me what you think.- The numbers on the ramps mean how wide they are.EDIT: I could finish these changes sooner than expected, so here is the updated version with the low-ground golds!I'm still not sure of those big fourths though. Any suggestions?progress gif: Updated OP with this latest version. TEEHEE
Underoath Profile Joined May 2011 Peru 112 Posts #12 Im sure everyone likes a fast gold, but honestly it really throws the game off in the mid stage if you get a fast gold. Just imagine if terran lifts to gold right away.
tldr: Rocks @ the gold. "More GG, more skill" - WhiteRa
Antares777 Profile Joined June 2010 United States 1947 Posts #13 On October 28 2011 01:42 Underoath wrote:
Im sure everyone likes a fast gold, but honestly it really throws the game off in the mid stage if you get a fast gold. Just imagine if terran lifts to gold right away.
tldr: Rocks @ the gold.
If Terran lifted off to the gold right away, it would get scouted and crushed. It's fine to have an absence of rocks at a gold expansion as long as it's not an optional third, because then Terran would have a huge advantage. It's very risky to expand there right away. No one outside of the lower leagues would even attempt something like that.
Also, you don't really need a TL;DR for two sentences... If Terran lifted off to the gold right away, it would get scouted and crushed. It's fine to have an absence of rocks at a gold expansion as long as it's not an optional third, because then Terran would have a huge advantage. It's very risky to expand there right away. No one outside of the lower leagues would even attempt something like that.Also, you don't really need a TL;DR for two sentences...
Ovalient Profile Joined May 2011 Korea (South) 64 Posts Last Edited: 2011-10-29 16:01:10 #14 Wonderful Composition! :D
It must set rock on Gold base!
And Rush Distances looks shorter. Set somethings to delay..
I think it will be great map that has some modify! :D SC2 Melee Map Team : Team Crux
EffectS Profile Joined May 2010 Belgium 686 Posts #15 Updated an uploaded on KR and EU servers! TEEHEEIndustry types, who stand to benefit from the bill, which incentivizes business to adopt new cybersecurity technology, are also touting the dangers of cyber war. In the trade pub Defense Systems, the Technolytics Institute's Kevin Coleman hypes the possibility of a future cyber war with Iran. "You cannot help but think that we are on the brink of an intense cyber war with Iran," he writes. Is that true? It seems the hype should be taken with a grain of salt.
In an article in Foreign Policy, Tom Mahnken, professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College, pours cold water all over the cyber fear mongers. The main weakness of their argument is the suggestion that cyberwar evens the playing field between weak and strong countries. Per Mahnken:
Although many view cyber weapons as tools of the weak, they are likely to be most effective when wielded by the strong. That is because cyber means cannot compensate for weakness in other instruments of power. In other words, if a cyber attack by a weaker power on a stronger one fails to achieve its aim, the attacker is likely to face retaliation. In such a situation, the stronger power will possess more, and more lethal, options to retaliate -- what is known in nuclear deterrence terminology as escalation dominance. A weak power might be able to cause a stronger power some annoyance through cyber attack, but in seeking to compel an adversary through cyberwar, it would run the very real risk of devastating escalation.
And that doesn't even get to the downsides of Lieberman's bill. According to The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the bill represents a serious threat to individual privacy: "Currently, the bill specifically authorizes companies to use cybersecurity as an excuse for engaging in nearly unlimited monitoring of user data or countermeasures (like blocking or dropping packets)." Peter Gothard describes further privacy concerns here. It's unclear of Democrats have the votes to pass the bill. According to Politico's Tony Romm, they just need to pick off a few Republicans, which they are in range of doing. Still, it's a little disquieting to see that armageddon needs to be invoked to get the bill passed, regardless of reality.
Image via Shutterstock by Sangiori
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.Update: A few hours ago, I reached out to writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, which, admittedly, I should’ve done in the first place. McQuarrie firmly denied the rumor that he’s supervising the reshoots:
If there are any reshoots on Rogue One, I’m not supervising them. For any outlet to say so is not only wrong, it’s irresponsible. Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker who deserves the benefit of the doubt. Making a film – let alone a Star Wars chapter – is hard enough without the internet trying to deliberately downgrade one’s years of hard work. Who does that even serve? Let him make his movie in peace.
Reporting on reshoots or additional photography is one thing, but this false rumor regarding McQuarrie was dismissive of Edwards’ work, which was what Christopher McQuarrie took issue with. Reporting that Edwards required supervision wasn’t fair to him, McQuarrie, or anyone else involved in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Here’s the original story as follows:
A few days ago, it was reported that Disney and Lucasfilm aren’t too keen on the dark tone of Gareth Edwards‘ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Apparently Disney believes the tone is too far removed from the original series and what director J.J. Abrams established with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so the studio ordered reshoots. The last story regarding the reshoots said that they’d take place in June, but new details have emerged suggesting that the reshoots will take up to six weeks and that writer/director Christopher McQuarrie is now heavily involved in the production.
Below, get more Rogue One reshoots details, which you should all take with a grain of salt.
Making Star Wars — a site that has sometimes been reliable in the past — has dug up some new information on the film. The outlet claims to have sources in the crew, and their sources told them the following:
It was initially speculated J.J. Abrams would supervise the reshoots, although that’s unlikely. Abrams has moved on from Star Wars and, from what we’ve been told, is done with the franchise.
Christopher McQuarrie will work with Edwards on the reshoots. It was said that the Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation writer/director “saved” the story with his work on the script. The potential problem? McQuarrie’s script wasn’t completed until much of the film was already in the can, so when Edwards and his team started shooting the new material, it didn’t fit with what had been shot.
The reshoots will last a month and a half, with the cast and crew working six days a week.
Making Star Wars’ sources expect 40% of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be reshot, with 32 different sets recreated for the reshoots. Based on what they’ve heard — and, again, we’ll have to wait and see how much truth there is to this story — none of this sounds like Edwards’ fault. Even if Lucasfilm and Disney are unhappy with the tone of Rogue One: A Star Wars story, all along Edwards has been calling it a “war movie.” He’s telling a different kind of Star Wars story, so it only makes sense the tone isn’t the same as The Force Awakens.
If McQuarrie is as involved as Making Star Wars claims he is, then there’s not much to worry about. World War Z, Edge of Tomorrow, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation all took serious retooling, especially when it came to their third acts. Those movies turned out more than fine, so if Edwards has to reshoot 40% of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, at least he’ll have McQuarrie by his side.
Here’s Disney’s response to the original story:
The filmmaking team and the studio always anticipated additional shooting and second unit work to make the film the absolute best it can be, and the actors were aware there would be additional shooting. Coming off ‘The Force Awakens,’ there’s an incredibly high bar for this movie and we have a responsibility to the franchise and to the fans to deliver the best possible movie we can.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will arrive in theaters on December 16th, 2016.Every other aspect of the US economy may be going to hell in a handbasket, with an acute manufacturing recession starting to spill over into the services sector, but at least the US jobs number is "stellar", right?
Wrong.
We showed one way how the BLS fudges the number higher, when we reported on Friday that of the surge in December jobholders, a whopping 324,000 of these new "jobs" were by multiple jobholders, as in 1 person = 2 (or more) jobs, effectively cutting the job gain in half (or worse). Worse, the total number of jobholders surged to 7.738 million, just shy of an all time high, and the highest since August 2008.
And then there is this.
According to a Bloomberg report, a record number Americans who are retired (or are collecting Social Security) worked part-time last month.
In December, a record 2.6 million workers had either reached full retirement or restricted themselves to work-weeks of 34 hours or less due to Social Security income limitations. Individuals can collect Social Security and work with no limit on earnings once they reach full retirement age. However, if they receive Social Security before full retirement age they will lose some of their benefit if they exceed the annual earnings limit. For 2016, this cap is $15,720. The penalty is a $1 deduction in Social Security for every $2 earned above the limit.
What is most disturbing, is that this is the "data" the Fed uses to justify to the world that its decision to hike rates was the right one. Meanwhile, anyone who is not an economist will take on look at the above charts and realize why 7 years ino the "recovery" there has been no wage growth, and why the Fed is shooting itself both in the leg and in the head by hiking at this point.Last year, Nvidia failed to give Qualcomm a run for its money when it comes to smartphones, but the quad-core Tegra 3 chip made a splash in the market tablet, with big wins such as the Nexus 7, the Transformer line, and the Microsoft Surface.
According to a Wall Street analyst, Nvidia might not enjoy a similar success in 2013, with Google reportedly ditching the Tegra 4 SoC in favor of the more competitive Snapdragon S4 Pro.
Michael McConnell from the Pacific Crest investment firm has trimmed his estimates for the Santa Clara-based company after “supply chains conversations” indicated that Google has opted for a System on a Chip made by Qualcomm.
According to McConnell, Google chose the Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 chip over Tegra 4 for two reasons – competitive pricing and a better integration with 3G/4G modem technology, which would allow the maker of the Nexus 7 to cut costs and simplify logistics.
McConnell also writes that the new Nexus 7 is scheduled to begin shipment in the second quarter of 2013, but it’s not clear if he knows that for a fact or if it’s just an educated guess.
This report ties in with previous gossip that suggested manufacturers are not very interested in the new Tegra 4 chip, despite the massive performance improvements over Tegra 3 that Nvidia promised. So far, we know about a few manufacturers that will be using Tegra 4, including Toshiba and Vizio.
The new Tegra 4 chip was revealed by Nvidia during CES, and features four Cortex A15 CPU cores and a powerful 72-core GPU, that is supposedly six times faster than the GPU on Tegra 3. Nvidia has not integrated cellular connectivity on Tegra 4, although the company does offer an “add-on” LTE modem.
We’ve reached out to Nvidia for an official comment, and we’ll update the post as soon as we get more info.True to Yamamoto's style, the clothing line features a dark theme all around, which will make the Virgin Galactic crew look like they're straight out of a Tron film. Y-3 says it's currently working on pilot flight-suits and boots, and every item is intended to provide a comfortable and tight fit while being worn. The flight-suit, for example, was designed to support a pilot's natural position, while the footwear is made from leather and shock absorption materials, to mention a few details.
As part of today's announcement, Y-3 and Virgin Galactic also revealed a limited edition jacket for passengers of the first Virgin Galactic spaceflights. If you're not one of them, don't worry -- we have a feeling it won't be long before consumer gear starts hitting stores. Until then, though, here's a closer look at the Y-3 and Virgin Galactic flight suits.This is an interesting little story: Elon Musk has been deliberately and specifically hiring people away from Apple to go work with him at Tesla. It's interesting on two levels. The first being the simple business point, that Apple treats its employees extremely well so Musk must be offering something truly extraordinary at Tesla to tempt them away. Also that he's obviously well aware of the levels of talent that exist within Apple. But more important than that for our purposes here is to link this in with the recent settling of that no competitive hiring case that affected the Valley. What Musk is doing with Tesla is exactly what the companies that agreed not to poach from each other were trying to prevent, the bidding up of wages and terms across engineers in the area. And yet as a matter of public policy we want there to be such bidding up. For the simple economic reason that people respond to incentives.
Here's one version of the story itself:
According to a Bloomberg report, electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla has reportedly been poaching employees from electronics giant Apple; with nearly 150 employees having reportedly left Apple to join Tesla. The Bloomberg figures related to ex-Apple employees joining Tesla mark the highest number of employees that Tesla has poached from any other single company thus far. The former Apple employees who have been hired by Tesla include engineers, legal counsels and human resources staffers, among others.
And here's another:
A long time ago, it was written that Apple’s Achilles heel would be retaining talent. To this point, it has not seemed like that has been a major problem for the company. While employees come, and employees go, the consumer has not necessarily seen a bloodbath in terms of the quality of the product on the shelves – which puts employee retention on the back burner. However, it is been recently found that Tesla Motors (NASDAQL:TSLA) and Elon Musk have hired or poached as many as 150 former Apple employees. It is been widely-reported though and dictated by nameless former employees of both companies – that Elon Musk is “enamored” by Apple and comparisons of himself to the founder of the company.
The background to this is that this is the way that labour markets are supposed to work. Indeed Karl Marx actually identified it as the way in which wages increase over time: the capitalists competing with each other for the profits that can be made by employing labour. And it's that which made that agreement among Silicon Valley companies (Apple, Adobe, Google and a number of others) not to poach such a repugnant agreement. As I've mentioned before:
Here’s the background: it was alleged that the major tech firms in Silicon Valley, Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe (Facebook was an admirable holdout from the scheme and several other smaller firms settled earlier) conspired among themselves to hold down the pay of their engineers. OK, so the geeks and the nerds of the valley are some of the best paid people on the planet so it’s not all that difficult to with hold sympathy from them. The companies did this by insisting that they would not recruit or poach employees from each other. Unfortunately, as even Karl Marx noted, the way in which the wages for the workers rise is by employees being able to bargain with employers. Most obviously by threatening to go and work for someone else offering more cash for their labour. Agreements not to hire from other companies means, obviously, that this tactic isn’t open to the worker. It’s also what Marx called monopoly capitalism (although we would call it monopsonist capitalism these days) and it’s very much something that we don’t want to happen. Partly because the entire point of this economy thing is to improve the life of the average guy, the worker, but also because the price of labour is an important signal in our economy. If wages rose for engineers then more people would be attracted to that calling. And given how profitable the technology business is these days that would be a good thing: another name for labour moving to a higher productivity use is “making us all richer”.
This applies to the wider world as well, not just that of those engineers. If engineers are being poached from one tech company to another with promises of better pay then quite obviously the pay of all engineers is going to rise. Either because they get poached with that better pay or because their current employers raise their pay in order to keep them. And this will of course drift down to the lower levels as well. But it's not just engineers that will be affected. The new, higher, pay for engineers will tempt some from other fields into this one. This will then raise wages in those other fields and so on right throughout the entire economy. We end up then with two desirable things. Firstly, we end up with our skilled labour where employers think they can add most value. This makes the entire society richer, as moving any productive asset from a lower to a higher valued use does. Secondly, the ripple effects of this will raise wages throughout the entire economy. OK, 150 people moving from Apple to Tesla isn't going to have a measurable effect but we can be sure that it is there.
We're thus absolutely delighted that Musk is poaching from Apple for Tesla (although Apple might not be all that happy). And we're similarly delighted that that no poach agreement is now dead as it would have stopped this beneficial practice from happening. And that is also why that no poach agreement was and should have been illegal and also why it was so punished.The BBC will suspend its 3D TV transmissions indefinitely, citing poor demand among viewers – its last hurrah will be a Dr. Who anniversary special in November.
"I have never seen a very big appetite for 3D television in the UK," said Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC's head of 3D. "After that we will see what happens when the recession ends and there may be more take up of sets, but I think the BBC will be having a wait-and-see. It's the right time for a good old pause."
She said that around half of the estimated 1.5 million 3D TV owners in the UK turned on the BBC's 3D coverage of the Olympics, but only 5 per cent of viewers bothered to watch the Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth, figures Shillinglaw called "disappointing." Given Her Majesty's customary scowl during such coverage, the 5 per cent figure is understandable.
The BBC started broadcasting in 3D in 2011, showing the Wimbledon tennis tournament finals as part of a partnership with Sony. Since then it has taken a softly, softly approach to the technology to see if it takes off, and now evidently feels it's not worth the effort, although Shillinglaw was at least diplomatic about it.
"I am not sure our job is to call the whole 3D race," she said.
The BBC isn't the only one pulling out of 3D TV. American sports network ESPN confirmed last month that it is shutting down its dedicated 3D TV, citing weak consumer demand. It's all very different from three years ago, when the 3D hypegasm was climaxing.
In retrospect, 3D predictions look rather silly
Back to the heady days of the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, the world's content providers and hardware builders were assuring all and sundry that 3D was the way forward. James Cameron's 3D epic Dances with Smurfs Avatar was breaking box office records, and the industry was all a-flutter about the possibilities for 3D's future.
At Sony's press conference, attendees were handed 3D glasses at the door and the session was opened by a 3D Jimi Hendrix, no doubt rotating in his grave at 45rpm at the thought. The then-CEO Sir Harold Stringer told us that 3D was going to be the most important technological change to TV since the shift to color, and after exchanging a rather creepy conversation with American songstress Taylor Swift, declared content partnerships with ESPN and the Discovery channel.
Sony wasn't alone – pretty much every consumer-electronics company seemed to have a 3D product of some kind at the show, and there were lofty predictions about how the technology would be in every home and cinema before long. Sports bars would be full of spectacle wearing punters living the on-screen action, Stringer said, and manufacturers were hoping for an upgrade orgy that would fill corporate coffers.
As it turns, out the response from the buying public was largely "meh." Few buyers were interested in spending money on the technology, the glasses are unpopular and expensive, and most 3D TV hardware was limited to the very large and expensive units that only addicts would consider stumping up for.
As for content, the success of Avatar was followed by a succession of dire 3D movies such as Mars Needs Moms and Piranha 3D, proving that Cameron's epic was the exception that proved the rule. 3D can work in film – take Ang Lee's Oscar-winning Life of Pi as an example – but cinema-goers are still somewhat put off by having to wear the eyewear needed and the high ticket prices.
The situation is even worse in the home. While there are some dedicated 3D channels (smut-mongers Penthouse 3D is still in business), consumers who are upgrading their televisions are more likely to pick a "smart TV" with an internet connection rather than 3D TV with a pair of dorky glasses.
"I think when people watch TV they concentrate in a different way," the BBC's Shillinglaw said. "When people go to the cinema they go and are used to doing one thing – I think that's one of the reasons that take up of 3D TV has been disappointing."
With the closure of the BBC service it looks likely that 3D will remain a niche thing, for those who really, really want the content. As for Shillinglaw, she'll go back to her day job as head of science and natural history at the BBC once the 3D unit is shut down – probably with a huge sigh of relief. ®We recently stumbled upon a small Austrian-based company called Johammer. The firm is building an interesting futuristic-looking electric motorcycle: the Johammer J1. They launched the vehicle last year, but they recently ramp-up production and we are now seeing more of the vehicle reminiscent of a Star Wars pod racer with chopper-like handles.
The Johammer J1 is offered with two different battery pack options: 8.3 kWh and 12.7 kWh for 93 miles (150 km) and 125 miles (200 km) of range respectively.
The range is significant for an electric motorcycle and competitive with the likes of Zero Motorcycles and Victory, but it comes at a price: € 22,900 (~$26,000) for the bike with the 8.3 kWh battery pack and € 24,900 (~$28,000) for the 12.7 kWh option.
It’s definitely on the expensive side, but there’s certainly a market for this type of novel vehicle. Personally, I think it looks badass in black, but I have the feeling that the design falls in the love it or hate it spectrum.
The chassis is mainly made out of aluminum and has an overall weight of 178 kg (390 lb). It is powered by a DC-excited synchronous motor with single-stage transmission and regenerative braking capacity. The motor has a continuous power output of 11kW and a peak power output of 16kW.
Here’s a gallery of pictures courtesy of Johammer and video further down:The Witcher's Author Says He Screwed Himself Out Of Profiting Off The Games published by nherting
Writer Rating: 3.1429
Posted on 2017-03-25
Writer Description: current events
This writer has written 195 articles.
If you happen to run into Andrzej Sapkowski, creator of The Witcher, you might not want to bring up the video games. They haven’t made his life much better, in part because they’re not making him any money.
Sapkowski, who spoke to Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese in an interview published today, has never been a gamer or showed much interest in the video games based on his world. So it might not come as a shock that he sold the rights to CD Projekt Red without asking for royalties. All he got was a check.
“I was stupid enough to sell them rights to the whole bunch,” Sapkowski told Eurogamer. “They offered me a percentage of their profits. I said, ‘No, there will be no profit at all - give me all my money right now! The whole amount.’ It was stupid. I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I didn’t believe in their success. But who could foresee their success? I couldn’t.”
In Poland, Sapkowski is the equivalent of J.R.R. Tolkien. But outside of Poland, when people see books with The Witcher on the spine, they assume that they’re looking at fiction based on the game. And Sapkowski says that sometimes people assume the same when talking to him, mistaking him for a Witcherfiction writer rather than the man who created Geralt and Ciri. “It happened,” he said. “It happened. I can remember my reaction: I know many bad words and I used all of them, in many languages.”According to Football London, Lucas Perez missed Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat to Chelsea with an ankle injury.
The Spaniard picked apparently picked up what’s described as a ‘minor’ problem during training and wasn’t risked.
His absence had fans wondering if he was ‘the new Joel Campbell’, easily jettisoned by the manager when he has plenty to choose from, but the presence of youngster Jeff Reine-Adelaide in the squad in his place makes more sense if he did have a knock.
The former Deportivo la Coruña man has already missed a chunk of the campaign with an ankle problem, and it remains to be seen whether not he’ll be fit for the game against Hull this weekend.
Arsenal will be assessing the fitness of Mohamed Elneny who played in the AFCON final on Sunday night, but despite scoring the opening goal saw his Egypt side lose 2-1 to Cameroon.
He went into that game with a calf injury, so let’s hope he was 100% for that one.
For a full dissection of the Chelsea game, the Bellerin assault, Arsene Wenger’s future and more, listen to this week’s Arsecast Extra21 November 2017 00:00, UTC
The idea of distributed energy is not new, but it refreshed after distributed ledger technologies arrived on the scene. Shortly after the United Stats voiced similar plans, Australia decides to launch its own blockchain energy project. The government of the latter country decided to invest a relatively big sum of 8 million U.S. dollars in the promising energy system technological proposal, the pilot version of which will be tested in the city of Fremantle. Additional 5 million dollars will be received from private investors. As Greg Morrison, professor from the Curtin Univesity research team, notes:
"We will develop a smart metering, battery storage and blockchain trading system to allow energy and water efficiencies between critical dispersed infrastructures that would otherwise have required physical co-location."
The governmental grant is a part of a wider Smart Cities and Suburbs program. According to the post by Power Ledger, a company that participates in the project, it will start within the next two months and last two years.
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Read the best crypto news analysis here! bitnewstoday.com Bitcoin, investments, regulation and other cryptocurrenciesGETTY The EU says most migrants arriving in Europe are not refugees
Officials in Brussels said the newest wave of migration from North Africa was “clearly and manifestly about economic migrants” and said those people had no right to “enter European soil”. European leaders are expected to back significantly toughening up the policing of the continent’s outer borders when they meet for an EU Council summit in the Belgian capital tomorrow. In a letter to EU heads of state its president Donald Tusk said that “illegal arrivals” to Italy had rocketed by 26 per cent over the last year and urged them to approve more cash to train and equip the Libyan coastguard.
Eurocrats ultimately want the Libyans to take over the entire search and rescue operation in the central Mediterranean, believing that this is the only way to smash the business model of smuggling gangs. That would mean migrants saved at sea would be taken back to North Africa rather than being shipped to Europe, which currently happens if they are rescued by a vessel operating under an EU flag. Currently people smugglers pack people into unseaworthy vessels, knowing that they only need to get them out beyond Libyan national waters and into the central Med where they will hopefully be picked up by EU search vessels.
GETTY Eurocrats ultimately want Libya to take over running search and rescue operations
On top of bolstering the Libyan coastguard EU leaders also want to significantly up the rate of returns for failed asylum seekers in order to deter further economic migration. At tomorrow’s summit they intend to approve an expanded list of agreed “safe” third countries, smoothing the legal process by which all member states can deport irregular migrants. During a press briefing this morning a top diplomat was quizzed over why Mr Tusk had referred to people as “illegal” immigrants in his letter rather than asylum seekers or refugees. The official replied: “In most of the cases, and that is actually the case on the central Mediterranean route, we’re talking clearly and manifestly about economic migrants. “They get to Europe illegally, they do not have any documents which would allow them to enter the European soil.” Up until now, senior EU officials have preferred to refer to people arriving in Italy and Greece as "irregular" migrants, denoting the fact they did not enter Europe through official channels. A shift in language to "illegal" suggests a significant hardening of that stance, criminalising this form of migration and paving the way for more deportations.
In most cases we’re talking clearly and manifestly about economic migrants EU diplomat
And to that end the official added: “What Tusk stressed is the importance of looking at the rate of returns. This is somewhere where the progress still hasn’t been sufficient. “If there’s no effective return policy then we don’t have effective instruments to counteract pull factors.” The official said the EU had made “significant progress” on strengthening its outer borders even if there are fierce disagreements internally about its controversial migrant quota scheme. He added that Libya should be the bloc’s “biggest ally in the central Mediterranean” and stressed the need to work more closely with the war-torn country, even though it has two rival Governments in place. The official said: “They could be our most important ally on the central Mediterranean route and we should make everything we can so that they work robustly against the smugglers and clearly on our side. “We would be in a different place if the Libyan coastguard were more efficient, and if more of the burden to save people’s lives on the Mediterranean was on the Libyan coastguard rather than on the vessels with European flags.”
More than 1,200 migrants saved in TEN hours Sun, June 11, 2017 Migrants crossing the Mediterranean have been rescued off of rubber rafts and crammed into boats in just TEN hours - in a huge joint rescue operation by charities and NGOs. Play slideshow EXPRESS 1 of 18 Massive Mediterranean rescue mission: More than 1,200 saved in TEN hoursNo sentence would be enough to ''bring our Ruby back'', the Marris family said after the tourist responsible for the 5-year-old's death was jailed for 18 months.
Ruby Jay Marris was killed when Chinese national Jing Cao (32) crossed the centre line in his rented Ford Ranger on State Highway 1 near Moeraki on February 21, and smashed into the Marris family's station wagon.
Following Cao's emotional sentencing in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, Ruby's parents Tristan and Kimberley told media the Government needed to toughen regulations around the leasing of rental cars.
Jing Cao in the dock at the Dunedin District Court during sentencing yesterday.
''Today Mr Cao has received his sentence, but it doesn't matter what it is, as nothing will bring our Ruby back,'' a statement from the couple said.
''This was an unnecessary accident and the New Zealand Government needs to regulate the hiring and licensing of all rental vehicles to overseas tourists.
''We do not want any more families to have to go through the pain and suffering we have been through. Urgent action needs to be taken.''
Cao was jailed for 18 months by Judge Kevin Phillips for dangerous driving causing the death of Ruby and was given nine months' jail on each count of dangerous driving causing injury to the other four occupants of the Marris family's car and his own mother, a passenger in his rented vehicle.
The sentences will be served concurrently.
Judge Phillips also ordered Cao to pay $27,500 emotional harm reparation to the Marris family and further reparations of $34,390.
Earlier, the court heard Mr Marris' victim impact statement.
He placed a photograph of Ruby in front of Cao before detailing how the tourist had ''cut short such a wee, beautiful girl's life''.
The family were returning to their Oamaru home after an ''exciting'' day shopping when Mr Marris came over the brow of a hill near Moeraki about 4.50pm and found a car driving towards them on the wrong side of the road.
Cao had travelled more than 1300km after arriving in Auckland on February 17 with his partner and parents.
He hired the Ford Ranger in Auckland to tour New Zealand.
Cao spent the night of February 20 in Christchurch and left about 10am to travel to Dunedin.
After stopping at the Moeraki Boulders to take photographs, Cao drove the four-wheel-drive on to State Highway 1 and about 450m down the road crossed the centre line. He travelled about another 450m before ploughing into the Marris family's car.
Ruby died at the scene and Mr and Mrs Marris suffered serious injuries.
The Marris' two other children, Georgia (9) and Sophie (7), suffered moderate injuries.
The injured family members were taken to Dunedin Hospital.
''I wake up thinking about her. I go to bed thinking about her and the guilt you have caused me because it was my idea to go down to Dunedin to shop that day,'' Mr Marris told Cao - who was accompanied by a Mandarin translator - in court.
''I know you can't understand me, but you can tell the expression on my face and the emotion in my voice as I read this to you.''
At times, Mr Marris sobbed and, at one point, stomped his feet in anguish while reading out his statement.
''You were doing something with your phone, people were seriously hurt and crying around you,'' he said, recounting the moments after the crash.
''I could see Kimberley holding Ruby screaming, 'Somebody help'. I could see Ruby getting paler and paler as her internal injuries were starting to take effect and the blood was draining from her body.''
The death of their ''wee angel'' had left the family heartbroken, he said.
''There was no remorse from you that day,'' Mr Marris said to Cao.
''You were probably in shock, but there were people dying from your actions.
''I got told Ruby died, while lying on the road. You would have heard me scream. It took three people to hold me down with a broken back.
''I can't understand how you could blatantly ignore the most important road rule in New Zealand - to keep left.''
Cao's assertion he was tired was a ''feeble excuse'', Mr Marris said.
''She was only 5, Mr Cao.''
''Burying Ruby 11 days after the accident was the worst day of my life - the funeral was indescribable.
''Words |
minion assigned to carry them around — are checking in at trendy spots such as Lounge Lover, The Hummingbird Bakery and the members-only Mortons.
The campaign is Jimmy Choo brand's first foray into social media marketing; a rep said they wanted to use Foursquare to engage fans both online and off. She also believes that this is "the first time Foursquare has been used to check in an object (rather than a person) at locations."
Interested parties in London can follow the shoes on Foursquare. The rest of us can stay updated via the campaign's Twitter account.
What do you think of this marketing ploy? Would you like to have more branded treasure hunts for highly sought-after goods?Two more would-be asylum seekers have died on the ocean trying to get to Australia while their 46 shipmates survived a boat journey that contained equal parts tragedy and luck.
The survivors, among them five children under six years old, endured 10 days without power, food or fresh water before they were spotted by an Border Protection Command plane and rescued by a cargo ship.
Benyamin Saber (centre), 28, with some of the other 46 Iranian asylum seekers at the hotel in Merak, Indonesia, where they are being detained after being rescued 110 nautical miles off Christmas Island. Credit:Michael Bachelard
But two days before the rescue, two men, Sajad and Meisam, had decided to paddle out to look for help. They constructed a raft from empty fuel containers and spare wood, and their paddle was a length of timber from the boat. They were never seen again.
''They had family in Iran,'' Benyamin Saber, one of the survivors, tells Fairfax Media as his wife, Maryam, sobs.Alter Bridge are set to unleash their fourth studio album, 'Fortress,' on Oct. 8 in North America, and we've got an incredible treat for fans of the band. Loudwire is teaming up with Alter Bridge to present an exclusive stream of the entire album (listen above).
Coming off the success off their third album, 'AB III,' Alter Bridge prove they're back with a bang on 'Fortress,' which kicks off with the epic track 'Cry of Achilles.' The song is a sonic tour de force and sets the stage for an ambitious album that showcases a band that's firing on all cylinders.
Among the other highlights on 'Fortress' are the first single 'Addicted to Pain' and the album-closing title track. Throughout the effort, singer Myles Kennedy once again proves that he is among hard rock's best vocalists. Meanwhile, guitarist Mark Tremonti churns out some monster riffs and intricate solos, and even takes lead vocals on the track 'Waters Rising.' And bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips provide a rock-solid rhythm section all through the album.
Alter Bridge are only playing one show in the States in 2013 in support of 'Fortress' -- an Oct. 4 gig in Orlando, Fla. -- before heading to Europe for a monthlong trek. North American fans will have at least a few months to soak in the new disc before the band launches a stateside trek, so listen to 'Fortress' in its entirety above, and if you like what you hear, pre-order the album at iTunes or Amazon.Oakville’s mayor is in hot water after comparing Stephen Harper’s added campaign security to militias associated with Hitler and Mussolini.
Rob Burton posted a link on Twitter Friday to a Canadian Press story that appeared on an Ottawa website about the Prime Minister hiring Canadian veterans to boost security while on the campaign trail.
This goes too far. Conservatives beef up campaign security with mercenaries http://t.co/d7S1nuXDxS via @bmptguardian — Rob Burton (@OakvilleMayor) August 28, 2015
Burton then followed the tweet with a post containing links to Wikipedia articles on Hitler’s and Mussolini’s security forces.
Any political parties had private police using veterans before? 1) https://t.co/5l9Ww0EcdW 2) https://t.co/EarLpbWIlS Any others? — Rob Burton (@OakvilleMayor) August 29, 2015
The hashtag #ResignMayorBurton began trending following the tweets and politicians began responding on the social media platform as well.
#ResignMayorBurton because Oakville is proud of Canadian veterans and doesn't think they're Nazi brownshirts. (Please RT) — Stephen Taylor (@stephen_taylor) August 29, 2015
Mayor Burton of Oakville has compared Canadian military veterans who do private security work to NAZIs. Please apologize, @OakvilleMayor. — Jason Kenney ن (@jkenney) August 29, 2015
In an interview with CP24, Burton refused to apologize for the tweets and denied he was comparing Canadian Forces to Nazis.
“I am not associating Canada’s veterans with anything. That’s what the Conservatives would like this to be about but this is about what a political party is doing and not who they are using to do it,” he said.
“We are sliding down a slippery slope here where private police details are being used to undermine the rule of law in Canada.”On Tuesday, Reddit co-founder and newly installed CEO Steve Huffman said in a “Content Policy Update” that certain communities just don’t belong on Reddit. And in a characteristically Reddit move, Huffman also said he was going to do an “Ask Me Anything” post in the r/IAmA subreddit today, at 1 pm PST.
Huffman will have the benefit of picking and choosing which questions he responds to. Still, you can expect there’ll be a lot of Redditors mad at Huffman, who appeared warm to the idea of banning hateful subreddits in his announcement. And they’ll have plenty of other stuff to scream at him about, too.
In the last five weeks, Reddit’s now former interim CEO Ellen Pao announced a purge of some harassing subreddits (which ignited a Reddit firestorm), and the company fired popular Reddit staffer Victoria Taylor, who worked with site moderators, which set off another controversy.
On Friday, Pao announced she was leaving Reddit over disagreements with the board about the site’s growth, and Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman was ushered in as her permanent replacement. The following Monday, engineering chief Bethanye Blount tendered her resignation, telling Re/code she didn’t have faith that Reddit could follow through on promises being made publicly to the community.
All of that, in addition to the internecine drama among Redditors, will be hovering above the entire AMA. To help parse all that for you, here are three significant things to look for in Huffman’s discussion:
That Yishan Wong Comment
Yishan Wong is the Reddit CEO who was canned last year after the celebrity photo hack scandal that enveloped the site. In a reply to Huffman’s post, Wong said he was the one largely responsible for the current state of Reddit, because he didn’t foresee how toxic the community would become.
“Much of Reddit’s current condition is on me,” Wong wrote. “I didn’t anticipate what (some) Redditors would decide to do with freedom. Reddit has become a lot bigger — yes, a lot better — AND a lot worse. I have to take responsibility.”
Wong went on to defend Ellen Pao, saying she stood up to the board on multiple occasions when they called for her to outright ban all hate subreddits, and that she resisted because she knew how the community would respond. If what Wong says is true, it means that in helping to push Pao out, Redditors were the ones who inadvertently got rid of their best line of defense against people who want to shut down portions of the site.
Huffman may not reply directly to any of what Wong said, but he could have a tough time dancing around the idea that the community he wants to work with is the same community that the company’s leadership doesn’t think too highly of.
Backing Up Product Promises
When Reddit’s former VP of engineering, Bethanye Blount, left the company (less than two months after joining from Facebook), she did so because she didn’t think Reddit could deliver on the promises its leadership has making publicly.
The promises Blount referred to include Huffman’s stated commitment to beefing up moderating tools and Reddit board member Sam Altman’s interview with Wired in which he said the company should build tools to handle the hateful content problem. Blount didn’t think she had the ability to succeed on shipping this in an expedient way, and Huffman emailed Re/code to say that she is wrong.
He hasn’t given very specific details yet on what projects he plans to push out to execute his new content policy, and you can expect people will be clamoring for them.
Culture of Reddit
At its very core, almost every single Reddit controversy in the history of the company comes down to a question of the service’s user culture.
Why are people drawn to Reddit to start white supremacy or mens’ rights activism forums? Is the site architected in a way that gives these people extra power? How does focusing on technological tools address the fundamental creepiness that pervades the entire community?
Some say that Reddit’s failure to seriously engage with these questions means it is simply too toxic to be saved; you can’t solve nearly a decade’s worth of mismanaged content moderation with a sprint toward new tech capabilities. One of Huffman’s biggest tasks going forward will be to prove to advertisers that this isn’t so.
The company’s plan to spin off the site’s popular (and relatively drama-free) AMA subreddit into a separate entity from the rest of the service doesn’t seem like a real vote of confidence in the community. Wong’s comment suggests the board doesn’t care much for the community’s bleating about free speech, and their influence could be pushing co-founders Huffman and Alexis Ohanian to walk back that “free speech” rhetoric that has come to define Reddit throughout its existence.
Today will be Huffman’s first real opportunity to demonstrate how he wants to define Reddit going forward.Each week the DFF Army analyzes upcoming games, researches team injury reports and checks-in on any depth chart movement – all in an effort to offer you weekly start/sit recommendations. Our starts feature some under-owned, off-the-radar, sleeper-types week-in and week-out – and our sits feature more popular players that we think will underperform. While this is useful when setting your weekly lineups in your season long leagues, this can also be a valuable tool if you’re playing daily fantasy sports (DFS) as well. Follow along as Eric Iannaccone, Kyle August, Shaun Crandall, Josh Brickner, and myself bring you all the best start/sits so you don’t have to stress over lineup decisions.
Featured Starts
Case Keenum, QB, Minnesota Vikings
Strike while the iron is hot. Keenum has been a top 12 QB in each of his last three games, throwing for 280 yards or more and at least 1 TD in each game. The Lions’ defense has played an easy schedule lately, facing off against Trubisky, Kizer, and Hundley. They’ve consistently given up decent passing yardage totals, but have been a bit tougher versus passing TDs. With Thielen playing at an elite level, and Diggs being the “other guy,” Keenum is set-up to score some points against a less-than-tough D.
– Eric Iannaccone
DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans
It’s been a roller coaster year for Murray owners and we saw it again last week in primetime on Thursday Night Football against the Steelers. However, this week Murray and the Titans are heading to Indianapolis – a team that allowed 232 yards and two touchdowns to the Titans RB duo back in Week 6. I like Murray to bounce back this week against a defense that has also given up 8 or more fantasy points to an RB in standard leagues, each of the last six weeks. I think Murray tallies 100 total yards and hits pay dirt this week.
-Kyle August
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Kupp becomes a definite start option with the loss of Robert Woods. Over the last 2 weeks, Kupp has tallied 12 receptions and 111 yards with a touchdown off 14 total targets. The yardage isn’t appealing. However, the catches and a catch rate of 86% with more opportunities should push Kupp into WR2 territory. The Chargers face a New Orleans secondary who have historically been bad. However, this year they have done an excellent job against the likes of Mike Evans and Davante Adams, holding each to just one catch. Kupp will be the primary receiving option in a game that should see a plethora of points.
-Shaun Crandall
Vernon Davis, TE, Washington Redskins
As of this writing, all signs are pointing toward Jordan Reed being inactive for the Redskins on Thanksgiving against the Giants. When Jordan Reed is out of the Redskins starting lineup, Vernon Davis needs to be in your fantasy lineup. In four games this season where Reed was inactive, Davis has compiled 21 receptions, 273 yards, and a TD while averaging 13.5 PPR points per game. The 12-year NFL veteran could not ask for a friendlier matchup as the Giants bleed both production (59/752/10) and fantasy points (19 PPR per game) to the TE position on the season. Start Davis with confidence as Week 11 was the first game all season the Giants did not allow a TD to the opposing TE (but still gave up eight receptions for 108 yards to Travis Kelce).
-Josh Brickner
Defense/Special Teams
New England Patriots. The Pats defense started the year looking awful, and it looks like they have righted the ship coming out of the bye as they have been a stout defense since then. You know what else makes your defense look good? Jay Cutler (or Matt Moore too). The Dolphins are prone to turnovers and have thrown up quite a few awful offensive performances already this year. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a shutout with plenty of turnovers. -John Di Bari
Staff Starts
Eric Iannaccone
Running Back: Alfred Morris, Dallas Cowboys
Wide Receiver: Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans
Tight End: Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders
D/ST: Pittsburgh Steelers
Kyle August
Quarterback: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Wide Receiver: Mike Wallace, Baltimore Ravens
Tight End: Vernon Davis, Washington Redskins
D/ST: Cincinnati Bengals
Shaun Crandall
Quarterback: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Running Back: Alex Collins, Baltimore Ravens
Tight End: Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
D/ST: Tennessee Titans
Josh Brickner
Quarterback: Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals
Running Back: Samaje Perine, Washington Redskins
Wide Receiver: Marqise Lee, Jacksonville Jaguars
D/ST: Los Angeles Chargers
John Di Bari
Quarterback: Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
Running Back: Alfred Morris, Dallas Cowboys
Wide Receiver: Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills
Tight End: Vernon Davis, Washington Redskins
Featured Sits
Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
After a dud last week against the Vikings, the schedule doesn’t get any easier for Goff and the Rams. This week, they go up against a Saints’ defense that has been above average against the pass this. You may have seen Kirk Cousins put up big numbers this past weekend, but rookie sensation Marshon Lattimore didn’t play for much of the game and should be back for this game against Goff and the Rams. With Robert Woods out and Lattimore shutting down Watkins, Goff will have a hard time finding yards in this one.
– Eric Iannaccone
Adrian Peterson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
It’s done. It’s over. For all that is holy, please remove this man from your lineups, maybe even your rosters. I know, he’s ADRIAN PETERSON(!) and while we all enjoyed his mini-resurgence with the Cardinals, the man appears to be gassed. Over the past two weeks, Peterson has had a combined 35 carries for 55 yards. On top of that, the Cardinals are facing off against a Jacksonville defense that has given up a combined 76 rushing yards to the last three RB1s they have faced since coming off their bye week.
-Kyle August
Corey Coleman, WR, Cleveland Browns
Coleman made his return last week against Jacksonville and showed some of the promise the Browns were hopeful for when they selected him as the first wide receiver in the 2016 NFL Draft. Cleveland will be facing a Cincinnati team who performs well against the opposing team’s number one receiver and the Browns could be leading at certain points of the game, and potentially towards the end, which would certainly hinder Coleman as they turn to the run.
-Shaun Crandall
Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys
Without starting LT Tyron Smith and Pro Bowl RB Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys’ offense has been a shell of itself the last two games. With Smith’s status up in the air for Thanksgiving, I’m keeping all Dallas offensive players not named Dez Bryant firmly parked on my bench. While Witten did deliver a solid final stat line (5/79) against Philly in Week 11 thanks to garbage time, his matchup is downright brutal in Week 12. Not only do the Chargers give up the second-fewest fantasy points to tight ends, but they just held Charles Clay to 27 yards on three receptions in a game where the Bills trailed by 30+ points the entire 2nd half. Even if Smith starts on Turkey Day, I would still prefer players like Tyler Kroft (vs CLE) or Jared Cook (vs DEN) with better matchups over Witten.
-Josh Brickner
Defense/Special Teams
Denver Broncos. The Broncos defense has been getting torched lately – and this week, on the road against division rival Oakland, it might be the perfect storm. The Raiders need to get their act together on offense, and lately Denver has been the medicine for all that ails you. I see the Raiders pulling it together this week for a high profile intra-divisional matchup as Oakland takes advantage of the back-pedaling Broncos. -John Di Bari
Staff Sits
Eric Iannaccone
Running Back: Bilal Powell, New York Jets
Wide Receiver: Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
Tight End: Hunter Henry, Los Angeles Chargers
D/ST: Los Angeles Rams
Kyle August
Quarterback: Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
Wide Receiver: Marvin Jones, Detroit Lions
Tight End: Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons
D/ST: Houston Texans
Shaun Crandall
Quarterback: Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
Running Back: Orleans Darkwa, New York Giants
Tight End: Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills
D/ST: Denver Broncos
Josh Brickner
Quarterback: Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Running Back: Adrian Peterson, Arizona Cardinals
Wide Receiver: Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders
D/ST: Kansas City Chiefs
John Di Bari
Quarterback: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Running Back: Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions
Wide Receiver: Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
Tight End: Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
We hope you find this useful and we are always happy to interact on Twitter if you have any questions or concerns. Be sure to check out the rest of our weekly in-season content right here as we give you the tools and content to win every week of the season. Good luck this weekend!
On a far more important note… John DiBari’s family could really use your support right now. His wife Nikki has been diagnosed with cancer. A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the family during this difficult time. Please click this link to read Nikki’s story and think about donating.Hanna had once been one of the lead research professors for the University of Helsinki’s computer science department. She had personally directed research on artificial intelligence and machine learning. And then her funding source had...changed. There had been yelling and threats by both her and the University. They came to the agreement that she’d publish what she had researched so far and then pursue alternate opportunities.
Hofvarpnir Studios had developed a reputation for kid unfriendly material. Their main success, The Fall of Asgard, was an ultra-violent cooperative shooter where all the players fought a bloody territorial war against a very clever A.I. Loki. The box depicted a giant Norse man with an axe in mid swing; he was about to decapitate a snarling wolf. The game was famous for its dynamic death metal soundtrack which was never the same twice and reacted to the action. It was everything a parent didn’t want their children to play. It sold over eighteen million copies internationally and had made Hanna a rich woman.
Mr. Peterson had flown to Hofvarpnir’s offices in Berlin. He had introduced himself as “a vice president,” and proceeded to give a dry presentation on Hasbro’s current strategy. “Toy sales aren’t flat, but our stock isn’t going to double again like it did in the early 2000s if we only sell plastic to children. We have to adapt to the market and that means video games and IP licenses. Our previous forays into video games have been a bit disappointing, so we’re going to license the IP to people who have a track record for excellence,” he said, with contentless slides in the background.
Lars, the head of business development, sat in the conference room, dreaming of all of Hasbro’s juicy and profitable intellectual properties that they could license. Big brands like G.I. Joe and Transformers! Heck, if they also started making games based off movies based off board games like Battleship and Monopoly...
“So we want to license the My Little Pony franchise to you. It’s one of our most trending brands, and I think you guys could do a lot with it,” said Mr. Peterson. Lars turned to Hanna, the CEO, who looked intrigued. Mr. Peterson grinned. Silence fell across the conference room.
“Are you fucking serious?” Lars said, breaking the silence after he realized Hanna wasn’t going to jump in. “You see that statue in the corner?” He pointed to a a seven foot tall resin model of a blond muscular man. The man’s hair was wild, and his eyes glowed ice blue. He was wielding a giant battleaxe covered with dried blood and wore a wolfskin over his head. “That’s Vali. He’s one of the major characters in The Fall of Asgard, our ESRB M rated, PEGI 18+ rated, banned in Australia video game.” Lars crossed his arms, as if just pointing the man at the statue of Vali was a sufficient rebuke.
“I want to hear what Mr. Peterson has to say,” said Hanna. She flipped an unlit cigarette between her fingers. “Tell us, Mr. Peterson, why My Little Pony?”
Mr. Peterson grinned. “Please, call me Richard. You probably thought, ‘My Little Pony? That show for girls from the 80s?’ The demographic situation is way more complex than that. The first season just finished airing and we signed for a second season to air this fall as soon as we realized we hit this one out of the ballpark. Against all odds, the new My Little Pony reboot has picked up a massive, unmonetized, twenty-something mostly-male demographic along with the traditional little girl market. These men have money! And what do unattached males want?”
“Beer,” said Lars.
“Yes,” nodded Richard Peterson. “Single men want beer. But also video games! Hasbro wants an MMO because of the clear monetization model where we can collect rent on players each month. We have a rabid fanbase of a third of a million people who either post or consume fanart weekly. Worldwide, there are an additional million adult fans who don’t participate in the fandom. And that’s before we get into the original little girl demographic.”
“Asgard will soon break nineteen million copies. One and a half million worldwide is nothing,” groaned Lars.
“In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” said Richard, “the world is ruled by Princess Celestia, a physical deity who literally raises the sun in the morning. She’s shown to be benevolent and full of love for all of her little ponies. Each week, the little ponies adventure together and learn something about friendship. The ponies' actions are free of malice. I think that’s part of the show’s appeal to the older audiences; humans are bastards to each other. How many game studios are out there making friendly, cooperative games? The space marine thing is getting old, and if you took this IP, which is all about ponies being nice to each other, you would have a unique experience to sell. And any calculation should also throw in monthly subscription revenue on top of retail price.”
“We’re not cloning World of Warcraft,” said Lars firmly. “The MMO market is filled with the corpses of companies that tried to out-Warcraft World of Warcraft.”
“And Hasbro doesn’t want you to clone World of Warcraft, either. Most games that try to take on Warcraft modify the source IP to cram it into the Warcraft model of MMO. We want you to take the My Little Pony universe as is, and then come up with fun, cooperative gameplay, instead of making the ponies raid for epic gear. You wouldn’t be in the same market segment.”
“Let me guess: you choose us because of our procedural content technologies,” mused Hanna.
“Yes! The big costs in MMO development are mostly content generation and you sidestepped that. Asgard featured dynamic terrain generation, dynamic music and dynamic mission generation. Hofvarpnir Studios doesn’t sell experiences, it sells software that makes new experiences each time. You guys have procedurally generated content down to a science.
“But that’s not all!” said Richard, staring directly at Hanna. He opened his briefcase, pulled out a thick stack of papers and slid them across the table to Hanna. “General Word Reference Intelligence Systems. I read all of it except for chapter 4. I’m slightly ashamed to admit I couldn’t follow the math,” he said, giving a slightly embarrassed grin. “This bears minimal resemblance to the AI stuff in Asgard. I wonder why you didn’t use it. So each episode ends with the ponies writing a letter to Princess Celestia and it’d be great if we could have players do that too! You could build a Princess Celest-A.I.!"
The conference room was quiet for a few moments. Lars decided to break the silence. “That’s all great, but you’re asking us to take a lot of risk,” he said. “I’m not convinced that we’d get enough uptake to make it worth our time.”
“We know this project is slightly risky. You screw this up? Fine. We’ve already made more than we were projecting on the franchise reboot. But My Little Pony looks like that one hand you go all in on. It has a sizable, growing fanbase. You wouldn’t have any competitors. You’d have a new revenue model. You play your cards right, and the size of the pot is going to be crazy. Hasbro believes in this brand and we believe in you. We’ll shoulder up to ten million dollars of the development costs upfront, and you’ll only have to start paying that back once you’ve made four million in profit.
“I really believe in the My Little Pony brand. I personally believe that you are going to make something amazing when Hofvarpnir Studios signs this contract,” said Richard firmly. “You have a lot of unique technology here, Hanna. I can’t wait to see how you use it. You have my word that the contract we present to you will have very favorable terms for you.”
The conference room was quiet again. Lars wasn’t looking at anything in particular; his scowl was undirected. Hanna stuck the unlit cigarette in her mouth and stood up. “Mr. Peterson, I need to privately converse with my business associate here. We will be back in a few minutes.”
Lars angrily followed Hanna out the door. Hanna confidently moved down the hallway, and lit up the second she was through the door to her private office. She breathed in, held it, and slowly exhaled.
“Dammit Hanna! Would it kill you to not light up for half-a-fucking-hour? A lot of Americans kind of have a thing against smoking.”
Still standing, she took another pull. “Nicotine is a performance enhancing stimulant. It boosts reaction time, IQ and general memory performance. I need all the help I can get right now.” She gave a small cough. “Too bad about the increased incidence of lung cancer, though. Besides, what do you care? It sounds like you’re strongly against making a My Little Pony video game.”
“I can’t believe you’re seriously considering this,” Lars stated.
Hanna sat down at her desk. “Do you remember the first pass for Loki in Asgard?” She took another deep pull on her cigarette and exhaled. “I remember how we used my general intelligence work, sans self-modification, to power his tactics reasoning. He was too good. Nobody could beat him. We were prepared to launch like that since it conformed to the machismo warrior death bullshit we wanted. And then Loki started asking about the various military programs of the United States and China. We didn’t even have to argue about whether we should pull the plug on him.”
“Hanna,” Lars started.
“We can’t do another violent video game. We won’t be able to ship a safe AI if we make its purpose killing people. Somewhere out there is a US military subcontractor with most of my work, trying to build smart drones. They have no fucking clue what they’re dealing with, and those idiots at the university are accessories to whatever happens if we don’t do something.” Hanna paused again to take another drag. “They’ll kill us all. We could sit here on the side lines, losing our blinds as we sit out each hand and lose everything, or we could take Hasbro’s offer. While it’s not what he meant, this is the hand for me to go all in on.”
“I don’t like this. He’s offering ten million upfront. That’s next to nothing! The original World of Warcraft cost something like sixty million.”
“And unlike Blizzard, we don’t need an army of artists and level designers. Most of our content will be computer generated. I remember having this same discussion with you back when we were developing Asgard. Besides, Hofvarpnir is privately owned--by me--and I will use my fortune as I see fit.”
“He’s hiding something from us. He is up to something.”
“Perhaps,” she said after another puff. “But I can’t ignore opportunities. How often do you think someone will come to us asking for a prosocial video game? We can take this opportunity or we can turn it down, but the US Department of Defense will continue their research...my research.”
“What if you’re wrong that some weapons company is toying with your artificial intelligence designs?” asked Lars. “What if you’re wrong about the possibility of an A.I. becoming smarter than us? Wrong about everything?”
“I’m not a unique and beautiful snowflake; some other researcher will continue my work.” Hanna took another pull from her cigarette. “You saw Loki. Just from talking to the playtesters, he figured out that he was in a virtual world and figured out who the main world powers were. He was designed from the beginning to conquer. Even if he couldn’t modify himself, he would have been a serious menace to humanity if he could command resources in the real world. And I was told point blank that my research would be used for military applications...and then told who exactly had been funding my research. Lying to me wasn’t in their best interest, so it’s likely the truth.”
“But there’s still a chance. They could have lied to you, and you could be wrong about how dangerous AI is.”
“I started taking...” Hanna stopped and contemplated the burning cigarette in her hand. “...performance enhancing drugs with long term health consequences because I think it’s more likely that I’ll be around in twenty years if I do take them. I’m putting more than my money on the line here, Lars.”
She knocked ash off her cigarette into the ash tray. “We don’t have perfect information. We can’t wait for perfect information. There is uncertainty and we must make decisions with the information we have, even if it’s incomplete. If I’m wrong, this is still going to be a profitable venture for us just because of the terms we’re being offered.”
“Opportunity cost,” said Lars.
She ignored him. “And if I'm right, we're going to literally save the world, Lars. Besides, if some VP can see that I was publishing about general AI, so could pretty much anyone,” she said as she exhaled more smoke.
“I know you had your eye on the Transformers rights. And I’m sorry that we’ve been handed part of my childhood and not yours. But this is an opportunity for you, too! You are building a business relationship with the company who owns the IP you love. By completing this contract successfully, they are more likely to give us more work with other properties.”
Lars looked at her. She was exhaling a puff of smoke and he suppressed the urge to cough. “If he sneaks any shit into the contract and you still take it, I am walking. I don’t trust him, Hanna. I can’t place my finger on why. But...sure. You’re the boss and I know I can’t talk you out of this.”The West’s dominant prescription toward the crisis of war-torn regions and the destabilizing refugee flow that has followed is to have more “regime change,” particularly in Syria. But the reality is that the West’s fondness for violent “regime change” is the core reason for the refugees, says James Paul.
By James Paul
The huge flow of refugees into Europe has created a political crisis in the European Union, especially in Germany, where neo-Nazi thugs battle police almost daily and fire-bombings of refugee housing have alarmed the political establishment. There is also the wider crisis in the EU over which countries will take in refuges and how many.
The public has been horrified by refugee drownings in the Mediterranean, deaths in trucks and railway tunnels, thousands of children and families, caught in the open, facing border fences and violence from security forces. Religious leaders call for tolerance, while EU politicians wring their hands and wonder how they can solve the issue with new rules and more money.
Meanwhile, the refugee flow has been increasing rapidly, with no end in sight. The German government has estimated that it will take in 800,000 asylum-seekers during 2015. The overall flow into Europe for the year will probably be well above a million. Germany and Sweden are the main destinations.
Fences cannot contain the desperate multitudes. A few billion euros in economic assistance to the countries of origin, recently proposed by the Germans, are unlikely to buy away the problem. Only a clear understanding of the origins of the crisis can lead to an answer, but European leaders do not want to touch this hot wire and expose their own culpability. In the U.S., there is little sensible analysis either.
The migrants coming to Europe are mostly fleeing conflicts. The data on origins make that clear. The migrants are coming primarily from Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and Pakistan in the Middle East, and to a lesser extent from Eritrea, Somalia and Nigeria in Africa. These are all countries with vicious conflicts conflicts that (with the exception of Nigeria) began with Western military intervention, direct or indirect and continued to be fueled by intervention In Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia the intervention was very direct. In Syria, Pakistan and Eritrea, it has been less direct but very clear nonetheless.
The term “regime change refugees” helps focus on where the primary responsibility lies. It changes an empty conversation in the direction of reality. Official discourse in Europe and the United States frames the civil wars and economic turmoil in terms of fanaticism, corruption, dictatorship, economic failures and other causes for which Western governments and publics believe they have no responsibility.
The Western leaders and media stay silent about the military intervention and regime change, interventions that have torn the refugees’ homelands apart and resulted in civil war, state collapse and extremely violent conditions lasting for long periods.
Some European leaders, the French in particular, are arguing in favor of further military intervention in these war-torn lands on their periphery as a way to “do something” and (ironically) “end the violence.” Overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears to be popular among the policy classes in Paris, who choose to ignore how counter-productive their overthrow of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi was just a short time ago and how counter-productive has been their clandestine support in Syria for the Islamist rebels.
The intensive Western bombing campaign in Syria (now joined by France), aimed in theory at the forces of the Islamic State, are killing many civilians and further destabilizing the war-ravaged country.
The aggressive nationalist beast in the heart of the political class of Europe and the United States is ready to engage in more military adventures. These leaders are not ready to learn the lesson, or to beware the “blowback” from future interventions. This is why we need to look closely at the “regime change” angle, to beware upcoming proposals for more intervention, and to increase public resistance to further war. It is clear enough that the crisis of migration and war has been “Made in Europe” and “Made in USA.”
Author of Syria Unmasked, James Paul was executive director of Global Policy Forum, a think tank that monitors the UN.Although UFOs are no longer the fringe topic they once were, the official campaign of secrecy and ridicule against their becoming public kno...
http://humansarefree.com/2017/10/document-shows-cia-recruited-top.html
Although UFOs are no longer the fringe topic they once were, the official campaign of secrecy and ridicule against their becoming public knowledge, as described by former CIA director Roscoe Hillenkoetter, is still in effect.
The Sturrock Panel
Recent episodes of Bill Nye ’s new show, for example, openly ridiculing UFOs on national television, make this clear. The close relationship the CIA holds with the media is clearly at play here.A wise person once said that “condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance,” and that is no less true when it comes to UFOs, a field so full of witness testimony and hard evidence that it’s a wonder mainstream media can still avoid covering it.How anybody can still deny the existence of UFOs when the world’s brightest minds have been actively studying the phenomenon and the evidence available for decades is a mystery. Indeed, intelligence agencies like the CIA are recruiting the world’s top scientists to do so. For example, a declassified secret document discovered in the CIA’s own electronic reading room titled a “Telephone Conversation With Dr. John A. Wheeler” shows how the agency was trying to |
demanding change. They feel Jeff Jarrett and his booking team are leading TNA to disaster and are demanding a change. Currently, Jeff Jarrett sets the “big picture” agenda for the company while Vince Russo and Dutch Mantell write the scripts and fill in the blanks.
While Jeff Jarrett has a long standing business relationship with Dixie Carter and her father Bob, it is believed that the star power of the men who called the meeting is significant enough to make their case heard. Both Kurt and Karen Angle have also grown close to Dixie Carter and her husband in recent months.
10/16/2007
* WWE has come to terms on the release of WWE Superstar Booker T and WWE Diva Sharmell as of October 27. We wish both Booker & Sharmell he best in all their future endeavors.
* WWE has come to terms on the release of Raw Superstar Shawn Daivari. We wish Daivari the best in all his future endeavors.
10/17/2007
* TNA is currently in talks with former WCW World Heavyweight Champion David Arquette about joining the promotion. Arquette is suddenly interested in joining TNA. He called Jonny Fairplay, who has nothing to do with TNA these days, and asked him if Fairplay could be his manager. However, Fairplay isn’t really interested in doing anything with pro wrestling these days because he has other things on the table.
10/18/2007
* Apparently, Karen Angle “made a spectacle of herself” at the party thrown by Spike TV in celebration of the first two hour Impact taping last month. Whatever she did at the party, it removed some of the internal luster over the Angle family among many people in TNA.
10/19/2007
* Vince McMahon has a history of singling people out backstage and embarrassing them in front of other wrestlers. Last Monday when Shawn Michaels was the target of Vince’s juvenile behavior, it blew up in Vince’s face and left even Stephanie McMahon speechless.
Despite the fact that Shawn Michaels returned to WWE a month ahead of schedule, he still has heat with Vince. Shawn made it clear before he returned that he wants more control over his schedule. He won’t be doing any overseas tours and will work a somewhat reduced schedule so he can spend more time with his family.
When Shawn showed up to RAW last Monday for the first time since his injury, Vince started “chewing him out” in front of the lockerroom. He made fun of Shawn’s attitude and his clothing, among other things. To the surprise of everybody, HBK fired back at Vince and put him in his place. Shawn made it very clear to Vince in front of everybody that he won’t be disrespected by anybody or treated like a rookie.
The wrestlers were shocked that somebody finally stood up to one of Vince’s tirades. According to our source, nobody was more shocked than Stephanie McMahon. Witnesses were reportedly amused that Shawn humbled Vince in front of everybody. The McMahons are not necessarily disliked by the roster but this definitely brought Vince down off his high horse.
Shawn and Vince have had a volatile relationship for well over a decade. There is no indication that this incident will have any ramifications on Shawn’s WWE status.
10/20/2007
* TNA President Dixie Carter let her hair down at the Spike TV party thrown in celebration of the first two-hour Impact taping last month. She partied with the wrestlers, and eye-witnesses say, “navel shots” were being done between her and various wrestlers. Many thought her behavior was unbecoming of the TNA President, but others thought it showed that she wasn’t too uptight and that she was willing to let loose around the wrestlers.
10/21/2007
* The primary promoter of the WrestleFanFest convention held at the Cow Palace in San Francisco this weekend, Chris Salsbury, fled away from the hotel everyone was staying at due to a confrontation with Scott Steiner. At one point, Salbury locked himself in his room. Salsbury has been hard to get an audience with all weekend according to numerous people who have had business dealings with him. At the moment, no one knows where he is and if he’ll pop up again. Furthermore, there’s concern about the checks he gave a number of the talents not clearing.
10/23/2007
* Stephanie McMahon was said to be very upset at the No Mercy pay-per-view a few weeks ago over leaks linking Chris Jericho to the SAVE_US viral marketing campaign. Stephanie, like everyone else in the company, wanted to keep the return a surprise. She was so upset that she wanted to run all of the company cell phone records of the Creative Team as well as do a forensic check on their computers and emails.
Of course this is not the first time this has happened as it is always extremely hard to find the person responsible for leaking information. According to a report, several of the Creative Team members were making excessive phone calls from their company cell phones, and got yelled at for it. There have been added frustrations as of late amongst the writers in WWE as they had to completely re-write the No Mercy pay-per-view one week before the show due to John Cena’s severe injury. The Creative Team did not feel it was fair that they received the blame for the Jericho leak.
In reaction to the most recent leak, Stephanie McMahon is calling for tighter restrictions on Creative Team members. According to Dave Meltzer, Stephanie wants to specially state in the contract of Creative Team members that they do not possess any ownership to their ideas and are not allowed to speak out in public on them. She also wants their contracts to stipulate that they cannot share their ideas once they have left the company or talk about the impressions of talent or anyone they met while working for World Wrestling Entertainment.
10/24/2007
* If you watched the WWE.com video of medical staff attending to Candice Michelle backstage at Monday’s RAW than you probably noticed Candice asking for some water. In the video you can clearly hear Stephanie McMahon say “let her drink” as she tries to give Candice a drink. Candice takes a sip and starts to gag and begins to panic. One doctor that I talked to said that giving a pre-hospital patient any water is a big no-no and that thirst is one of the signs and symptoms of a spinal injury. If you watched RAW on Monday you may have noticed that they tried to give Candice water in the ring as well, obviously not realizing the severity of her injury.
10/26/2007
* Brock Lesnar took part in UFC’s big media conference call yesterday afternoon and had a lot to say. Here’s what Brock said:
– Brock Lesnar’s UFC debut will take place on February 2nd, “Superbowl Saturday”. When asked who he wants to fight first, Lesnar said he’ll leave that decision for Dana White.
– “Pro wrestling is fake.. this is the real deal”. He is thrilled to be out of WWE because “he’s still alive”. Ouch.
– He’s been considering MMA since 2000. He said he jumped at WWE’s six figure deal right out of college, but had been thinking about MMA prior to that.
– He’s very excited to be in UFC. This is a major opportunity and he will rise to the occasion.
– Brock is very excited to make a name for himself in the MMA world. This is not a joke for him – he trains daily and plans to come in at 150%. He’s not setting himself up for a defeat. That’s not in his vocabulary.
– UFC fighters better take him seriously. He has an awesome ground game obviously and guys who train with him say he’s very good. Dana White put him over as a former amateur wrestler and NFL star.
– Overall, Lesnar came off as very confident. We’ll find out on February 2nd if he’s the real deal.
10/28/2007
* While Sting’s TNA contract is expiring at the end of the year, the chances of him ending up in WWE are not very good. Sting has had the chance to sign a deal with WWE for several years now and has never been able to agree on a contract. One of the main reasons that Sting is reluctant to sign with WWE is the fact that he does not want to have to go on the road so much and that is what has made TNA so attractive to him.
10/29/2007
* Kelly Kelly did not get breast enhancement surgery. Her Halloween Costume was just one that accentuated her assets nicely.
10/31/2007
* One of the reasons that may have delayed Chris Jericho’s return from WWE are issues regarding his weight. According to some people that I’ve talked to, Jericho weighed no more than 200 pounds when he agreed to his new WWE contract. WWE obviously would like to see him put on more size to protect himself from injury as well as give him a more marketable look.
– Tune back in next time for more Dirt Sheet History as we continue 2007.
Stories are credited from Rajah, PWTorch, PWInsider and The Wrestling Observer. Month name photo art is by Phillip Martin.
Past editions of Dirt Sheet History are found here.Thousands of Ethiopians are being relocated or have already fled as their land is sold off to foreign investors without their consent
Ethiopia's leasing of 600,000 hectares (1.5m acres) of prime farmland to Indian companies has led to intimidation, repression, detentions, rapes, beatings, environmental destruction, and the imprisonment of journalists and political objectors, according to a new report.
Research by the US-based Oakland Institute suggests many thousands of Ethiopians are in the process of being relocated or have fled to neighbouring countries after their traditional land has been handed to foreign investors without their consent. The situation is likely to deteriorate further as companies start to gear up their operations and the government pursues plans to lease as much as 15% of the land in some regions, says Oakland.
In a flurry of new reports about global "land grabbing" this week, Oxfam said on Thursday that investors were deliberately targeting the weakest-governed countries to buy cheap land. The 23 least-developed countries of the world account for more than half the thousands of recorded deals completed between 2000 and 2011, it said. Deals involving approximately 200m ha of land are believed to have been negotiated, mostly to the advantage of speculators and often to the detriment of communities, in the past few years.
In what is thought to be one of the first "south-south" demonstrations of concern over land deals, this week Ethiopian activists came to Delhi to urge Indian investors and corporations to stop buying land and to actively prevent human rights abuses being committed by the Ethiopian authorities.
"The Indian government and corporations cannot hide behind the Ethiopian government, which is clearly in violation of human rights laws," said Anuradha Mittal, director of the Oakland Institute. "Foreign investors must conduct impact assessments to avoid the adverse impacts of their activities."
Ethiopian activists based in UK and Canada warned Indian investors that their money was at risk. "Foreign investors cannot close their eyes. When people are pushed to the edge they will fight back. No group knows this better than the Indians", said Obang Metho, head of grassroots social justice movement Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), which claims 130,000 supporters in Ethiopia and elsewhere.
Speaking in Delhi, Metho said: "Working with African dictators who are stealing from the people is risky, unsustainable and wrong. We welcome Indian investment but not [this] daylight robbery. These companies should be accountable under Indian law."
Nyikaw Ochalla, director of the London-based Anywaa Survival Organisation, said: "People are being turned into day labourers doing backbreaking work while living in extreme poverty. The government's plans... depend on tactics of displacement, increased food insecurity, destitution and destruction of the environment."
Ochall, who said he was in daily direct contact with communities affected by "land grabbing" across Ethiopia, said the relocations would only add to hunger and conflict.
"Communities that have survived by fishing and moving to higher ground to grow maize are being relocated and say they are now becoming dependent on government for food aid. They are saying they will never leave and that the government will have to kill them. I call on the Indian authorities and the public to stop this pillage."
Karuturi Global, the Indian farm conglomerate and one of the world's largest rose growers, which has leased 350,000 ha in Gambella province to grow palm oil, cereals maize and biofuel crops for under $1.10 per hectare per year, declined to comment. A spokesman said: "This has nothing to do with us."
Ethiopia has leased an area the size of France to foreign investors since 2008. Of this, 600,000 ha has been handed on 99-year leases to 10 large Indian companies. Many smaller companies are believed to have also taken long leases. Indian companies are said to be investing about $5bn in Ethiopian farmland, but little is expected to benefit Ethiopia directly. According to Oakland, the companies have been handed generous tax breaks and incentives as well as some of the cheapest land in the world.
The Ethiopian government defended its policies. "Ethiopia needs to develop to fight poverty, increase food supplies and improve livelihoods and is doing so in a sustainable way," said a spokeswoman for the government in London. She pointed out that 45% of Ethiopia's 1.14m sq km of land is arable and only 15% is in use.
The phenomenon of Indian companies "grabbing" land in Africa is an extension of what has happened in the last 30 years in India itself, said Ashish Kothari, author of a new book on the growing reach of Indian businesses.
"In recent years the country has seen a massive transfer of land and natural resources from the rural poor to the wealthy. Around 60 million people have been displaced in India by large scale industrial developments. Around 40% of the people affected have been indigenous peoples," he said.
These include dams, mines, tourist developments, ports, steel plants and massive irrigation schemes.
According to Oakland, the Ethiopian "land rush" is part of a global phenomenon that has seen around 200m ha of land leased or sold to foreign investors in the past three years.
The sales in Africa, Latin America and Asia have been led by farm conglomerates, but are backed by western hedge and pension funds, speculators and universities. Many Middle East governments have backed them with loans and guarantees.
Barbara Stocking, the chief executive of Oxfam, which is holding a day of action against land grabs on Thursday, called on the World Bank to temporarily freeze all land investments in large scale agriculture to ensure its policies did not encourage land grabs.
"Poor governance allows investors to secure land quickly and cheaply for profit. Investors seem to be cherry-picking countries with weak rules and regulations because they are easy targets. This can spell disaster for communities if these deals result in their homes and livelihoods being grabbed."
Oxfam will be placing huge "Sold" signs on the Sydney harbour bridge, the Lincoln memorial in Washington and the Colosseum in Rome to mark its action day.
• This article was amended on 11 February 2013 to correct the figure given for the area of Ethiopia. The original said 1.14m sq miles. This has been corrected to say 1.14m sq km.On Monday, the Mountain West held meetings to discuss what schools would be placed in what divisions for the upcoming 2013 football season. The league came to an agreement, and made the announcement on Tuesday with the very simple division names: Mountain and West.
Air Force Falcons
Boise St. Broncos
Colorado St. Rams
New Mexico Lobos
Utah State Aggies
Wyoming Cowboys
Fresno St. Bulldogs
Hawaii Warriors
Nevada Wolf Pack
San Diego St. Aztecs
San Jose St. Spartans
UNLV Rebels
I get why the divisions are named Mountain and West, and while it is not all that confusing. It might have been better to go with Mountain and Pacific, as we suggested on the site, or even East and West. Overall, it is not a bad name for divisions, and certainly is better than Legends and Leaders of the Big Ten, or the Coastal and Atlantic for the ACC.
Other news that came out from the meetings is that there will be an eight-game conference schedule; five division games and three cross-over games. This makes sense to help accommodate Air Force who already plays Army and Navy each year. Plus it does not guarantee and extra loss by going to a nine-game league schedule; the Mountain West needs all the bowl eligible teams it can get.
One last note is that the championship game will be held on Saturday Dec. 7, 2013, and will be hosted at the highest rated team in the BCS standings. As for 2014 and beyond when a playoff is up and running, there is no word on what metric will be used.
As for basketball, there will be no divisional format, and both there will be an 18-game league schedule.While not everyone who owns an Android device roots, the Android modding community is at the very heart of everything we love about our little green buddy. Security researcher Dan Rosenberg recently gave a presentation where he elaborates on root and modding methods, as well as expounding on the security implications of modding Android phones.
Rosenberg also had quite a lot to say about how carriers influence the Android landscape. Said Rosenberg:
"Of the 10 vulnerabilities that I discovered and used for rooting on Android, 9 of them are related to "stupid" file permissioning not present in the stock Android code, but introduced by the manufacturers"
This won't come as any surprise to anyone who's not fond of carrier skins. It does raise many interesting questions, though. If most root exploits come from carrier skins, and one of the biggest reasons to root is to install custom ROMs, which are frequently based on stock, is it even worth it to carriers to try to prevent users from switching ROMs? We're told that carriers prevent rooting via methods like locked bootloaders to make phones more secure, yet a large number of root vulnerabilities are being found in carrier code.
He went on to explain that relatively harmless root vulnerabilities are patched much more quickly than real security bugs. This only furthers the idea that custom skins are hurting consumers at least as much as helping them, if not more. One can hope that carriers might consider a less invasive approach to adding their own branding and value to handsets, similar to how Google uncoupled many of their stock apps from the OS so they can be updated independently.
Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?
Source: SecureList (Slides)The Business Journals recently published a study on possible destination cities for NHL teams looking to relocate. The authors of the study used a methodology solely based on available personal income, and the results were good for a chuckle among many NHL fans.
Riverside, Calif. was ranked first while Atlanta, home to the freshly-departed Thrashers, was ranked 11th. But the biggest surprise was Honolulu, Hawaii ranked 15th, prompting Yahoo's Greg Wyshynski to laugh about the fact that all of these markets were ranked higher than 31st-ranked Quebec City.
While income is a key to finding a new market, and one of the primary reasons I believe Winnipeg will be the worst market in the NHL should the Canadian dollar lose steam, it's not the only factor. The other major fiscal consideration for new markets is corporate strength. I've discussed corporate strength when looking at the top markets available to the NHL and while Houston, Las Vegas and Hartford (numbers two, four and eight respectively) do extremely well by that measure, Honolulu does not.
Setting aside weather, distance and lack of a hockey culture, the fiscal weakness is the major factor in undermining the market as a whole. The state of Hawaii is home to exactly zero Fortune 500 companies, meaning any team in Honolulu would lack major corporate sponsors, placing enormous financial stress on any perspective owner, as well as a roster of smaller, local companies.
But what if? What if, for example, Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar, a resident of Honolulu, got it in his head that he was going to bring a hockey team to Hawaii? Could he acquire a team? What impact would that have on the city? What about the NHL?
Given the lack of corporate support in the area, it would take someone with billions to bring a team to Hawaii. Omidyar would be the ideal owner. He's connected to America's 50th state through a series of charities and is committed to improving the quality of life for all Hawaiians, and what better way to do that than to bring major league professional sports to the islands?
Conveniently, the New York Islanders need a new home. Omidyar has the assets to purchase the franchise from Charles Wang and move the team 4,980 miles west to Honolulu. It's a match made in heaven; so perfect, in fact, that the franchise wouldn't have to be renamed.
The personal flag of Kamehameha, the conqueror of the Hawaiian Islands, comes to life on the Islanders' road sweaters.
Honolulu does not have an arena suitable for an NHL team, so Omidyar would need to do what Wang could not --convince the local and state government to open up their wallets and build him an ice palace. The ideal location for a new arena would likely be Honolulu's Kaka'ako district, a mixed use neighborhood, sandwiched downtown Honolulu and Waikiki. The arena would be a tropical paradise, replete with palm trees and water, much like Jobing.com Arena, pictured above. The ice in the arena shouldn't be a concern -- Honolulu's temperatures are very similar to those in south Florida, but the area is significantly less humid than Miami.
As I mentioned above, corporate sponsorships are going to be hard to come by on the Islands, especially when compared with mainland teams in large metropolitan areas. Without any enormous corporations, Omidyar's management team would have to work hard towards bringing companies like Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaii Electric, Hawaiian Airlines and Alexander & Baldwin into the fold in a significant financial manner. It could be a tough sell.
On the other hand, the Islanders would have one significant advantage compared to their mainland opponents -- hockey tourism. The Florida Panthers tried something along these lines, but the Islanders could do this on a much larger scale, especially to Canadian fans and those American fans in Chicago, Washington, Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Honolulu's temperatures hover in the low 80s throughout the winter and the humidity remains in check. The ability to offer extremely attractive ticket prices on high-end seats or loge box-type seating combined with a winter vacation could attract a significant number of snow bird visitors.
Hawaii's 50th anniversary stamp inspires their alternate sweaters.
Locally, there are a few issues to overcome. The city of Honolulu, through it's development authority, and the state of Hawaii, through direct contributions and favorable tax treatments, have already contributed to a significant number of projects meant to revitalize Honolulu, especially in Kaka'ako. Is there enough money left for a project the size of a new arena? Is there enough political will to do so? If so, a new arena would be a done deal.
One of the primary criticisms from northern neighbors towards southern markets has been a lack of hockey culture. Honolulu has none of this culture whatsoever, and organized hockey is non-existent. There aren't enough snowbirds in Canada and the U.S. to generate enough season ticket sales or ticket sales in general, so the Islanders would have a long, steep fight to build a base in the state. Hawaii has no local dedicated sports channel, so the Islanders have no easy or immediate broadcasters and would likely have to go with a local affiliate station as a broadcasting partner.
Moving the Islanders from Uniondale to Honolulu would have a profound effect on the NHL. Coupled with the Thrashers move to Winnipeg, the two moves would re-shape league alignment. Both teams would move to the Western Conference, and a divisional shuffle would follow.
Western Conference Central Northwest Pacific Chicago Calgary Anaheim Dallas Colorado Hawaii Detroit Edmonton Los Angeles Minnesota Vancouver Phoenix St. Louis Winnipeg San Jose
The Islanders would move to the Pacific Division and the Jets to the Northwest. The Islanders would force the Stars to move back to the Central Division and the Jets would force the Wild to do the same.
Two teams moving westward forces two existing Western Conference teams to move to the Eastern Conference.
Eastern Conference Atlantic Northeast Southeast Columbus Boston Carolina New Jersey Buffalo Florida New York Montreal Nashville Philadelphia Ottawa Tampa Bay Pittsburgh Toronto Washington
The arrival of Dallas and Minnesota to the Central Division pushes the Predators to the Southeast and the Blue Jackets to the Atlantic. The only division left untouched is the Northeast.
The biggest impact on the league would be the additional travel miles for each NHL team. In 2011-12, the Los Angeles Kings will travel more than any other team at 55,600 miles, but Honolulu is 2,500 miles away from Los Angeles. As a result, if the NHL were to keep the scheduling methodology they currently use, the Islanders would travel over 100,000 miles every year.
The NHL would have to overhaul the scheduling process in order to reduce travel miles for the franchise, but the only other option is baseball-like road trips -- 12-14 games away from home at a time, followed by the same amount for a corresponding homestand. Even with the weather, the beaches and the girls, no free agent in his right mind would want to travel that much, putting the Islanders at a severe competitive disadvantage.
Honolulu sets up quite well for a league with a leisurely pace and an easier schedule like the NFL, not for a league where teams play multiple times per week in multiple time zones.
Though it's a fun mental exercise, it can't work. Travel would be a logistical nightmare and prevent the franchise from attracting free agents and competing. Travel costs for the rest of the league would soar and jet lag would become an unfair home ice advantage for the Islanders at home and the opponent on the road. The local business climate isn't strong enough to support a franchise, and the only way a team would remain viable is through revenue sharing and an owner willing to lose millions year in and year out.
Even though there is a wealth of available personal income, there aren't enough other factors to support a team in Honolulu. Besides, when it comes down to it, the NHL already has an ideal relocation destination.
Special thanks to Puck Drawn for the sweater template.Sn0wbreeze 2.4 is now available for Windows users to jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 running on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad and iPod touch. Just like PwnageTool for Mac, Sn0wbreeze jailbreak is also tethered for all devices, which means you will have to boot into a jailbroken state every time you reboot your device.
For Mac users, we have already covered extensive tutorials on how to jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 using PwnageTool:
Note:
Sn0wbreeze 2.4 supports Ultrasn0w unlock for basebands (01.59.00 / 04.26.08 / 05.11.07 / 05.12.01 / 05.13.04 / 06.15.00)
ultrasn0w is NOT compatible with the folllowing basebands (02.10.04 / 03.10.01 / 04.10.01 / 05.14.02 / 05.15.04)
iPhone 3GS users can upgrade to 06.15.00 baseband now under Unlocks section in Expert.
Upgrading your iPhone 3GS baseband to the 06.15.00 iPad baseband hack to unlock MAY cause you to lose your GPS!
There is NO unlock for the stock iOS 4.3.1 yet. If your iPhone relies on a unlock, DO NOT update to stock iOS 4.3.1 yet.
Sn0wbreeze is a tethered iOS 4.3.1 jailbreak for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Creating Custom iOS 4.3.1 Firmware On Windows
i) Download all things required for this tutorial: Download and install iTunes 10.2.1 for Windows, Download Sn0wbreeze 2.4 for Windows and Download iOS 4.3.1 for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
ii) Run Sn0wbreeze and click next button (that is a blue colored arrow as shown in the screenshot below).
iii) At this point, Sn0wbreeze asks you to browse for the.ipsw firmware file. Point it to the iOS 4.3.1 firmware that you downloaded in Step i.
iv) Sn0wbreeze will take some time to identify the selected IPSW file. When it’s done ( see the second screenshot below), just proceed to the next step by clicking the blue next button.
v) When the following screenshot appears, click “Expert Mode” or, if your iPhone needs to be unlocked too, click “Baseband Preservation Mode” instead… and then click “Build IPSW” on the next screen.
Sn0wbreeze will cook the custom firmware now. You can play PacMan instead of sitting idle.
vi) When Sn0wbreeze is done with everything, you will see the following screen.
vii) Next screen will show you how to enter your device in DFU mode. Just follow the instructions.
Sn0wbreeze will popup the following message when your device is entered in DFU mode successfully.
Restore iOS 4.3.1 Custom Firmware Using iTunes
Step viii) After running iTunes, open your iOS device by clicking the icon that appears in the sidebar. Press and hold Left “Shift” button on the keyboard and click on “Restore” button ( see the screenshot below).
Point the file browser to the custom iOS 4.3.1 file that you have recently modified with Sn0wbreeze.
Step ix) iTunes will do the rest for you. It will restore the selected firmware on your iOS device. Once done, your iOS device will be jailbroken to iOS 4.3.1.
Booting in Tethered Mode
The jailbreak is tethered so to make it untethered we will use “iBooty” as shown in the steps below:
Step x) After running Sn0wbreeze 2.4, iBooty is extracted to the desktop. Run it and choose your iOS device from the dropdown menu.
Step ix) Just click “Start” and iBooty will ask you to enter your device in DFU mode. You can follow the on screen instructions for that.
Step x) When your device enters DFU mode, iBooty will do the required work and you iOS device will reboot to jailbroken state running iOS 4.3.1.
You can follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fanpage to keep yourself updated on all the latest iPhone jailbreaking and unlocking releases.
Related StoriesLast week, televangelist Jim Bakker recounted a recent discussion he had with God about the state of the presidential race. God, Bakker said, hinted to him that the polls showing Donald Trump trailing Hillary Clinton are wrong: “I said, ‘God, what’s going on?’ I said, ‘It looks like Trump’s not gonna make it the way it’s going.’ And do you want to know what God said to me? He said, ‘You know, the polls could be wrong.’”
Bakker reported that God told him that Trump voters live in fear of anti-Trump “hatemongers” and as a result are reluctant to express their support for the GOP presidential nominee to pollsters.
“He said, ‘The people are in fear in this country, the church is in fear,’” Bakker recalled, “and he said, ‘They’re afraid to even say that they’re voting for Trump. They don’t want to tell anybody. They’re afraid.’ Now, I’m not saying I’m right, I’m just saying this is what happened this week, a few days, a few hours ago. Donald Trump fans are afraid to say they’re on his side because they are in fear of the hatemongers, they’re afraid for their lives.”VERO BEACH – Earlier this morning police responded to Filthy’s Bar in reference to a large disturbance involving approximately twenty people and EMS was needed.
Vero Beach police officers made contact with the bar staff and identified three female suspects who were involved in a disturbance.
Kayla B. Cooper, 21, told officers that one of the female suspects pushed and hit her while inside the bar.
Officers then made contact with the two other females but were unable to determine the primary aggressor after viewing the security camera footage.
Police decided to warn all suspects until Cooper walked away and was involved in another altercation with a female bar patron, according to the report.
“I told the female to stop yelling and told Kayla to leave. Kayla’s response to me telling her to leave was ‘no I have to sign some papers.” I then instructed her to walk to the vehicle that was going to give her a ride home, and she could sign the paper there,” the officer said.
However, instead of signing the paper and taking a ride home with a friend, she continued to disobey commands by the police as they were trying to talk to the other two suspects, the report said.
Another officer told Cooper three times to leave, and she responded by saying “I don’t have to listen to you,” police said.
Cooper was arrested for Disorderly Intoxication and transported to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
DISCLAIMER: Arrests and mugshots were made public by complaint affidavits, arrest affidavits, and police reports. All persons arrested are innocent until proven guilty.
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Copyright 2018 SebastianDaily.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Why Fasting Succeeds Where Caloric Restriction Fails
Dr. Jason Fung Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 13, 2017
In order to understand how the body gains and loses weight, you must understand how it uses energy. The body really only exists in one of two states — the fed and the fasted state. When we eat, the hormone insulin goes up and insulin is released. Now, all foods stimulate different amounts of insulin release, but few foods, except for pure fat, cause no insulin release at all. Insulin is really a type of nutrient sensor. It senses the ingestion of both carbohydrate and protein-containing foods. Refined foods, particularly carbohydrates, cause the highest release of insulin.
Our bodies need a continual source of energy for basic metabolic housekeeping — keeping the heart pumping blood, the liver and kidney detoxifying, the lungs sucking air, brain function, etc. Obviously, we need a source of energy for all that work and it must be continuously available. Since we do not eat food all the time, we have a system of storing food energy (in the liver and as body fat) for times when we are not eating.
The main mistake people make is believing that weight loss is a simple, one-compartment problem. That is, people think that all calories go into a single compartment and are taken out of that same one.
Consider the energy balance equation: Fat = (Calories In) — (Calories Out). This is always true. Suppose that your weight is stable and you eat 2000 calories and burn 2000. What if you want to lose weight? You hope that you reduce dietary calories to 1500, and body fat will provide the other 500. Over time, you lose body fat. That’s exactly what does not happen.
There are really two different places where our body can obtain energy:
Food Stored food energy (glycogen in liver, or body fat)
But here’s the CRITICAL point. You can only get energy from one or the other, but not both at the same time.
Imagine a railroad track. Suppose you need 2000 calories to keep basic metabolic function normal. There are two different tracks where energy can come from — either food or stored food. You may only obtain energy from one source at a time. If you take energy from the first track, you cannot get any from the second and vice versa.
In the fed state, when you are eating, insulin levels are high. During that time, it makes sense to derive your energy from the food that you are eating. So what happens is that we shut down burning of stored food energy in the form of fat and glycogen. For all you technically inclined people, we say that insulin inhibits lipolysis and gluconeogenesis. This is a well known physiological fact.
Throughout most of the day, assuming you eat 3 meals a day, this is the normal state of affairs. But what happens when you go to sleep? Because you are not eating, you are fasting. Insulin levels fall. You now need to pull some of the food energy you’ve stored away to keep your vital organs running. This is the reason that you do not die in your sleep every single night.
As you fast, insulin levels fall. This is the signal to switch energy sources from food to stored food. You pull stored energy out from the liver (glycogen) and if that is not enough, from body fat. Technically speaking, we say that we start glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, and lipolysis when insulin levels fall.
If you fast for 24 hours, for example, what happens is that your body wants 2000 calories for that day’s energy bill. Since you are carrying around plenty of body fat, it’s no problem to supply that 2000 calories. Approximately half a pound of fat will supply that easily and the body says, “Whoa, I have tons of fat, take all you want.” It is important to realize that this is a completely natural process. Humans have evolved this mechanism of food storage, and there is nothing inherently unhealthy about fasting. It’s all part of a natural balance of being in the fed state and the fasted state.
Another way to put it is this. You either burn fat or store it. You can’t do both at the same time. The body is just not that stupid. If food is plentiful, you store food energy. If food is scarce, you burn food energy (body fat). The key hormonal regulator here is insulin. The change in insulin levels is what signals our body to go into fat-storing mode or fat-burning mode.
So what happens if you are trying to lose weight by adopting conventional advice to reduce the dietary fat and calories, and eat 6 times a day. By doing so, you keep insulin levels high because you are eating lots of low-fat bread, pasta, and rice and eating all the time. This also happens in type 2 diabetes, where insulin resistance causes insulin levels to stay elevated.
Since insulin is high, you must get your energy from food, and cannot get any from your body fat stores. You reduce your |
. “No religious pageant of equal pomp could have been experienced on this continent before,” Mr. Young wrote, “and the effect on the people was stunning.”
A wooden canopy covered the spot where the cornerstone was to be laid. Archbishop Hughes spoke from a flag-bedecked platform nearby. Those among the largely Irish-immigrant crowd who were close enough to hear his lengthy remarks were delighted to learn that the new cathedral would be named for St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland.
Photo
After ritually blessing the cornerstone, Archbishop Hughes placed it in the foundation. It contained a parchment litany in Latin of ecclesiastical and government officialdom and a celebratory news report on the recent laying of the first Atlantic cable, heralding instantaneous communication with the continent from which so many of New York’s immigrant Catholics hailed.
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The cavity in the cornerstone was left unsealed temporarily to accommodate offerings from ordinary citizens, but it is unclear whether they constituted financial contributions or sentimental relics.
The cathedral’s foundation was built with Maine granite. The marble walls were quarried in Westchester County. While the original plans called for steps at Fifth Avenue (there are seven now at the East 50th Street corner), it is also unclear whether any alteration of the street elevation after 1858 might have obscured the cornerstone. The cathedral was finally consecrated in 1879.
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According to one account, the cornerstone was not marked and the walls were built above it, perhaps suggesting it is below grade. Other versions of that theory abound.
One theory is that the cornerstone might have been dislodged or moved later during construction of the Lady Chapel at the cathedral’s eastern exposure. A detailed historical guide published in 1931 suggests the craggy foundation cornerstone was “not the kind of granite that yields easily, if at all, to the sculptor’s chisel.” There must have been some temporary reason for omitting the inscription, since it is claimed the surface could be smoothed.
“Either at that time, or afterward,” the guidebook’s author continued, “an almost invisible square was clipped off the lower east end of the stone above and that one is sometimes taken for the foundation stone. Wonders me: who made this cut, and why?”
Photo
The day after the 1858 ceremony, The New York Times reported that “the archbishop sprinkled the stone with holy water, and with a knife marked on each side of it the sign of the cross.”
In 1860, Archbishop Hughes announced that construction would be delayed because donations had been depleted, and the delays continued because of the Civil War.
He wrote that the names of 73 donors in addition to 103 original donors would be deposited in the cornerstone “and the wall built over it to the average height of the other portions of the structure,” which was then about 10 feet.
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Then he added mysteriously: “Of course, on the list of subscribers that is to remain outside of the cornerstone, the names only of those who shall have paid can be inscribed.”
As for the other donors’ names, Archbishop Hughes said, “though unseen by men, they will ever be under the eyes and inspection of God, and may turn up for honor and mercy on the Day of Judgment.”
For whatever motivation, he envisioned that unlike traditional time capsules, this one would never be discovered. For 151 years, he has been correct.
“The noble impulse that actuated the primary patrons of the new cathedral,” he wrote, “are entitled to the respect of being incorporated and recorded in the cornerstone, which, in all probability, will never be disturbed by human agency.”Growing up, Dwight D. Eisenhower (yes, Ike again — I couldn’t fit all the great facts about him into our leadership series!) was responsible for many chores around the house and for looking after his younger brothers. When his mother got sick and was quarantined in a room in the house for several months, Ike was responsible for cooking for his whole family — his mother would call directions to him from her bed on how to make the meals (this experience gave Ike a lifelong love of cooking). When Eisenhower graduated from high school, he started working as an engineer in a creamery’s ice plant. He worked 84 hours a week, from six P.M. to six A.M, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Even with his savings, he didn’t want his college education to put any burden on his parents at all, so he decided to apply to the Naval Academy. He and his friend who also hoped to attend a military college, sent away for past entrance examinations, and after working all night, Ike would sleep a few hours and then go over to the gas lighting store where his friend was employed, and together they would study every afternoon before Ike had to be back at the ice plant. Eisenhower ended up at West Point, and when he got there, was able to hit the ground running. That was 1915.
In 2001, I, Brett McKay, graduated from high school and after a summer working at a paint shop, left home to become a freshman at the University of Oklahoma. I had never done my own laundry. I had never cleaned my own bathroom. I had never cooked for myself, unless plates of nachos count. I was a typical middle-class kid from the burbs, and the first time I moved away from home, I floundered. I finished the fall semester with a 2.6 GPA, and moved back home to go to a local college in my hometown.
My parents, God bless ’em, had tried to prepare me for leaving the nest, but they were also willing to do a lot of things for me, and as a teenager lacking foresight, I didn’t see a reason to look the gift horse in the mouth and learn how to do them myself. I eventually learned a lot of the basic life skills I had once been lacking, but I wish I had prepared myself a little better to become independent and self-reliant once I had flown the coop.
Introducing Heading Out on Your Own: 31 Basic Life Skills in 31 Days
August begins tomorrow and that means millions of young men around the country will be getting ready to head off to college and/or move out on their own in just one month’s time. In an effort to help our young readers avoid the same hapless mistakes I made, we’ve decided to run a series during the month of August called “Heading Out on Your Own: 31 Basic Life Skills in 31 Days.”
The goal of this series is simple: to help young men heading out on their own for the first time learn some of the very basic life skills they’ll need to succeed once they’re living on their own.
Each day during August we’ll publish one article covering a different basic life skill I wish I had mastered before I left home. We’ll use a variety of formats (text articles, videos, and illustrated guides), and topics will range from personal finance to basic home-ec skills. While we can’t cover every skill a young man needs to know before leaving home in just 31 days, we hope by the end of the month we’ll have covered enough to allow a young man to thrive while living on their own. Even if you’re a young man who has this stuff down pat, it won’t hurt to review it before you head out.
What About Us Old-Timers Who Already Know This Stuff?
If you’re an older reader who’s worried that they’ll have to sit through one month of nothing but basic life skills articles, fear not! This daily series is in addition to our regularly scheduled content (we’re gluttons for pain!). You’ll still find our regular weekly content that’s relevant and of interest to you.
While you may have already mastered the skills we plan on covering, we’d definitely still encourage you to contribute to the discussion on each post. The more insights on each skill, the better.
If you know a young man who would benefit from this series, please send him this way. Encourage him to subscribe to our daily email newsletter or to follow us on Twitter or Facebook so he can get some guidance on getting ready to live on his own.
Any Particular Skills You Think We Need to Cover?
While we have most of the 31 skills already planned out, we’re curious if there are any skills in particular you think we should cover. If so, share them with us in the comments. If we get a lot of good suggestions that don’t make the cut this time around, we might include them for another edition next summer!
Tags: Heading Out on Your OwnNic Robertson is CNN's international diplomatic editor. The opinions in this article belong to the author.
Washington When I last came to Washington in January days after Donald Trump's inauguration, the city was the epitome of pull power.
Theresa May had dashed over from London to be the first world leader to congratulate Trump face to face. They even held hands.
Now, 10 months later, despite May extending Queen Elizabeth II's offer of a state visit to the UK -- the pomp and pageantry of which would no doubt delight Trump -- he has not taken up the offer.
There is a chill on the "special relationship." Indeed, the 45th President is having a significant cooling effect on most of America's international relationships.
Returning this week to Washington for Thanksgiving -- my wife is American and one of my daughters studies here -- the nation's capital feels as though it pushes more than it pulls -- keeping the world and its leaders at arm's length.
One former career public servant told me that the Trump White House is undermining the country's global standing as a power for good.
According to several DC insiders I've met, cutbacks and firings are leaving many feeling they are fighting the good fight of American interests overseas with one hand tied behind their back, led by a boss who is out of his depth.
The day I arrived State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert addressed this very issue, saying, "It breaks my heart to hear some feel they aren't needed or aren't wanted or aren't appreciated"
Wendy Sherman, a former undersecretary of state for political affairs and a principle architect of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, is scathing in her condemnation of Trump. "Quite frankly, this administration is categorically destroying the Department of State and devaluing diplomacy as something important in this world."
For many veterans of US diplomacy, Washington has come adrift of its moorings.
In recent months, the pace of big-name leaders touching down there has slackened. Early-season visits by Xi Jinping, Shinzo Abe, Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau have passed.
May is not the only international leader to have discovered President Trump is in fact Candidate Trump and that he heads an America in retreat. No longer is America seen by all as the unshakable standard bearer for free trade and democracy.
JUST WATCHED Some of the things Trump is thankful for Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Some of the things Trump is thankful for 00:54
One of the first international umbilical cords on Trump's chopping block was US membership in Trans-Pacific Partnership -- the 12-nation agreement that not only sought a multinational trade pact but did so to make stronger diplomatic partners of the member nations in that region to push back against China's growing influence.
Trump's impulse to read the TPP as simply a trade deal disadvantaging America blew up in his face on his recent Asia tour. While he was still in Vietnam attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, his host -- along with Japan's Abe -- signed the TPP deal without Trump and America.
America's influence is thereby diminished.
It was a diplomatic slapdown coming just one day after Trump told the Vietnamese, Abe and the other APEC leaders that the United States was open for bilateral trade deals. Trump's "America First" policy came in second that day.
The open arms of DC diplomacy are gone. A rather more barbed "America First" glowers from the ramparts of the White House -- and the capital's residents are living this.
From driver to teacher to researcher to student to journalist to civil servant, many I talked to feel ill at ease with the effects of that America First policy so far.
And Trump's agitation of the status quo comes at a bad time.
The post-World War II order that has been steady for several generations is getting wobbly: China's expansion, Russia's invasions and meddling, Iran and Saudi locking horns, rising populist nationalism.
JUST WATCHED What Trump has tweeted about instead of Moore Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH What Trump has tweeted about instead of Moore 01:39
Right now the world needs a rock, and Trump's America offers anything but. Indeed, where most of the world is aligned on global warming, Trump is not.
"Yes," one Washington insider told me, the universe does still revolve around DC. But it does so now in bigger and bigger orbits, father and farther away.
From tiny acorns mighty oaks grow, and DC embodies all of that. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial above the Reflecting Pool, Martin Luther King Jr.'s immortal words have a resting place chiseled into the stone: "I have a dream."
A few steps away, above Lincoln's huge statue, passively powerful in his armchair repose, the words carved in the wall above him speak of the love of his citizens for his unifying if troubled leadership:
"In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever."
If ever there were a message that today feels like it belongs to a bygone era, this is it. Because for all their eloquence, these are only words carved in stone, not set in it. Today they seem to lack permanence.
They are not commandments to which Trump is tethering his presidency.
An analogy doing the rounds in Washington that a former career public servant drew my attention to hints at the depth of anger, frustration and division. Presidential historian Robert Dallek was quoted as saying : "A fish rots from the head downwards... and the stench of this administration starts at the very top."
To this outsider arriving after almost a year's absence, such language is a shocking indictment of the erosion of civility in political discourse. It is exactly the attitude that will upset Trump and many Republicans but reveals just how bitter recriminations are set to become.
Washington's worldly ties are being severed. The State Department not only has a hiring freeze but is short-staffed and lacks the hands to answer all the calls coming its way.
One European told me he has taken to having journalists to dinner in the hopes they can enlighten him as to what is going on.
But it's not just diplomats who notice how DC's international buzz is ebbing. It's the everyday people in tough everyday jobs whose hard graft keeps the capital ticking who are also noticing the change.
Trump's domestic policies on undocumented migrants have teachers wondering which of the Dreamers won't show up for class next week. At universities, students on the verge of graduating and giving back what society has given them are now kept awake by worries of deportation to countries they no longer know.
His failure to see white supremacists for what they are and apparent ability to see Muslims for what they are not, coupled with poorly conceived travel bans, play badly in Washington's melting-pot society.
Even a short cab ride with someone from a migrant family quickly becomes a conversation about the damage they fear Trump is doing to society.
Many left homes halfway round the world to raise families here. And they chose to come because they wanted to be part of the American dream.
Washington feels less international because of Trump's rhetoric and policies.
Overseas embassies here, the diplomatic lifeblood of DC, aren't shuttering their doors just yet. But they are battening down the hatches, hoping better days will come.The Hurricanes are three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. So they are within striking distance but also have gotten a taste of how difficult the competition is within the Metropolitan Division.
Last week brought a reality check with four consecutive losses -- two on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets (4-1 on Tuesday and 3-2 on Saturday), a 7-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday at home and a 6-1 loss to the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center on Monday.
After extending their winning streak to four with a 7-4 victory against the New York Islanders on Jan. 14, the Carolina Hurricanes appeared ready to bid for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
After losing to the Capitals on Monday, the Hurricanes are 4-11-2 against Metropolitan teams.
"It's certainly not an easy division to play in but that's where we are," Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis said. "We can't worry about that. We just have to go out there every night and play our best and try to win as many hockey games as we can, and give ourselves a chance at the end of the season to be in the playoffs."
Having one of the younger rosters in the NHL, Francis understands the Hurricanes are going to go through some growing pains. After defenseman Noah Hanifin, who will turn 20 on Wednesday, and left wing Teuvo Teravainen, 22, struggled in the loss to the Penguins on Friday, coach Bill Peters sat them as healthy scratches in Columbus on Saturday.
"With a lot of our young guys, there's always questions as to how they're going to perform and how they're going to adapt and how they're going to handle the 82-game schedule," Francis said. "So there were a lot of questions going into the season but certainly we feel we upgraded our team from where we were last season."
Video: CAR@BOS: Hanifin buries PPG on a scorching shot
Whether Francis will upgrade the roster again before the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 28 remains to be seen but he's expecting to get some phone calls.
"When you look at our cap situation we've got a lot of room, so I think we're a team that teams will be calling if they're looking to move some things," Francis said. "Our payroll is at a position where we could certainly add some things there, too. So I think we're sitting in a good position. As we've said from Day 1, we're going to make decisions that are not only good for us right now but long term.
"If the right deal is there, then we're certainly going to make it. If not, we'll sit tight and continue to grow it from within."
The impressive group of young talent already playing for the Hurricanes includes defensemen Jaccob Slavin, 22, Brett Pesce, 22, Justin Faulk, 24, and Hanifin, and forwards Sebastien Aho, 19, Brock McGinn, 22, and Teravainen. The next wave on the way includes forwards Julien Gauthier (a first-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft), Nicolas Roy, (2015 fourth-round pick, No. 96), Janne Kuokkanen, (2016 second-round pick, No. 43), Aleksi Saarela (New York Rangers' 2015 third-round pick, No. 89, acquired in Eric Staal trade) and Warren Foegele (2014 third-round pick, No. 67), plus defenseman Jake Bean (2016 first-round pick, No. 13).
So Francis has enough depth to trade away a young player or two if he believes the timing and the return fit.
"I remember sitting down with [Detroit Red Wings GM] Ken Holland my first year and he said it takes it four or five years to really get it to where you want to get it and we're about two and a half years into getting there," Francis said. "I think the key in our decisions is we've been patient to this point and we want to make ourselves better but we're not going to do something that sets us back."
Flyers seeking consistency
The Flyers moved back into the second wild card by overcoming a two-goal deficit in a 3-2 overtime win against the Islanders on Sunday. With four wins, including one in regulation, in their past 16 games (4-9-3) following a 10-game winning streak, the Flyers have struggled to put together complete games over the past month.
Maybe the comeback win against the Islanders will snap them out of their funk. The Flyers were hoping to reset during their bye week but returned from it with a 4-1 home loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday and then fell behind 2-0 to the Islanders before rallying.
"We've got to keep our heads now," Flyers GM Ron Hextall said last week. "Nobody's going to get us out of this. It's the whole group. This isn't about one thing or one move or one player not playing or one player playing. This is about our whole group and we've got to be better."
Although Hextall said he was OK with how the Flyers leadership group has handled the slide, he acknowledged, "Our leaders haven't been good enough. Neither have our lesser guys. Nobody's been good enough right now. You don't win 10 [in a row] and then go through a stretch like this without responsibility being everywhere."
Captain Claude Giroux scored the overtime winner Sunday to end a 12-game goal drought but he wasn't the only Flyers player who was struggling. Forward Wayne Simmonds' goal was his third in the past 16 games. Forward Jakub Voracek has two goals in his past 17 games.
Video: PHI@NYI: Gostisbehere finds Giroux for OT winner
Stat pack
With 992 points in 747 NHL games, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is on pace to pass Jaromir Jagr (763 games) and become the fastest to reach the 1,000-point milestone among active players. … Penguins left wing Conor Sheary has scored two goals in three of his past four games, and has four two-goal games this season. … In addition to becoming the first goaltender to win 20 or more games in each of his first 12 NHL seasons with a 1-0 overtime victory against the Red Wings on Sunday, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers became the third goalie in League history with 12 consecutive 20-win seasons at any point in his NHL career, joining Martin Brodeur (1995-96 to 2007-08) and Tony Esposito (1969-70 to 1980-81), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. … Capitals backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer is 7-0-2 in his past nine appearances, and 9-1-2 with a 2.05 goals-against average,.925 save percentage and two shutouts for the season.
Games to watch
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers (Jan. 25, 8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV) -- The third of four games between the Flyers and Rangers this season. The Rangers won the first two, including a 5-2 victory in their last game at Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 4.
Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils (Jan. 26, 7 p.m. ET; MSG, CSN-DC, NHL.TV) -- The Capitals and Devils play for the third time in less than a month. The Devils won 2-1 in a shootout at Verizon Center on Dec. 29. The Capitals won 6-2 at Prudential Center on Dec. 31.
Philadelphia Flyers at Carolina Hurricanes (Jan. 31, 7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, CSN-PH, NHL.TV) -- Two teams in the battle for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes play the second game in a stretch where they play eight of 11 at PNC Arena. They are 14-2-1 in their past 17 home games.
Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals (Feb. 1, 8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNO, TVA Sports, NHL.TV) -- The Capitals face the Bruins in the Wednesday Night Rivalry game. The Capitals defeated the Bruins 4-3 in overtime at Verizon Center on Dec. 7.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Pittsburgh Penguins (Feb. 3, 7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, ROOT, NHL.TV) -- The Blue Jackets defeated the Penguins 7-1 in their last game at Nationwide Arena on Dec. 22.With its Chevrolet Bolt EV, General Motors opted to go big on battery capacity but keep the car small and relatively affordable. And the strategy appears to be paying off in sales.
GM said that it sold 12,249 Bolt EVs between December 2016—when the first deliveries were made in California—and August 30, 2017. Of those, 11,670 were sold since the beginning of 2017. That puts it on pace to outsell the Nissan Leaf and every other affordable electric car—a quick surge to the top of the charts, considering that availability was limited to certain regions until just now, when the automaker has announced that Bolt is finally available nationwide.
Chevrolet franchise stores aren’t required to stock or sell every Chevy product, but to order a Bolt EV you’ll need to go to a certified dealership. As with the Volt, dealers must go through a readiness program to become certified; the program includes sales and service training and charger installation, among other details. There are currently 1235 Bolt EV–certified stores in the United States, roughly 40 percent of the 3000 U.S. Chevy outlets. According to GM spokesman Fred Ligouri, Chevrolet now has at least one Bolt EV–certified dealership in every state.
Chevrolet
While California was a good start (it represents about half of U.S. EV demand), GM has phased in other states and regions so it could be on track to pass 20,000 sales for the year. In the past the company has insisted Chevy will sell as many Bolt EVs as the market demands and said that the model isn’t just a “compliance car”—a vehicle conceived to claim as many zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) credits as it can in California and other states observing its mandate.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this year singled out GM, arguing that the way California ZEV credits are allocated, GM will only see a benefit from them when it sells 20,000 to 30,000 fully electric vehicles per year.
The Bolt EV slightly outsold the much more expensive Tesla Model S in August, according to HybridCars.com sales data, but it it isn’t likely to catch up with that luxury EV for full-year sales totals in 2017. Tesla says it is aiming to ramp up production of its more affordable Model 3 to 20,000 a month by December and then to a 500,000 annual level (U.S. sales would be a portion of that) by the end of 2018.A woman escaped with only minor injury, and her toddler son was unharmed, when fire - involving a Christmas tree - swept through their San Fernando Valley apartment Sunday afternoon.
During their comprehensive search of the smoke charged premises, firefighters discovered and rescued a semi-conscious pet cat from the burning apartment. LAFD personnel provided comfort and reassurance to the animal while administering oxygen. The cat soon fully awakened without apparent distress, and was placed in the care of neighbors. Thirty-seven firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Dean Zipperman skilfully confined flames to the one apartment, extinguishing the blaze in just 16 minutes.
LAFD Paramedics briefly treated the injured woman for heat and smoke exposure, before transporting her and her son to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. Neither had sustained burn injury.
building did not feature optional fire sprinklers. Functional smoke alarms were found inside the burning apartment, but their role in alerting the woman could not be immediately determined. The building-wide fire alarm system had been manually activated prior to the LAFD's arrival. The 30 year-old
Firefighter efforts proved successful in limiting fire damage to $25,000 ($15,000 structure & $10,000 contents) within the one unit, sparing the building's 27 other apartments from harm.
The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical, involving the family's still-decorated Christmas tree, which fervidly fueled the blaze.
The fire comes more than three weeks after Christmas, and despite a month long Citywide campaign by the Fire Department and City's Bureau of Sanitation to have residents remove the hazardous trees from their homes.
The campaign took a greater sense of urgency following a January 6 fire in North Hollywood that destroyed a residence and hospitalized three Los Angeles Firefighters
Dispatched Units: T90 E290 RA90 RA890 E239 E39 T39 EM14 BC10 E81 RA88 AR2 RA39An organizer of Black Lives Matter says the group is optimistic that some good will come out of a preliminary roundtable organized by Mayor John Tory on Saturday on "racial equity" even though the group has not been invited.
"I am optimistic," Sandy Hudson, co-founder of the Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter, told Metro Morning on Thursday.
Hudson said the announcement was also confusing because the group has been calling for a public meeting on anti-black racism within policing but the focus of the mayor's roundtable is on many issues, such as social development, youth engagement, poverty reduction and policing.
She said the group is not surprised it was not invited. Tory has said he is meeting with leaders in the black community.
"It wasn't unexpected. I don't expect that much more from him at this point given how the last year has went. Several people who are going to the meeting have contacted us for direction," she said.
"It says to me, we got a problem with our mayor and the people leading this city."
Hudson said she thinks the group was not invited to the roundtable because it has made it clear how it believes Tory has not served Toronto's black community.
"He wants to pin us as unreasonable in some way. I don't think anything we have done is unreasonable. There's been death in our community and that deserves a response," she said.
"I think Mayor Tory's attempt to divide and conquer the black community around this is quite frankly disgusting."
But she said the roundtable is a good thing.
"I do think there will be some good coming out of there."
Tory told reporters Thursday that he offered repeatedly to meet privately with members of Black Lives Matter but the offer was rejected.
He said Saturday's roundtable will involve a number of leaders from the black community.
"We want to consult a broad number of people because these are very complicated issues that affect a large number of people as to how we can eradicate racism where it exists and allow people to have better opportunities to move forward," he said after meeting Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne at Queen's Park.
Tory said in a statement Wednesday that he's organized the preliminary roundtable before he convenes an open public meeting on equity issues and Black Lives Matter will be included in that meeting.
The roundtable "will include a range of voices to help provide some of the necessary perspective and direction for this complex and on-going process," Tory said.
At the open public meeting, the date of which has not been determined, Tory said "individuals and groups including Black Lives Matter will have an opportunity to share their concerns, their frustrations and their ideas."
Province plans 4 meetings on policing
"Toronto is a proudly diverse city, but we still struggle with issues of racial equity, discrimination and trust. These challenges have been called out by many important voices, including the recent actions of the group Black Lives Matter," Tory said.
"As mayor, I know that leading a diverse city comes with special responsibilities, and I take those issues seriously. I am committed to engaging with this group and all those working toward meaningful change."
According to Black Lives Matter, the Ontario government has committed to holding four two-hour long public meetings on anti-black racism in policing in Toronto. These meetings will focus on, among other things, the Special Investigations Unit, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, carding, and Toronto police.
The province also announced a coroner's inquest into the homicide of Andrew Loku.
Wynne said Thursday she would like the information in the SIU report on Loku to be made public but the province has to consider privacy concerns before doing so.
"I want the information in the SIU report to be in the public realm. It's not a matter of whether, it's a matter of how we do that," she told reporters.
Loku, 45, was fatally shot by a Toronto police officer last July when he refused to drop a hammer. The SIU said the officer responsible acted reasonably and no charges were laid.
Black Lives Matter camped outside of Toronto police headquarters for 15 days to press its demands.Warren Buffett Is Bullish on PSX Stock
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) stock is our favorite way to invest in the oil industry…and now even Warren Buffett agrees with us.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing published last August, Buffett revealed he had been secretly accumulating Phillips 66 stock since the second quarter of this year. Over the past few months, he has continued building out his position. Including the recently purchased shares, his investment now totals $5.0 billion. (Source: “Berkshire filing reveals more Phillips 66 purchases as stock dipped,” CNBC, March 2, 2016.)
Phillips 66, though, is an odd bet. The company is a commodity business operating in chemicals, oil refining, and marketing operations. These are industries that don’t necessarily lend themselves to outsized returns.
So what could Buffett possibly see in this company? Here are three reasons Buffett is buying Phillips 66.
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1. Outsized Margins
You’re getting screwed.
Drivers have enjoyed the recent break at the gas pump. But even when energy prices are dropping, the industry finds a way to take advantage of customers.
Over the past two years, oil prices have plunged 65%. Drivers, though, have yet to see the full benefit. The average price of gasoline across the country has dropped only 37% over the same period.
The difference has gone straight into the pockets of refiners. Drivers have responded to cheap oil by driving more, making it harder for refineries to keep up with demand. This has allowed processors to demand higher prices for their end product, even if the oil itself is cheaper.
Good news for refiners. Companies like Phillips are making money hand over fist. Last year, the company’s operating income came in at $4.3 billion, up 41% from the previous year.
2. Outsized Catalysts
Phillips 66 is mostly a boring refining company, which means it receives a boring valuation from investors. Today, the company’s enterprise value (the total value of debt and equity) trades at about six times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This is about in-line with peers.
Source: Phillips 66 Investor Presentation
However, Phillips 66 owns an extensive portfolio of “mid-stream” properties. This is industry lingo for the facilities that actually move and store energy products. Because they generate dependable dividends, investors are willing to pay a big premium for these assets.
To profit from the spread, Phillips 66 has been spinning off its midstream assets into a separate entity. Each time the company sells off a property, investors make a giant profit. If management is able to unlock the full value of these assets, it could be a huge catalyst for PSX stock.
And most of this cash is funneled straight to shareholders, which leads us to reason #3 that Warren Buffett is buying Phillips 66 stock.
3. Outsized Dividends
PSX stock has become a cash cow. Since the company was spun out of ConocoPhillips in 2012, management has increased the dividend paid by 180% and bought back 15% of its outstanding shares. Today, PSX shares yield a tidy 2.7%.
This distribution will likely increase, however. Given the limited expansion opportunities in the industry, Phillips 66 is returning most of its growing profits back to shareholders. Management also has more than $2.6 billion in buybacks authorization remaining.
The bottom line: Phillips 66 offers growing profits, numerous catalysts, and a healthy dividend. No wonder Warren Buffett is backing up the truck on PSX stock.After another edition of Copenhagen Flames’ European Scouting Grounds, the short-term five man rosters led by Wickd and NicoThePico featured a few promising talents to keep tabs on heading into the 2018 season.
Experience meets potential
The two coaches for the European Scouting Grounds event followed different philosophies when it came to picking the rosters to win the tournament. NicoThePico favored experience and past working relationships for the players he chose. His first pick was none other than LCS veteran Woolite as he built his team around the hyper carry threat. While Woolite was by far the biggest name of the tournament, his LCS career has been plagued by a lack of consistency at the top level, and some of those mistakes were showing once again as he found it hard to stay proactive on champions that lacked the mobility.
Wickd followed a precise counter plan to the Woolite pick as he picked up Quixeth and XDSmiley for his bot lane. Quixeth was by all accounts the most promising Support talent to feature in the tournament. Wickd mentioned his past solo queue experience with him as well as seeing his performances in Day 1 of the tournament was the biggest factor in picking him over Mystiques. Wickd mentioned that Quixeth’s ability to roam and constantly land those crucial skill shots would prove to be a useful counter to the bully style of Woolite, and for much of the final series he was proven right as Quixeth showed great versatility on champions like Thresh and Alistar.
Game 1 of the Finals went according to plan for Team Wickd as the synergy between XDSmiley and their young Polish Jungler InspireD was the backbone behind that win. After a few great plays in the early game from InspireD on the bot lane, the strength in numbers was simply too much as they took out a baron right from under the noses of Team Pico and charged to a triumphant first win. InspireD started the tournament as the lowest rated Jungler of the three Junglers featured, but by the end of the Finals there was absolutely no doubting his skill and propensity to shine on a variety of champions and playstyles.
The experience and poise from Team NicoThePico would show through in the following games of the series. Finnish Jungler Taikki was la |
sky – and, possibly, a caledrical system and length of year unlike anything known upon this world. 101. Dagger with blood line to drain victim’s blood 102. A butter churn made of bone slats, bound with hoops of silver. A scrimshaw scene depicting a crowd of human villagers beating a Halfling with shovels and hoes wraps around it. 103. Dehydrated Homonculi 104. An obsidian figurine of a dolphin which is always wet to the touch. 105. Metal box of unidentifiable powder 106. The skeletal remains of a long-dead warrior, wearing a suit of plate armor which has long since tarnished. The name of every warrior to ever die by the last wearer’s hand has been inscribed upon the front and back of the chest plate, covering nearly every inch of its surface with chaotically written, black runes. 107. Salve of Silence – armor improving sound nullifier 108. A weapons cabinet, unlocked and immovable, containing: 12 score arrows (1gp/score), 40 javelins (1gp each), 120 crossbow bolts (1sp/each), and a short bow (30gp). (Total value: 94gp) 109. Frolees five page guide to mustaches and beards 110. ½ of fool’s gold 111. D8 springs of wolvesbane 112. A pen made from a raven’s feather. Through some magical means it writes continuously from an inexhaustible supply of golden ink upon whatever piece of parchment may be near by. 113. A pair of bear fur knee breeches 114. Dagger of slicing – ignores armor bonus 115. A wand of eye poking, four charges. It will unerringly poke out the eye of a target creature within arm’s reach. 116. An electrum drow house-medallion bearing the image of a crimson scorpion with the house name inscribed on the back in the drow tongue (House Ulrather). (20gp) 117. An abacus with counting beads made of ivory, silver, gold, and vitrified eye balls (120 gps) 118. Random monster taxidermy 119. The tiny figurine of a fertility goddess, carved from a rare, fist-sized pearl. Found deep beneath the surface of the earth, for two weeks after it is brought to the surface any woman touching the figurines will become pregnant. After the two week period has expired, the figure will never work again (or until returned to its original spot for 1d12 months). 120. A plain mirror with a frame of pale ashwood. Whenever someone looks in the mirror, however, they perceive an elven face in place of their own. 121. Ring of Sustenance – require no food/water/rations 122. Ring of Ghosts: the wearer of the ring can see and communicate with the ghost of any intelligent being that has died in the past 24 hours within a 1 mile radius. After the 24 hours, the ghost disappears. The ghosts are only visible and audible to the wearer, but remain intangible. Also, the ghosts likely aren't very cooperative if the players killed them. 123. A broad dagger with a hilt that can be unscrewed. The space revealed is sufficient to hold up to 25 coins, and currently holds 10 gold coins and 15 silver coins. (Dagger value: 15gp) 124. A finely woven blue, wool scarf (1gp) 125. A leaf from the great tree Yggdrasil. 126. Miniature golden replica of ancient mythical temple – location map inside 127. A miniature golden chest with tiny emeralds lining the top that trace out a mage’s sigil. The chest is crafted in exquisite detail. (This is the material component of a “Secret Chest” (from the spell of the same name) for the ruthless lady-mage Aumurille, who will likely want it back....) (75gp) 128. A dagger sheath of bronze, set with a small moonstone. (10gp) 129. Dust of Coughing and Sneezing 130. Vial #2 contains speculumia, a slightly greenish opague liquid that when drunk suddenly causes a cloud of smoke and summons an exact copy of whoever drank it. The new person is completely the same as the drinker and will actually think that he is the one who drank the drink, the sudden cloud of smoke will prevent anyone witnessing the situation from being able to tell which one is the original person. 131. The Torturers Dagger. Found on the corpse of an enemy from the realm of chaos. It does 1d6 damage, then heals 1d6 damage. 132. A hand-fan of clipped, black-dyed harpy feathers bound with copper wiring. (9gp) 133. An archer’s bracer of leather and electrum. (25sp) 134. A hooded cloak with a dozen inside pockets. 135. A quart of honey. 136. Inhalation herbs & essences 137. An 8’ Golden horn 138. A delicate silver chain set with a tourmaline (28gp) 139. Crossbow bolt of chaos – 1 random affect on hit 140. A brown and red flecked egg, about the size of a loaf of bread, that gives off a rancid scent. (Troglodyte egg, worth 50gp to an interested alchemist, wizard, or university) 141. 100’ of rope 142. A copper tongue scraper 143. Knife of a god of undeath. It turned whoever owned it immediately undead. 144. Box of ‘Top Secret Battle Monkeys’ 145. Block of ice with ancient holy symbol 146. A used, slightly rusted (but usable) double-bladed sword. (60gp) 147. One hundred and sixteen 3” white porcelain discs, each has a 1 ounce knob of electrum embedded in its center 148. D6 oily rags 149. A single, platinum skeleton-key on a platinum ring. The key is finely crafted, with a delicate design etched in elvish characters along the length and across the bow. (37gp) 150. A short quiver holding 3 sunrods (2gp each) 151. A leather bag containing a black silk shirt with eight silver buttons. (Bag: 1sp, shirt: 8gp) 152. Potion of purple ooze: Turns drinking player into an ooze for 1d8+1 days. You can make up stats for purple ooze creature. 153. A prismatic crystal which echoes back – in a deep, melodious voice – every word which is said around it two seconds after it has been said. 154. An elaborate, whalebone scrimshaw carving of intertwined orbs, each showing the legend of creation story of one of the seven civilized religions, roughly 10” in diameter. (45gp) 155. A large tome filled with over one hundred recipes for wild boar, goose, and venison; written by Kilan Wester, a former royal chef (retired). (95gp) 156. A lovely ivory-colored dress of silk with flowing sleeves. The dress has tiny pearls sewn at the neckline. (70gp) 157. A ceremonial short spear; ash wood with an iron point. Seven red and three blue dyed vulture feathers are attached to the head of the spear. The iron is fluted to whistle through the air, if thrown. (3gp) 158. A large crystal vase, silver trimmed, with a dozen dead roses and some stagnant water within. (14gp) 159. The neverburning torch. A jet black torch, with an inscription in gold upon its side: “Only in your hour of darkest need will I light.” All attempts – magical or otherwise – to light the torch will fail, but if the character carrying the torch ever finds himself upon the brink of death, the torch will flare to life. 160. A famous battle banner, long lost, smells badly 161. An unhafted axe head of exceptional craftsmanship. It’s faces are inlaid with a faience scene showing a crowd of human villagers throwing a Halfling down a well. 162. Troll-rubber boots for enhanced move silent 163. A pinewood totem pole of the northern barbarians, bearing six faces (from top to bottom): a hawk, a demon, an elk, a man, a fox, and a white dragon. The hawk has a silver feather on the left side of its face (8gp), the demon has a gold nose-ring (6gp), the elk has copper antlers (4gp), the man has electrum eyes (3gp each), the fox has a black onyx nose (15gp), and the dragon has ivory teeth (30 teeth worth 1gp each). The pole is fifteen feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. (4.57m, 90.7kg) 164. A set of dies and hammers for minting the kings coinage. 165. Pouch of mushrooms – Mario themed 166. A scabbard stained the dark color of rust. Any blade which is placed within the scabbard will emerge covered in a sheen of blood. 167. The silver hilt of a sword with a grip of black leather. The blade is missing, or never existed to begin with. One night per year, however, on the eve of the new year, the hilt is possessed of a ghostly blade – allowing it to perform its duties as a sword once more. 168. Screaming Arrows – intimidate/fear check 169. Potion of false bluff: drinker of the potion perceives that they are an amazing liar. They believe that every bluff, diplomacy, and intimidation check they make for the next 1d4 hours succeeds, whether it does or not. 170. A wicker basket with a pair of mink furs within. (20gp each) 171. A staff that could change into a hammer and give him extra strength while it was in that mode. 172. Witch’s Mad Sack of Bats – releases swarm of bats 173. A tiny toy soldier which marches ceaselessly back and forth – eternally vigilant and pissed off if anyone disturbs. 174. A silver ring shaped into the likeness of a bull’s head. (4gp) 175. A tiny diorama made of oak and silver, depicting a prophecy of the last days of the world in vivid detail. 176. In a worn and decaying wall of mud bricks, a single black brick – polished and perfectly preserved – stands out in stark contrast. If the brick is pried out and broken open, it will reveal a quicksilver core. 177. A dozen quality daggers in a rolled up rug 178. A ruby the size of a man’s fist which sparkles and gleams with the promise of untold wealth in the faintest of lights, but which crumbles to dust upon the lightest touch. 179. A mask carved to look like the face of a man, but which has been fitted for something wholly other. 180. A carved wooden mantle, meant to be mounted above a fireplace, crafted of ash-wood and stained a medium brown. The left side is carved in images of demons and flames, the right in images of angels and air. The top is carved into an idyllic forest theme and has a moon above the left corner and a sun above the right. This piece weights just over a hundred pounds. (65gp) 181. Dead/dried up fey hanging from ceiling 182. Four half-pound bricks of compressed Black Lotus pollen 183. A two gallon stone ware jug containing hallucinogenic tree sap syrup (20 gp) 184. A cabinet containing 24 glass jars of various medicinal herbs 185. Litmus magic paper: This paper can be used as a standard action by rubbing it on an object. It either detects no magic and can be used again, or changed color and brightness to reflect the school(s) and strengths of magic on the object. 186. A bowl full of golden apples found in the midst of ruins which have long been left desolate and uninhabited. They are quite edible and unspoiled. If they are taken beyond the ruins, they will lose their golden sheen and appear – in all respects – as normal, red apples. So long as they remain within the ruins, however, they are golden, and will not age or rot. 187. Re-animation bomb 188. D3 vials of holy water 189. Concealed punching dagger-bracer (Assassin’s Creed style) 190. Cat-python 191. Apple of the God’s – gain random ability of 1 god aspect at risk of save vs death, then random forbidden fruit side effect; ability is 1 per day/50% chance success 192. Near-Empty-Ever-Full One Arrow Quiver – always only 1 arrow, will reappear after being shot. 193. Brazier of infinite imps – 1d4 imps spawn every 1d4 hours 194. A masquerade mask crafted of leather and peacock feathers. (12gp) 195. Dagger of Bleeding – DC save to avoid bleeding damage 196. A hard, roughly cut piece of basalt rock which bleeds when pressure is applies to it. 197. A foot-high bronze statuette of a pair of entwined nymphs, dancing. (8gp) 198. Jewel encrusted sarcophagus – mummy inside 199. Piece of Legendary weapon & map with possible locations for other pieces 200. Bad Coin: A coin that always comes up tails. Placing it anywhere tails side down causes it to flip itself over after 1 round. It takes 50 pounds of pressure to prevent this flip. 201. Within a wooden box carved with pastoral scenes lies a leather purse, and within the purse are a handful of seeds. If these seeds are planted, they will take root and grow into plants of unnatural shape, hue, and life unlike anything seen upon this world, and operating by utterly alien principles. 202. Utility belt of flasks 203. A peg leg inscribed with a pirate’s treasure map. The map is either false or its treasure has long since been plundered. If you wish to provide the PCs with a true map, then one may be found in the hollow compartment within the leg. 204. A scimitar with a gold and snakeskin hilt set with a citrine. (100gp) 205. Ritualistic tattooing kit 206. Scalpel capable of cutting any substance 207. A broken holy sword, inscribed with the name of a legendary Paladin. 208. Backpack of effortlessness 209. Reversible, finely crafted robes 210. Ricochet-sling – up to 4 targets (d4 for targets, attack roll each; first attack fail causes ricochet to end [unless a tie, in the case of a tie to AC the ricochet continues]) 211. A 3’ square replica of a castle, in wood, complete with ramparts and miniature ballistae and toy soldiers. Scribbled in some spots are notes written in draconic that suggest a plan to assault the castle (“Kill guard here first”, “Murder holes overhead”, Fireball this area”, etc…).It weighs 120 pounds. (65gp) 212. Smugglers boots – great for hiding a concealed backup dagger or wand 213. Mechanical mice which run through the walls of an ancient keep. They have done so for longer than written record can attest. They seem to be a benign presence – lacking even the slightest pestilent qualities of their flesh-and-blood counterparts – and have become an accepted presence here. Who their creator was, how they are fueled, and what purpose they serve (if any) are mysteries which may never be solved. 214. A rapier in an ornate, electrum-trimmed steel scabbard worked in swirl-patterns. (Rapier: 20gp, Scabbard: 45gp) 215. A pound of goat jerky 216. A finely crafted figurine of a blue dragon, rampant, done in wood and painted. (6sp) 217. The Longsword of Balanced Sums. Functions exactly like a generic +2 Longsword... except when you crit miss. Then it heals the target for half its max hit points. 218. Four pairs of snow serpent fur felt stockings (20 gp) 219. Four bars of copper. (2gp each) 220. Silver pan/satyr pipes/flute 221. A reliquary containing the bones of an ancient holy man 222. A small wooden case holding four pairs of fairy wings. (4gp per pair to an alchemist, wizard, or university) 223. Ballistic Fist Hammer (Hammer with each side acting as ballistic fists from Fallout series) 224. A small cask of yellow clothiers’ dye. (8gp) 225. Amulets of inedibility. Anything wearing it cannot be seen as food. 226. A piglet 227. Gold dipped idol of several skulls 228. A large bale of rare furs 229. Lucky Coin: You must have this item with you for 24 hours for it to become attuned to you. Once attuned, you may choose the result any time it is flipped, regardless of who actually flips it. Possible commands include heads, tails, and edge. 230. A finely made silver chalice etched in arcane symbols (non-magical). (7gp) 231. A diamond of incredible beauty which slowly shifts its color from the purest white to canary to blue to black and back again. 232. The Living Lantern, it acts as a decent light source, but it hates wooden items and structures and tends to set them on fire. I haven't decided if it should take a liking to burning cloth. It has some very curious results, mostly involving villagers getting angry at their houses burning or support struts burning down resulting in some catastrophic collapse. 233. Half-full flask of nightmare ale – 1 sip = 1d4 hours fear check per hour; full measure = 1d4 hours horrifying hallucinations vs DC save for early retirement 234. A cracked mask of teak wood, colored in (chipped) blue and red paint depicting the face of a fairy (4sp) 235. Waterskin of lamb’s blood 236. A silver brooch depicting a mage’s tower. (This could be a pass for magical wards at the mage’s tower, at the DM’s discretion.) (12gp) 237. Receipt for delivery of slaves 238. A filthy bucket, bolted to the floor, ¾ full of urine, containing silver coins, rings and necklaces worth 820 gp 239. A tattered, and sadly unusable, scroll fragment, inscribed with a spell unknown to any living mage. 240. Pouch of healing potions 241. A 5’ diameter wheel of fine, aged cheese 242. A small, heart-shaped token carved out of rose-colored sandstone, holding the mad soul of a princess who was trapped there by a sorcerer many centuries ago. Her body remains in the hidden royal sepulchers of her homeland, perfectly preserved by ancient magic. 243. Underworld Currency – lead coins; purple rocks/crystals, fairy dust, dragon scales, dna globules (rocks/capsules with runic understanding of specific creatures), tally bones, soul traps/crystals 244. Ash of phoenix in necklace chocker – instant revive to wearer (takes 10 rounds/1 minute) 245. A set of five small silver statuettes (each about 2” tall) consisting of a cat, an owl, a falcon, a horse and a griffon. (5gp each) 246. A one-gallon cask of Demon’s Vale Wine; a fiery red wine known to be made from hot peppers. (10gp) 247. Gold plated idols – possession = death penalty 248. RPG javelin – 5x range, normal range 5x dmg, 2xs range = 4xs dmg, 3xs range = 3xs dmg, etc… - explodes & destroyed after use except at 5xs or 4xs range 249. A large copper shield, embossed with a (copper) dragon’s head. “Elvalynte” is inscribed on the interior in a flowing script. (34gp) 250. A large snow globe, with a study base of polished oak, depicting a small farmhouse in the midst of a forest clearing. Shaking the globe causes the snow to gently fall, and as it does miniature figures exit the house and begin performing chores about the farmyard. The figures return to the house as the last flake falls. 251. A small ball of white marble – roughly three inches across – which hovers in the air until it is touched or disturbed, at which point it falls to the floor and ceases to exhibit any supernatural properties. 252. Wind attacking melee weapon – 10’ wind attack with slice 253. "Phoenix Egg" from a peddler in the City of Brass. After consulting with a few scholars, he later found that (at least in my world lore) Phoenixes are born of primal energy and not hatched, and that he had in fact purchased a very large jar of Alchemist's Fire. 254. A string of 8 beaver pelts. (4sp each) 255. A long, narrow wooden box containing forty, ½ lb rolls of quality smoking leaf. 256. A detailed rose, with petals and thorns, constructed of silver and electrum. (40gp) 257. Spork of positive reinforcement - that says encouraging things like "Everything's GREAT!" and "Your body temperature is squarely within normal human range!" 258. A small, crystal vial of a clear, viscous liquid that smells strongly of honeysuckle. (Vial: 4gp, Perfume: 3gp) 259. A stone table in the midst of the wilderness which is, nevertheless, always filled with a fresh meal whenever travelers come across it. 260. Shrunken head with command word – 1 ray spell per hour 261. Self-guided grappling hook - +10 to range attack roll for aiming 262. Rocks stuffed with lava 263. Neverfull Waterskin (It's always half empty.) 264. A straw broom 265. A thin malachite bracelet with a silver clasp. (6gp) 266. A 35 lb keg of iron nails 267. An elegant puppet theater. Although its wood is brightly polished and the red of its satin curtains is bright and fresh, the hand-painted sign upon its front (reading “The Wondrous Show of Punch and Judy” in carnival lettering) is chipped and faded. If the curtains are opened (using a set of finely woven pulley ropes which lie inside the theater), the puppets – stored in a concealed compartment “backstage” – will come to life and perform elaborate shows of their own volition. 268. Pie bombs 269. Smart 50’ rope – obeys simple commands, animated like snake 270. A high quality sharpening stone 271. Potion 3: Phoenix Restorative. The next time the drinker is reduced to 0 hit points, they deal area fire damage, and return to full health, only happens once. The player has no special knowledge this is true, but the flavor of the draught burns their throat but leaves them feeling oddly optimistic. Fire damage dealt should be based on circumstance, but if you can get away with lots, it'd be the most fun. 272. A pickle 273. A life-sized copper and silver statuette of a cockatrice. (17gp) 274. Helm – cherubic infant embellishment, emits confusion spell at will 275. Knife vest – holds 1d12 knives! 276. ½ of jerked meat 277. A blood-soaked book; a partially written history about a long-lost keep on the borderlands. The last written page is done in a different hand, and is scrawled with “The rules have changed!” in large, bold letters. Roughly a third of the book (of 100 pages) has been used. (5gp) 278. Giant spider silk rope – sticks to most surfaces (including oiled gloves) 279. A set of wooden wind chimes which plays a different tune depending upon the direction of the wind which disturbs it. 280. A life sized copper statue of a fat cat with amber eyes. Purrs if stroked, does not detect as magic. 281. A bestiary! 282. A bright red hooded cape sized for a child, spattered with dried blood. (1gp) 283. The skeletal remains of a long-dead warrior, wearing a suit of plate armor which still glistens as if it had been polished yesterday. The name of every warrior to ever don the armor has been inscribed upon the front and back of the chest plate, covering nearly every inch of its surface with precisely written, black runes. A carful inspection of the armor will reveal that there remains room for one last name. 284. A large, boxed chess set. All the pieces are small, dead pixies somehow sealed within glass. 285. Bound Armor of the Demon/Fey/Lich/Whatever - Gives insane buffs, will eventually turn you into one of whatever it's namesake is. 286. An iron flask holding a viscous liquid of intense, emerald-green that smells faintly of citrus fruit. The liquid is a concentrated, magical dye for clothing and the like, equal to four full barrels of normal dye. If consumed, it turns the drinker green for a full month. (65gp) 287. Self-incinerating pellets – extra planar/dimensional transport/escape to pocket dimension with scrying/teleportation stone/orb 288. The remnants of a massive door of stone which has been smashed into rubble. A magic mouth which had once adorned the door remains intact. As the PCs draw near it will issue its warning: “Disturb not this chamber, lest the world suffer.” Whatever the mouth was set to guard is gone – the chamber beyond the broken door is empty. 289. A 6’ stack of 1” x 8” x 12’ planks of rare, scented jewel wood 290. A large, wrought-iron sign crafted to read: “Beware of Wyvern” in a bold script. The sign weighs 80 pounds. (70gp) 291. Uncut jewel – size of a dwarf’s fist or other incredible size 292. A tablet of pure gold, inscribed with the core rites and beliefs of a vernerable religion. Carful study of this tablet, however, will reveal subtle – but important – differences between these ancient practices and the current practices of the religion in question. 293. An oboe-like musical instrument made from a troll’s femur 294. A child’s cloth doll with a small silver brooch pinned to it in the shape of a butterfly. (Brooch: 4gp) 295. A 5 ft. tall bookstand in maple-wood, the front of which is carved into the likeness of three intertwined foxes. (6gp) 296. "The Box of Do Want" which made anyone looking into the box desire whatever it was that I put inside of it. A rock? The shopkeeper wants it so badly they're willing to pay their entire fortune. A spoon? The tavern keeper is willing to give you his daughter. 297. Wand Chamber – fashioned to look like a scroll case, it contains 1d12 slots to hold wands – think of it as a circular bandolier for your everyday wizard 298. A hollow glass sphere of surprising proportions – nearly three meters across. If it is broken those nearby will catch the barest scent of alien perfumes, hinting at strange lands belonging to the ancient time when the sphere was first forged and air trapped within it. 299. A crown of severed, mummified fingers. Each finger bears three jeweled rings (2200 gp) 300. A large sword with jewels that sequentially lit up after activation. After the last jewel was lit, the sword would explode! 301. A sword of truly mammoth proportions. Resting within a chamber more than thirty meters long, the sword stretches from one end to the other. Whatever creature was meant to wield this mighty weapon would truly stagger the imagination of a dragon. 302. Bone crushing mace – critical renders limb useless; two handed by any smaller than large 303. Rabbit-fur mittens and hat sized for a child. (1gp) 304. Eldritch flint & steel – 10’ reach – blinding/minor burns 305. Water damaged ledger – hidden location 306. A brass chamber pot in which has been hidden 3 pieces of rosy quartz. (Chamber pot: 3sp, rosy quartz: 4gp, 7gp, 12gp) 307. A sack of prized flower bulbs 308. D8 buds of garlic 309. The potions are a polymorphed group of famous heroes transformed into oozes. Anyone with the ability to communicate telepathically are able to speak with them (and probably help them get back to normal). 310. A pair of blue enameled steel spiked gauntlets. The palms of both gauntlets are designed to display the Cambersome family crest, a stylized ‘C’ shaped into the likeness of a coiled serpent. (90gp) 311. Ancient gold cube – quite encumbering 312. Refillable curved poison dagger 313. A dirty canvas back containing twenty pounds of an aphrodisiac root (1000 gp) 314. Charm that tells 1 truth about a creature killed in the area 315. Fossilized skull of lich-arcane power source 316. Potpourri with demon blood – invigorating & entrancing 317. Headless helm – invisibility helm, “headless horseman style” 318. Animated pet rock – capable of killing people! 319. Tactical defense stick… 320. A leather ball stuffed with chicken feathers and a plain electrum ring. (Ring: 35sp) 321. Grog_of_Susbtantial_Whimsy_(3.5e_Equipment) - http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Grog_of_Susbtantial_Whimsy_%283.5e_Equipment%29 322. Silver hand sized harp 323. A grandfather’s broadsword, plain but quality. An unknown script runs along the inner side of the scabbard. 324. A ring of Luck, +1 on all saves 325. An ancient mummy which was given full burial rites and laid within a stately sarcophagus. Arranged on five pedestals around the sarcophagus are the canopic jars in which the mummy’s vital organs were placed. Although the mummy is not of the undead, opening these jars will reveal that its organs continue to function: The heart beats, the lungs fill with air and empty again, and so forth. 326. Armor of barbarian raging 327. Dinosaur bacon 328. Troll calling horn 329. A magic kazoo of intimidation 330. A large pile of coal. Two small, rough diamonds are hidden near the bottom. (20gp, 25gp) 331. Monster presence detecting weapon (HoSignup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world
Former child actor Kirk Cameron has responded to fierce criticism of his comments about gays at the weekend denying they were ‘not loving’, and claiming he has been ‘slandered’ and unfairly accused of hate speech.
In an interview with Piers Morgan on Sunday night, the former Growing Pains actor had said homosexuality was “unnatural” and “ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization”.
But following a backlash, Cameron says he should have been able to express the opinions without being “slandered” and insists he loves “all people”.
In a statement sent exclusively to ABC News, Cameron said: “I spoke as honestly as I could, but some people believe my responses were not loving toward those in the gay community. That is not true. I can assuredly say that it’s my life’s mission to love all people.
“I should be able to express moral views on social issues – especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years – without being slandered, accused of hate speech, and told from those who preach ‘tolerance’ that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I’m in the public square.”
Herndon Graddick of GLAAD said the comments “might be ‘loving’ in Kirk Cameron’s mind, but it’s gay youth and victims of bullying who truly suffer from adults like Cameron who espouse these ideas”.
He added: “Obviously, Cameron has the right to recite his anti-gay talking points, just like fair-minded Americans have the right to tell him that his views are harmful and have no place in modern America.”
6,400 people have signed a GLAAD petition telling Cameron it is “time to finally grow up”.
Actor Alan Thicke, who starred alongside Cameron in Growing Pains tweeted: “I’m getting him some new books. The Old Testament simply can’t be expected to explain everything… I love Kirk but I may have to spank him…’tho not in a gay way!”
Stephen Baldwin and George Takei appeared on HLN’s Showbiz Tonight and discussed Cameron’s comments.
After Cameron’s interview, Baldwin had tweeted: “GREAT JOB Kirk!!! Let’s pray one day Piers Morgan finds true Salvation, God Bless!”
Takei said: “We have to remember yours is a faith-based opinion, and what we’re talking about is civil law, apart from your faith […] if you want respect from us for your faith, that respect has to be mutual.”
After Baldwin spoke of a “gay lifestyle”, Takei said being gay was was not akin to leading “a surfer lifestyle”.
Baldwin queried why Cameron had been vilified but Cynthia Nixon had not received as much backlash: “So when Cynthia Nixon said it’s a choice, where’s everybody asking her about what she means by that and is that right or wrong? Can somebody help me with that?”George R. R. Martin poses with Poor Dead Ned's Head (Game of Thrones / Instagram)
There are so many (sooo many) months to wait before Game of Thrones returns to HBO and even longer until the next installment in George R. R. Martin's best selling series A Song of Ice and Fire. But instead of spending every waking second working on The Winds of Winter, Martin has taken time to write a companion book to his popular fantasy series called The World of Ice and Fire, which will be released on October 28th.
Inside, illustrated accounts of the history of the Seven Kingdoms, including facts not detailed in the novels themselves but vitally important to the events that unfold during the various rebellions and uprisings chronicled in the series. The author has released a sample on his website that discusses the ascension of Aegon I Targaryen, aka Aegon the Conqueror, who—with his sisters/wives—conquered most of Westeros atop dragons. Ya know, like you do.
George R. R. Martin himself will be making but a single U.S. appearance to promote this book, surfacing at the 92Y on October 26th at 8 p.m. He'll be on hand to "discuss the political machinations and sordid relationships that set into motion the “present-day” struggles of the Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons, and Targaryens;" we give fans approximately 15 seconds to stay on-topic. Tickets go on sale today at noon and will absolutely sell out, so make like a direwolf and attack immediately.
Prices are steep at $100 but all tickets also include a pre-signed copy of the book. If you miss out on a seat, the event will also be live streamed on the interwebs.On the evening April 14, 1865, five days after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, President Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln decided to attend the comedy “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. They were joined by Maj. Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, who were invited after Gen. Ulysses S. Grant changed his mind about going that morning.Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and Lincoln’s bodyguard had urged him not to go through with the highly publicized theater visit, fearing that disappointed Confederates might try to harm him. Both Lincolns also felt tired and considered canceling their theater plans, but the president insisted on going to cheer himself up.Confederate loyalist John Wilkes Booth, an actor at the theater, heard about the president’s plans that morning. Booth and a group of conspirators had spent the previous year planning to kidnap Lincoln, but bitterness over the South’s defeat and Lincoln’s plans for black suffrage convinced Booth that a more drastic action was needed. He quickly gathered his conspirators and made plans to assassinate Lincoln, Grant, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.At about 10:15 p.m., during a comedic highpoint of the play’s third act, Booth burst into the president’s private balcony and shot Lincoln with a derringer. The bullet passed through the left side of the president’s brain. Some said Booth yelled, “Sic semper tyrannis,” Latin for “thus always to tyrants,” while others reported hearing, “the South is avenged!” Rathbone lunged at Booth, who cut Rathbone’s arm with a knife. Booth leapt off the balcony as Rathbone grabbed him, breaking his fibula when he landed. Nevertheless, he managed to rush outside and escape on horseback.Lincoln was carried across the street to William Petersen's boarding house, where he died at 7:22 a.m. the next day.Thousands of years ago a star exploded in a supernova, leaving behind the glorious riot of colored gas we see now as the Crab Nebula. The light from this explosion reached Earth in 1054 A.D., creating what looked like a new bright star in the sky as recorded by ancient Chinese and Arab astronomers. Native American cave paintings, too, have been thought to |
.e., Israel’s creation), how long? Do you think it can last, and that it benefits the Palestinian people? [The] holy sites which have been desecrated every other second again and again for seven decades now under an occupation that does not quit killing, torturing, looting and imprisoning…
PMW pointed out that the official Palestinian Authority WAFA website deleted his “67 years” phrase from its published a transcript of his remarks.
PA institutions provide plenty of evidence that the Abbas regime considers all of Israel as “occupied.”
Besides promoting maps of Israel as “Palestine,” the Palestinian Authority national Security Forces posted on Facebook on different days last week text, as translated and reported by PMW:
Good morning, the beach of occupied Ashkelon.” Good evening, occupied city of Haifa. Good morning, occupied Acre (Akko).Again, to be clear, this is not the same as Project Santa Cruz -- that still exists as a separate product. The Go is positioned as a VR headset that's in between the Rift and the Gear VR. Unlike the Oculus Rift, which needs to be tethered to a PC, or Samsung's Gear VR, which requires a phone, the new Oculus Go is entirely self-contained. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says this is the "most accessible VR headset ever." It has cameras on the headset and uses computer vision tech to figure out orientational tracking. It will sell for $199 and will ship early next year.
The Oculus Go has a new mesh fabric that conforms to your face. According to VP of VR, Hugo Barra, the headset has a soft elastic strap and comes equipped with next-generation VR optics. It ships with all new optical design, with lenses that are the next generation of the ones on the Oculus Rift. It has the same wide field of view as the Rift and promises significantly reduced glare.
As for its display, it's a "fast-switch LCD" with WQHD 2560X1440 resolution. According to Barra, it has a higher pixel fill factor than OLEDs, with a "dramatic effect on visual clarity" that "reduces the screendoor effect."
What's more, it even has an integrated spatial audio experience. That means the audio drivers are built into the headset, and you don't need headphones to listen to the sound. That means that the people around you can listen in on the game or experience as well.
As for the apps, Barra says that they are binary compatible and it shares the same controller input set as the Samsung Gear VR. This means that apps that are built for the Gear VR will also be compatible with the Oculus Go. It features orientation tracking and will ship with a controller similar to the one for the Gear VR. Dev kits will ship in November.Before President Donald Trump flouted longstanding tradition by choosing Saudi Arabia as the destination of his first foreign visit as president, where he was lavished with gifts and reportedly struck a record-setting arms deal with the kingdom (after his administration called the CEO of Lockheed Martin to get a cheaper deal for the Saudis); before he took part in the male-only sword dance in Riyadh; before he ramped up support for the widely criticized Saudi-led war in Yemen; before he undermined his own secretary of State’s position by siding with the Saudis in their alarming diplomatic row with the Qataris—before any of this, Trump actually castigated Saudi Arabia.
In fact, candidate Trump went as far as saying—twice in one day, in February of 2016—that Saudi Arabia was behind the 9/11 attacks. During the presidential debates with Hillary Clinton, Trump admonished the Clinton Foundation for receiving contributions from the Saudis, saying, “These are people that kill women and treat women horribly and yet you take their money.”
Since then, Trump has allowed more than a billion dollars worth of arms to be delivered to Saudi Arabia, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau export data conducted by The Daily Beast. In the first eight months of 2017, a total of $1.56 billion worth of arms have been delivered from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia; during this period, the U.S. has more than doubled its bombs, missiles, and ammunition deliveries to Saudi Arabia, and nearly doubled the deliveries of armored fighting vehicles like the M1 tank, when compared with the first eight months of 2016, under the Obama administration.
In addition, The Daily Beast found that the Trump administration has shipped Saudi Arabia $561 million in bombs and missiles, $503 million in armored fighting vehicles and parts, and $552 million in parts to maintain military aircraft like Apache gunships, Blackhawk helicopters, and F15 jets for use in their disastrous war in Yemen. The total value of arms delivered to Saudi in 2017 represents a $70 million increase compared with the same eight-month period in 2016.
Arms monitoring experts are critical of the arms increase for a variety of reasons, perhaps chief among them the humanitarian crisis ravaging Yemen. Jeff Abramson, a senior fellow at the Arms Control Association, told The Daily Beast, “The United States should not be sending more weapons into an unwinnable conflict and into the hands of a country that uses U.S. weapons against civilian targets. Instead, the Trump administration should use its influence to find a political solution to the disastrous war in Yemen, which has led to a massive humanitarian crisis.”
More than 10,000 civilians have been killed in the war and 40,000 more have been wounded. The majority of these casualties have come as a result of Saudi coalition air strikes. The Saudi-led war has pushed Yemen, already poor, into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than 19 million people—80 percent of the population—require some form of humanitarian assistance.
Another arms analyst, Colby Goodman, director of the Security Assistance Monitor at the Center for International Policy, told The Daily Beast, “There have been a lot of concerns about the Trump administration’s big weapons push. The big concerns have been removing some of the Obama administration’s restrictions on arms sales, like precision guided munitions for Saudi Arabia.
“Overall we’re concerned that the Trump administration is lowering the bar and reducing the reviews and restrictions based on human rights. This is most clear in the sale of precision guided munitions to Saudi Arabia.”
Trump’s decision to relax Obama’s restrictions on arms sales comes as Yemen suffers the largest and fastest growing cholera epidemic ever recorded, with a projected 600,000 children infected by the turn of the year. Unsurprisingly, human rights experts are concerned that an escalation in the war could exacerbate Yemen’s already dire situation.
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director at Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division, told The Daily Beast, “Continued U.S. arms transfers to Saudi, alongside the intelligence, targeting and refueling support the U.S. is providing to the Saudi coalition, isn’t just unethical, given Saudi’s reckless and indiscriminate bombardment that has caused such massive devastation in Yemen; it creates a serious risk to the U.S. of legal liability for complicity in war crimes. There isn’t one single Yemeni who doesn’t know that it is American bombs that are killing thousands of Yemenis. No one should be surprised when this reality inevitably comes back to bite Americans.”
Whitson’s concerns about war crimes are not unfounded. Last year, the Saudi coalition bombed a large funeral gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, killing and injuring over 600. The UN called the bombing a war crime because it was a so-called double-tap strike, wherein the second strike is intended to kill first responders attending to the injured.
Another human rights expert, Kate Kizer, director of the Washington-based Yemen Peace Project echoed Whitson’s concerns about the legality of some of the coalition’s military operations, saying, “Coalition airstrikes are the leading cause of civilian casualties in the conflict, and there is a clear dotted line from the coalition’s airstrikes on vital civilian infrastructure to the man-made famine and cholera crisis sweeping through the country.”Story Highlights 42% of Americans believe the world views the U.S. favorably
29% say world leaders respect Trump; 67% said same of Obama in 2009
Satisfaction with U.S. on the world stage is near record low
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans believe the world at large sees the U.S. more unfavorably (57%) than favorably (42%), their worst assessment of the country's image in 10 years. A year ago, Americans' perceptions were more positive than negative.
These results are from a Gallup survey conducted Feb. 1-5, about two weeks into Donald Trump's presidency. The 42% favorable rating is one of the lowest since Gallup began asking this question in 2000 and may be attributable to the election of Trump, whose sometimes controversial statements and actions have rankled several world leaders. However, Americans' perceptions of the image of the U.S. abroad were marginally worse in 2007, when 40% thought the world viewed the nation favorably. At the time, the U.S. was embroiled in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and President George W. Bush was highly unpopular.
The high-water mark for Americans believing the U.S. is viewed favorably was 79% in 2002, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
Much of this year's drop in favorable perceptions of how the world views the U.S. is fueled by a precipitous slide among Democrats now that a Republican president is in office. Currently, 31% of Democrats think the world views the U.S. at least somewhat favorably, down from 68% last year. By contrast, Republicans' views have improved this year, to 54% from 39%, but not enough to offset the decline among Democrats.
Few Americans Believe Leaders Worldwide Respect Trump
Fewer than three in 10 Americans (29%) say leaders of other countries have respect for the new president, with 67% saying world leaders do not have much respect for him. When Barack Obama took office in 2009, the results were nearly opposite: 67% of Americans then believed global leaders respected the president, while 20% said leaders did not. At the time of the prior presidential transition in 2001, more Americans also believed George W. Bush was respected than believed he was not.
The 29% now believing that world leaders respect the president also represents a sharp drop from one year ago, in the last year of Obama's presidency. At that time, 45% said they believed the president was respected.
One reason for the drop is that fewer Republicans today think Trump is respected (60%) than Democrats in 2016 thought Obama was respected (79%).
Satisfaction With World Position Little Changed From 2016
Despite Americans' depressed perceptions of how world leaders view their new president, Americans' satisfaction with the country's position in the world hasn't changed much from last year -- 32% say they are satisfied with the position of the U.S. worldwide, down slightly from 36% in 2016.
The current reading continues a recent trend of relatively low satisfaction with the nation's global status, something that has persisted since the Iraq War troop surge in 2007.
While the Iraq War may have been a factor a decade ago, satisfaction has remained low even as U.S. involvement has wound down. The rise of the Islamic State and terrorism in general may be contributing to Americans' continued low level of satisfaction with their country's position in the world. Americans' widespread dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. could also affect their level of satisfaction with the nation's world standing.
Bottom Line
At the beginning of Trump's presidency, Americans' perceptions of how the world views the U.S. and its new president are significantly worse than they were a year ago -- and are on the low end for the past decade. This has been fueled by a sharp decline among Democrats who hold highly negative views of Trump's character and opening job performance.
But even a year ago, when Americans thought the world viewed the U.S. and Obama positively, Americans were still largely unsatisfied with the nation's global standing. This trend has been steadily negative for the past decade. Americans may not put much weight on how the rest of the world perceives the president in assessing whether they are satisfied with the United States' standing in the world. In addition to concerns about international matters such as Syria and terrorism, those views may be influenced by how they think things are going in the U.S., their low confidence in public institutions and their low trust in government. Such factors appear to have a marked effect on how Americans feel when they look beyond their borders.
Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.The Red Fred Project is a star-crossed collaboration with critically ill children. These are magical, creative children who have faced significant challenges in short lifetimes, with humor, compassion and wisdom-filled stories to share. The Red Fred Project gives those children and their stories a voice. Here’s how:
Together, we create a children’s book. Each child is the creative boss; I’m just there to bring the story to life through photography, design and a likable group of birds called The Jolly Troop. That book then becomes so many magical things: A lasting voice for these children’s beautiful stories. A tangible achievement for each child (check out how we celebrated our first creative rock star). A way to help parents pay steep medical bills; all proceeds go straight to them. And the magic multiplies, lives on forever – readers are inspired by the wisdom and imagination of these children.
Nathan signing copies of "Climbing with Tigers."
The happiest book-signing party ever!
Our first creative, Nathan Glad.
Nathan waving to his first fans in line.
The Glads sold almost 100 copies this night!
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Why are we doing this? Most of these children will not become fire-fighters, doctors, cheerleaders, vets, baristas, teachers, Olympic hopefuls or college students that pal around eating pizza until 2:30 a.m. in their dorm rooms. Due to their illnesses and physical challenges, some of these children will not live long, cannot move as others do, and have unique ways of interacting and operating in the everyday world. But what these children DO HAVE is star-dust material—these children have creative, powerful, inventive minds and spirits. They know incredible things BECAUSE of their life challenges. I want to know how they view the world and help them create an original, one-of-a-kind book, publish it, place it in the child's hands and say, "Way to go! You've published a story; you've created a book."
After the child completes the book, his/her family can use it for personal enjoyment, gifting or as a fundraising tool. The proceeds made by the sale of each book go to medical expenses of each child.
WHY WE LOVE THIS PROJECT
• through story-telling, a critically-ill child shows what life is all about
• these children become authors NOW, creating a real "children's book"
• the book becomes the child's tangible legacy
• it creates a means for the family to offset medical costs
• these books foster hope between all who face physical challenges
OUR FUNDING GOAL(S)
Our base funding goal is to raise $75K so we can begin working with a child from every state in the U.S. This will help us to work with 20-25 children. If we raise $125K, we believe we can meet with all 50 children. It will cost about $2,500/child to create each book, from beginning to end because Dallas will need to travel, workshop, photograph, design and edit each book with each child. But we can't imagine doing this without documenting it on film! If we are able to raise $200K,we can hire independent filmmakers to be onsite with us, documenting the stories of this story-making process. Can you imagine watching a film about this? Can you imagine learning about each of these children and understanding why they wrote their story the way they did?
LET'S MAKE A BOOK!
We will studiously and gratefully select a child (a “Creative”) from each state and make him or her co-creator in the story and book-making process. The child will meet with me a number of times to complete creative tasks that will result in his or her published book.
To start off, we will send a copy of "Let's Make a Book" via email or snail mail before our first meeting. Then, in the first meeting (using Skype), we will make introductions, learn about one another and go over a packet I've created to help them with their creative tasks.
Each child will get to know The Jolly Troop by reading about them in their packet and reading about their previous adventures online. Then, he or she will decide which Troopers to use in the story (it could be just one other bird or the entire Troop).
Next, the child will decide the theme of the story.
Then, the child will decide where his or her story is going to take place (this will need to be somewhere relatively close to the child’s home because we will be photographing this special place and using the images for the book).
Near the end of the visit, we will talk with both child and parent(s) and ask them to discuss and complete these specific tasks before my next visit.
THE SECOND VISIT
The second visit gets really fun—quickly. We will meet in person for the first time (and probably eat some pizza while we're at it). Once we discuss the child’s previous creative tasks, we will hunker down and crack open my laptop and begin making their very own Jolly Trooper! We will discuss typefaces, proportion, color, personality and come up with a unique name for the bird!
We will see how the story is shaping up and introduce the concept of storyboarding. I will receive direction from him or her as to which original Troopers are involved in the story, how all the birds meet, determine the problems needing to be solved, etc. We will also storyboard the book by either a) the child sketching the ideas herself or b) her asking for my assistance to fulfill this task. This will be a very important meeting, as it helps us visually conceptualize placement of image, text and interaction of the characters.
THE THIRD VISIT
The third visit is special because we visit the special place the child has been envisioning the story will happen. With my assistance, the child will art-direct the shoot. Upon inspection of the images, He or she will then make more specific directions or approve of the visuals I have captured with my camera. This will take up the entire visit and loads me up with all the creative visuals I will need to help design their book.
THE FOURTH VISIT
This will possibly be the favorite visit. After all the hours of thinking and making and creating are done, we'll have an original, one-of-a-kind children's book ready to place in the hand of the child. We will have the child read it to his or her family and talk about all the things we learned during the process.
The parent(s) will also be given charge of the book's future. They are welcome to keep the few we give them at the completion of the project, to order several more for their family and friends, or to use it for fundraising purposes for their child's treatments. In any respect, the story conjured and created by this significant child will become an object of incredible value.
PROJECT STATUS
Nathan about to receive his book!
Nathan turning every single page of his book, "Climbing with Tigers."
We just finished our first Red Fred Project book, "Climbing with Tigers" by our first Creative, Nathan Glad. He is from Utah, and we are very proud of him and the great story he created. We are also very impressed with the lessons he shared at the end of the book regarding what he's learned through having Osteogenesis Imperfecta (brittle bone disease). Below are a few sample spreads from his 8" x 8", hardbound, full-color, 58 page book.
A few sample spreads.
NEXT STEPS
Our next step is to take this project and this process to 49 other children across the country to create more original stories. Can you imagine the impact this collection of 50 books will have? Can you see them being used and loved in hospitals and treatment centers that house and help children in similar situations? We are sure this project can have a very positive impact on all parties involved (the Creative, family, audience and strangers like you) and we are excited to have your help in reaching these 49 other Creatives.
REWARDS
We had a great time imagining the rewards we were going to offer to all you great folks supporting this project! We decided to name each reward level after a member of The Jolly Troop.
Hand-on-the-Heart & Kiss-in-the-Wind Thank You
Personalized Jolly Troop Profile Image
12"x18" Downloadable Poster
3" Jolly Troop Magnet
Digital Copy of "Climbing with Tigers"
Autographed Copy of "Climbing with Tigers"
16"x20" Autographed Illustration from "Climbing with Tigers"
Dallas Will Make Your Very Own Trooper
Send Yourself or Someone You Love to Help Dallas
SAMPLE WORK OF THE JOLLY TROOP
Artwork samples of The Jolly Troop
CREATIVE TEAM
Whether it's organizing visits with the families or documenting each of these stories, we know it is going to take a dedicated and heart-feeling team to carry this project to full fruition. Here is our great team!The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.
American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.
The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the "safe house" in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed "safe".
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.
Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.
According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and "lockdown", under which movement is severely restricted.
Mr Stevens had been on a visit to Germany, Austria and Sweden and had just returned to Libya when the Benghazi trip took place with the US embassy's security staff deciding that the trip could be undertaken safely.
Eight Americans, some from the military, were wounded in the attack which claimed the lives of Mr Stevens, Sean Smith, an information officer, and two US Marines. All staff from Benghazi have now been moved to the capital, Tripoli, and those whose work is deemed to be non-essential may be flown out of Libya.
In the meantime a Marine Corps FAST Anti-Terrorism Reaction Team has already arrived in the country from a base in Spain and other personnel are believed to be on the way. Additional units have been put on standby to move to other states where their presence may be needed in the outbreak of anti-American fury triggered by publicity about a film which demeaned the Prophet Mohamed.
A mob of several hundred stormed the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. Other missions which have been put on special alert include almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.
Senior officials are increasingly convinced, however, that the ferocious nature of the Benghazi attack, in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, indicated it was not the result of spontaneous anger due to the video, called Innocence of Muslims. Patrick Kennedy, Under-Secretary at the State Department, said he was convinced the assault was planned due to its extensive nature and the proliferation of weapons.
There is growing belief that the attack was in revenge for the killing in a drone strike in Pakistan of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, an al-Qa'ida operative who was, as his nom-de-guerre Abu Yahya al-Libi suggests, from Libya, and timed for the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.
Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I am asking my colleagues on the committee to immediately investigate what role al-Qa'ida or its affiliates may have played in the attack and to take appropriate action."
According to security sources the consulate had been given a "health check" in preparation for any violence connected to the 9/11 anniversary. In the event, the perimeter was breached within 15 minutes of an angry crowd starting to attack it at around 10pm on Tuesday night. There was, according to witnesses, little defence put up by the 30 or more local guards meant to protect the staff. Ali Fetori, a 59-year-old accountant who lives near by, said: "The security people just all ran away and the people in charge were the young men with guns and bombs."
Wissam Buhmeid, the commander of the Tripoli government-sanctioned Libya's Shield Brigade, effectively a police force for Benghazi, maintained that it was anger over the Mohamed video which made the guards abandon their post. "There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."
Mr Stevens, it is believed, was left in the building by the rest of the staff after they failed to find him in dense smoke caused by a blaze which had engulfed the building. He was discovered lying unconscious by local people and taken to a hospital, the Benghazi Medical Centre, where, according to a doctor, Ziad Abu Ziad, he died from smoke inhalation.
An eight-strong American rescue team was sent from Tripoli and taken by troops under Captain Fathi al- Obeidi, of the February 17 Brigade, to the secret safe house to extract around 40 US staff. The building then came under fire from heavy weapons. "I don't know how they found the place to carry out the attack. It was planned, the accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries," said Captain Obeidi. "It began to rain down on us, about six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa."
Libyan reinforcements eventually arrived, and the attack ended. News had arrived of Mr Stevens, and his body was picked up from the hospital and taken back to Tripoli with the other dead and the survivors.
Mr Stevens' mother, Mary Commanday, spoke of her son yesterday. "He did love what he did, and he did a very good job with it. He could have done a lot of other things, but this was his passion. I have a hole in my heart," she said.
Global anger: The protests spread
Yemen
The furore across the Middle East over the controversial film about the Prophet Mohamed is now threatening to get out of control. In Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, yesterday around 5,000 demonstrators attacked the US embassy, leaving at least 15 people injured. Young protesters, shouted: "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God," smashed windows of the security offices and burned at least five cars, witnesses said.
Egypt
Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi yesterday condemned the attack in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador. In a speech in Brussels, Mr Morsi said he had spoken to President Obama and condemned "in the clearest terms" the Tuesday attacks. Despite this, and possibly playing to a domestic audience, President Obama said yesterday that "I don't think we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy".
Demonstrators in Cairo attacked the mission on Tuesday evening and protests have continued since.
Iraq
Militants said the anti-Islamic film "will put all the American interests Iraq in danger" and called on Muslims everywhere to "face our joint enemy", as protesters in Baghdad burned American flags yesterday. The warning from the Iranian-backed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq came as demonstrators demanded the closure of the US embassy in the capital.
Bangladesh
Islamists warned they may "besiege" the US embassy in Dhaka after security forces stopped around 1,000 protesters marching to the building. The Khelafat Andolon group called for bigger protests as demonstrators threw their fists in the air, burned the flag and chanted anti-US slogans.
Others
There was a Hamas-organised protest in Gaza City, and as many as 100 Arab Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai postponed a trip to Norway, fearing violence. Officials in Pakistan said they "expected protests". Protesters in Tunis burnt US flags.
*Patrick Cockburn: The murder of US ambassador Christopher Stevens proves the Arab Spring was never what it seemed
*Editorial: Obama must measure his response
*US defends itself to the world - but back home it's war
*Jerome Taylor: Fear and loathing - Another unholy row about Islam
*The softly spoken diplomat who lifted the rebels' resolve
*Robert Fisk: The provocateurs know politics and religion don't mix
We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view.
At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads.
Subscribe nowDays after ally Shiv Sena forced the cancellation of Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali's concert in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis virtually extended an invitation to the ghazal maestro on Thursday, saying his government will ensure foolproof security if he still wishes to perform in the city. "Last time the event did not happen because the organisers backed out. But if Ghulam Ali ji wants to perform again in Mumbai or Maharashtra, we will ensure foolproof security for him," Fadnavis said at the India Today conclave here. "We will not hesitate to put behind bars and prosecute anybody, even somebody from our party or our friends who break the law. When Ghulam Aliji was to perform in Mumbai, we had announced full security for him. But before we could formally communicate with them, they decided to back out," Fadnavis said.
In a veiled attack on the Sena, Fadnavis said it is wrong to relate Ghulam Ali to any religion or a country, as he is an artist. Fadnavis said the state government's decision to provide security for former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri's book launch should not be seen as endorsing his views. "It is not that we are giving him (Kasuri) security as we endorse his views. But, despite all opposition, we had to provide him security as it was our 'Raj Dharma'. Despite threats, we managed to get his book launch done without any security problems," he said.
Seeking to playdown the aggressive posturing of Sena towards the Government despite being a partner in it, Fadnavis said the two parties are working in tandem with each other without any "problems" and comments made (by Sena) in Marathi are often misunderstood by the national media. "Both parties are a part of the state cabinet. But, we have never taken split decisions. We are always together. Comments made in Marathi are misunderstood by the national media. Thus, talks of rifts crop up. As far as the government is concerned, we are working without any problems," Fadnavis added.
Sena's mouthpiece "Saamna" frequently carries stinging editorials directed against the BJP and the policies and programmes of the Government at the Centre and in the state.To quote those legendary Englishmen the Beatles, it was 20 years ago today (or thereabouts). In autumn 1996, the Tory-run Department of National Heritage issued a press release featuring the term “Cool Britannia”. Tony Blair and the prime movers of New Labour were already on that political wavelength. In his conference speech the previous year, Blair had said that he aspired to make Britain “a young country … with a common purpose, ideals we cherish and live up to … ready for the day’s challenge: ambitious, idealistic, united”. By the following year, a new Labour government was working on nothing less than “the rebranding of Britain”. Now, ruinously, we have been rebranded again.
Walls Come Tumbling Down by Daniel Rachel review – where have all the political musicians gone? Read more
This time it is all about England. As the UK continues to fracture and Scotland goes its own way, England is the country that media people and politicians might still rarely mention by name, but which completely dominates the post-referendum foreground. In this context, England is the nation for which Theresa May claims to speak, and which preoccupies many Labour politicians: a country of hardcore Brexit supporters, St George’s flags hung out on Kent housing estates – and, to paraphrase Blair, immigration, immigration, immigration. In contrast to that bright 1990s vision of a future UK, it is, moreover, an old country, whose dotage is portrayed as a matter of crabby resentment, a place where there is a collective wish to lock all the doors.
This newly rebranded place underpinned one of the key plot lines that ran through this year’s conference season. In Liverpool, for all Jeremy Corbyn’s claims to be “relaxed” about immigration, some of his own MPs were voicing a sudden hostility to the principle of free movement, which peaked when the Leeds MP Rachel Reeves said immigration had turned her Leeds constituency into a “tinderbox”. A week later came all that Tory nastiness in Birmingham, with a serving home secretary floating serious plans to make companies declare the number of non-British workers on their books, a monstrous illiberal idea that Tories were, amid much furore, forced to abandon. But there was also Jeremy Hunt, with the support of the prime minister, boasting of his plan, which apparently endures, to minimise the numbers of foreign doctors. This was an English proposal in every way: aimed at an English audience by a minister who, thanks to devolution, sees only to the English NHS.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Steel Pulse perform at a 1978 concert organised by the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism in east London. Photograph: David Corio/Redferns
It was telling perhaps, that as the Labour party fumbled, the most pointed response came from a trio of voices that included the leaders of the UK’s two progressive nationalist parties: Nicola Sturgeon and Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood, who joined the Greens’ Caroline Lucas in rightly decrying “the most toxic rhetoric on immigration we have seen from any government in living memory”.
We are in a bad place, but we didn’t get there overnight. Over the past 10 years or so, a small set of English people and organisations have led the toxic recasting of their country. Nigel Farage and his de facto English nationalist party didn’t just push the EU to the top of the political agenda, they also created the impression that they spoke for a forgotten nation. And then there were the English grassroots Conservatives, most of whom raged against David Cameron’s modernisation drive, such as it was. A big role has also been played by the great minds at those self-consciously English media outlets, the Mail and the Express. Witness the Mail’s “Who will speak for England?” front page, used this year to open its campaigning against the EU.
What distinguishes the point we have reached today is that this poisonous illiberalism, this recasting of the way we view ourselves and the face we show to the world, has been given an official stamp of approval by a group of shameless Tory politicians at the top. Seemingly they are terrified of the people who voted for Brexit, but also they scent a great political opportunity. Shame on them, and their cynicism.
The liberal left also shares responsibility for leaving the question of what England is to more destructive voices
People on the liberal left also have to bear some responsibility, for averting their eyes from the essentially cultural elements of politics, and leaving the question of what England is to altogether more destructive voices. England, after all, is not just the Brexit heartlands. Its other aspects are there in Leeds, Bradford and Manchester; in mischievous, multicultural Bristol; and Leicester, a magnificent English city that represents hope for the future, and people’s ability to get on. London speaks for itself. And there is another England beginning to stir in the supposedly staid suburbs (like the one I grew up in, 12 miles south of Manchester), areas fast filling up with a diverse array of people who have moved beyond the city limits.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘To paraphrase that great Englishman Billy Bragg, we ought to be looking for a New England.’ Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian
Even in the places for which May and the Tories now affect to speak, things are more complicated than they seem to think. I have met plenty of English Brexit supporters who have expressed worries about immigration while paying warm tribute to Poles, Czechs and people from the Baltic states as admirable “grafters”, and assets to the places where they have settled. Their kids mix with new arrivals at the local schools, where the children of migrants acquire local accents. Where some people do indeed shout and seethe about immigration, one can nonetheless divine the country that led George Orwell, among others, to celebrate its essential moderation and gentleness (“You notice it the instant you set foot on English soil. It is a land where the bus conductors are good-tempered and the policemen carry no revolvers”).
These things need to be loudly celebrated, and talked about in specifically English terms. But when politicians will not recognise England’s existence, let alone the fight for its soul, how will that happen? Those of us who live in England and feel a profound attachment to it ought to wake up to a simple truth: that our country is being stolen away, and repainted in truly ugly colours. What is afoot is as much cultural as political, and it will take much more than conventional politics to turn things round. This is a moment: one that demands the attention of musicians, writers, dramatists, journalists – and the millions of people in England who surely feel a deep dismay about what is happening.
And if we want the beginnings of an idea about what to do, we could look back not to the g |
successfully argue that the time to grant Ybarra his citizenship has passed, as Parra fears they will, then arguing for Ybarra's deportation based on his criminal record — particularly the aggravated assault conviction — is "a slam-dunk case for the government."
According to the Justice Department's Executive Office of Immigration Review, which adjudicates immigration cases, a federal judge administratively closed Ybarra's deportation case in March 2012, two months before he began serving his time in state prison.
Therefore, though Ybarra will remain in ICE custody unless a federal judge again orders his release, no deportation order is pending because that proceeding has yet to be concluded. To deport Ybarra, DHS lawyers will have to file to reopen the case, which Parra expects will happen in the next few days.
Ybarra said that while he is confident that Parra will prevail in his case, he and his family are tired of hoping for his citizenship to finally be granted. Instead, Ybarra said, they are consumed with a desperate sense of betrayal by the U.S. government.
"I've got a lot of anger, a lot of anxiety over this," he said. "They know I'm a citizen, they know I'm a combat veteran. I don't see where they've ever shown that they care."
Reporter Joe Watson served in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and was released from ADOC custody this summer after completing a 12-year sentence.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the first name of Ybarra’s youngest daughter, and incorrectly reported Parra’s branch of service.
- 30 -PORTLAND, Oregon – Smart Approaches to Marijuana, the anti-legalization group, has announced the resignation of the leader of their Oregon Project SAM affiliate over comments he made comparing the legalization of marijuana to the horrific massacre in Orlando that killed 49 and wounded 53.
As Marijuana Politics reported, on June 12, as the world was reacting to the news of the slaughter that took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the Twitter account for SAM Oregon was trolling the comments of Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
In response to Blumenauer’s statement of disgust over the shooting and the cowardice of elected officials who won’t pass sensible gun regulations, SAM Oregon called out the cowardice of elected officials who “refuse to stand up against the marijuana industry”. SAM Oregon also chided Blumenauer for supporting one “threat to public health/public safety” [marijuana legalization] while also speaking to “condemn another” [the Orlando shooting].
Today, the leader of SAM Oregon who composed the tweets, Randy Philbrick of Portland, resigned from the anti-marijuana group, effective immediately.
In his resignation, however, he still dodges responsibility for comparing the shooting that killed 49 to marijuana legalization that’s killed no one, writing, “My poor choice of words were construed as something I did not intend.”
The offensive tweets have since been scrubbed from the SAM Oregon Twitter account, but their text remains in our original reporting of the story.
Philbrick also tweets at his personal account, @PDXRandyLee. Marijuana Politics has documented some of his more offensive tweets that he composed while leading Project SAM’s Oregon affiliate.New research suggests pre-Homo human ancestral species, such as Australopithecus africanus, used human-like hand postures much earlier than was previously thought.
Anthropologists from the University of Kent, working with researchers from University College London, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany) and the Vienna University of Technology (Austria), have produced the first research findings to support archaeological evidence for stone tool use among fossil australopiths 3-2 million years ago.
The distinctly human ability for forceful precision (e.g. when turning a key) and power "squeeze" gripping (e.g. when using a hammer) is linked to two key evolutionary transitions in hand use: a reduction in arboreal climbing and the manufacture and use of stone tools. However, it is unclear when these locomotory and manipulative transitions occurred.
Dr Matthew Skinner, Senior Lecturer in Biological Anthropology and Dr Tracy Kivell, Reader in Biological Anthropology, both of Kent's School of Anthropology and Conservation, used new techniques to reveal how fossil species were using their hands by examining the internal spongey structure of bone called trabeculae. Trabecular bone remodels quickly during life and can reflect the actual behaviour of individuals in their lifetime.
The researchers first examined the trabeculae of hand bones of humans and chimpanzees. They found clear differences between humans, who have a unique ability for forceful precision gripping between thumb and fingers, and chimpanzees, who cannot adopt human-like postures. This unique human pattern is present in known non-arboreal and stone tool-making fossil human species, such as Neanderthals.
The research, titled "Human-like hand use in Australopithecus africanus, shows that Australopithecus africanus," a 3-2 million-year-old species from South Africa traditionally considered not to have engaged in habitual tool manufacture, has a human-like trabecular bone pattern in the bones of the thumb and palm (the metacarpals) consistent with forceful opposition of the thumb and fingers typically adopted during tool use.
These results support previously published archaeological evidence for stone tool use in australopiths and provide skeletal evidence that our early ancestors used human-like hand postures much earlier and more frequently than previously considered.This eight-disc, 157 song mix is a survey of some of the best and most notable music from 2010. It’s fairly comprehensive, covering indie, pop, rock, punk, folk, rap, R&B, soul, dance, country, modern classical, ambient and electronic music, and in many cases, hard-to-classify genre hybrids. I inevitably had to leave out some things, but I think you’ll find that this serves as both a helpful guide to some of the year’s most exciting music and a surprisingly listenable series of mixes. Discover new stuff! Rediscover familiar artists in a new context! Jam out to ten and a half hours of world-class tunes! If you enjoy this, please do pass it on.
Owen Pallett “Midnight Directives” / Vampire Weekend “White Sky” / Spoon “The Mystery Zone” / Joanna Newsom “Good Intentions Paving Company” / Liars “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant” / Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi “Tightrope” / Sleigh Bells “Rill Rill” / Robyn “Dancing on My Own” / LCD Soundsystem “I Can Change” / Sky Ferreira “One” / Bat For Lashes and Beck “Let’s Get Lost” / Arcade Fire “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” / Twin Sister “All Around and Away We Go” / Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Round and Round” / Caribou “Odessa” / Rihanna “Only Girl (in the World)” / Kanye West featuring Pusha T “Runaway”
Yelawolf “Billy Crystal” / Gorillaz featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack “Stylo” / Goldfrapp “Alive” / Alphabeat “Heatwave” / The-Dream “Love King” / of Montreal featuring Solange “Sex Karma” / Dominique Young Unique “Music Time” / Waka Flocka Flame “Hard in Da Paint” / Stereolab “Two Finger Symphony” / The Russian Futurists “Hoeing Weeds Sowing Seeds” / Glasser “Apply” / Shapes and Sizes “Too Late For Dancing” / Marnie Stern “Transparency is the New Mystery” / James Blake “I Only Know What I Know Now” / Tracey Thorn “Oh, the Divorces!” / Victoire “I Am Coming For My Things” / A Sunny Day in Glasgow “Drink Drank Drunk” / Azari & III “Reckless With Your Love (Tensnake Mix)” / Best Coast “Our Deal”
Scissor Sisters “Invisible Light” / Matthew Dear “You Put A Smell On Me” / Ne-Yo “Champagne Life” / Alicia Keys “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)” / How to Destroy Angels “The Believers” / Gold Panda “Snow & Taxis” / These New Puritans “Three Thousand” / Usher featuring Nicki Minaj “Lil Freak” / Beyonce “Why Don’t You Love Me?” / Fol Chen “In Ruins” / Kylie Minogue “Better Than Today” / Club 8 “Dancing With the Mentally Ill” / Britta Persson “Meet A Bear” / Clinic “Bubblegum” / Wavves “Idiot” / Past Lives “Don’t Let the Ashes Fill Your Eyes” / Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith “Not In Love” / Big Boi featuring Big Rube “General Patton” / M.I.A. “XXXO” / First Rate People “Girls’ Night” / Baths “You’re My Excuse to Travel”
The New Pornographers “Moves” / Ted Leo and the Pharmacists “Bottled In Cork” / The Roots “How I Got Over” / Phosphorescent “It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)” / Sabbath Assembly “Glory Hallelujah” / Erykah Badu “Turn Me Away (Get Munny)” / Kings Go Forth “High on Your Love” / Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings “Money” / Die Antwoord “Enter the Ninja” / T.I. “I’m Back” / Chromeo “When the Night Falls” / Beeda Weeda “Baserock Babies” / California Swag District “Teach Me How to Dougie” / Free Energy “Free Energy” / Los Campesinos! “Romance is Boring” / My Chemical Romance “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” / Nicki Minaj “Girls Fall Like Dominoes” / Ghostface Killah “Together Baby” / Unknown Mortal Orchestra “Ffunny Ffrends” / Beach House “Walk in the Park”
Hot Chip “Thieves in the Night” / Reading Rainbow “Always on My Mind” / Dum Dum Girls “Rest of Our Lives” / The Knife “The Height of Summer” / The Mynabirds “Ways of Looking” / Deerhunter “Helicopter” / Guido featuring Aarya “Beautiful Complication” / School of Seven Bells “Windstorm” / Avey Tare “Ghost of Books” / Laura Marling “Alpha Shallows” / White Hinterland “Bow & Arrow” / Laetitia Sadier “One Million Year Trip” / Society of Rockets “We” / Lil Wayne “I Am Not A Human Being” / Rick Ross featuring Gucci Mane “MC Hammer” / Roach Gigz “Magic Gas” / Titus Andronicus “Titus Andronicus Forever” / Superchunk “Digging For Something” / Serena-Maneesh “I Just Want to See Your Face” / The Magnetic Fields “We Are Having a Hootenanny” / Rose Elinor Dougall “May Holiday”
Four Tet “Angel Echoes” / Pantha Du Prince “Bohemian Forest” / Panda Bear “You Can Count On Me” / Women “China Steps” / Gonjasufi “Duet” / Flying Lotus “Do the Astral Plane” / Prins Thomas “Ørkenvandring” / Tame Impala “Solitude Is Bliss” / Slow Club “Giving Up On Love” / Cee-Lo Green “Fuck You” / Belle & Sebastian “The Ghost of Rockschool” / Jay Electronica “Exhibit C” / Black Milk featuring Royce Da 5’9 “Deadly Medley” / Charlotte Gainsbourg “Looking Glass Blues” / Zola Jesus “I Can’t Stand” / Wolf Parade “Little Golden Age” / Mr. Dream “Knick Knack” / The Fall “Y.F.O.C./Slippy Floor”
Thrushes “Crystals” / Bullion “Say Goodbye to What” / Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris “Baby” / Drake “Karaoke” / Sade “Soldier of Love” / Katy B “Katy On a Mission” / Teengirl Fantasy “Cheaters” / CocoRosie “The Moon Asked the Crow” / Dirty Projectors and Bjork “On and Ever Onward” / Deloreon “Real Love” / The Smashing Pumpkins “Freak” / Warpaint “Undertow” / The Morning Benders “Promises” / Emeralds “Candy Shoppe” / Kelis “Acapella” / Discodeine featuring Jarvis Cocker “Synchronize” / We Love “Ice Lips” / Twista featuring Raekwon “The Heat” / Gil Scott-Heron “New York Is Killing Me”
Field Music “In the Mirror” / Electric Six “After Hours” / Das Racist “Rappin 2 U” / Curren$y “A Gee” / Antony and the Johnsons “I’m In Love” / The National “Bloodbuzz Ohio” / Candy Claws “Warm Forest Floor” / Sufjan Stevens “I Walked” / William Brittelle “Vivid Culture” / The Chemical Brothers “Snow” / Brian Eno “2 Forms of Anger” / Stornoway “I Saw You Blink” / Mose Allison “My Brain” / Elaine Lachica “Tumbleweed” / Taylor Swift “Mine” / Weezer “Trainwrecks” / Jenny and Johnny “Big Wave” / No Age “Valley Hump Crash” / The Walkmen “Angela Surf City” / Scout Niblett “Duke of Anxiety” / Dom “Jesus” / How to Dress Well featuring Yuksel Arslan “Decisions”The Netherlands chapter of environmental organization Greenpeace on Monday released "half of the draft text" of the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement that has been shrouded in secrecy during the closed-door talks to hammer out terms.
Greenpeace Netherlands said that it "released the documents to facilitate a proper democratic debate" about the texts. "The secrecy surrounding the negotiating process, which started over two-and-a-half years ago, is harmful to the democratic ground principles of both the EU and the US," Greenpeace wrote.
The documents, which total 240 pages of the agreement, show the US vantage point of the negotiations, according to the NGO.
Juergen Knirsch, Greenpeace trade expert, holds a document with classified papers from ongoing US-EU trade talks with the 'ttipleaks' hashtag at the re:publica conference on internet and society in Berlin
Greenpeace highlighted a controversial provision in the deal that would allow companies to intervene in decision-making processes, and even sue a country over regulations.
"It is unacceptable to give private companies special legal rights that bypass established court systems and fly in the face of democratic sovereignty. Corporations should be subject to the same rules and courts as citizens and governments," Greenpeace said. "Trade agreement must serve people and the public interest."
From Berlin to London, the trade deal has encountered resistance in the EU, with dozens of demonstrations across the bloc since negotiations were first announced in February 2013.
Critics say TTIP undermines Europe's regulatory standards on environmental protection, agriculture, food safety and workers' rights.
In 2015, whistleblowing organization Wikileaks also offered a 100,000-euro ($115,000) bounty for the confidential text.
Germany has witnessed thousands of protesters demand the end of TTIP negotiations
'We can't accept that'
In April, Obama defended the necessity of the trade deal, which would currently cover roughly one-third of global trade, prior to his arrival in Hanover, where demonstrators called for the negotiations to be suspended.
"There's still barriers that exist that prevent businesses and individuals that are providing services to each other to be able to do so seamlessly," Obama told British broadcaster BBC. "The main thing between the United States and Europe is trying to just break down some of the regulatory differences that make it difficult to do business back and forth."
However, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who also serves as deputy chancellor, said the trade deal would "fail" if Washington did not offer concessions.
"The Americans want to hold on to their 'Buy American' idea. We can't accept that. They don't want to open their public tenders to European companies. For me that goes against free trade" Gabriel told German business newspaper "Handelsblatt" recently."If the Americans stick to this position, we don't need the free trade treaty. And TTIP will fail."THE security guards barely shrugged when a small white man with tinted glasses, his African-American female companion and a bevy of Washingtonian movers and shakers swept through the faux-marble lobby of the Royal Grand Hotel in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital. High-flying friends often drop in to see Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the country’s Nobel-prizewinning president. This time, on August 26th, it was Bono, an Irish singer turned philanthropist, and Condoleezza Rice, America’s former secretary of state, along with no fewer than seven American senators, who came to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the end of a civil war that once made Liberia a byword for barbarity.
“I’m starting to understand the success that’s unfolding here,” said Bono. Perhaps he had not heard that none of the country’s 25,000 university applicants passed this year’s entrance exams after administrators switched to a fair admissions system based on real marks rather than bribes and family connections. Education in Liberia is a mess. Alas, despite the president’s best efforts, so is much else.
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At crossroads throughout the capital, police in dark-blue uniforms still habitually ask drivers for dollar bills. “The police force is riddled with corruption,” in the words of a new report by Human Rights Watch, a New York-based lobby. Three out of four Liberians say they paid a bribe to an official in the past year, according to another report. High-level graft scandals are common. Few people are prosecuted. “We have a country that has a very low capacity,” says Mrs Sirleaf. She defends her decision to appoint three well-educated sons to key posts by lauding their qualifications.
Reporting government scandals is tricky. Rodney Sieh, editor of Front Page Africa, an independent newspaper, was imprisoned last month, unable to pay $1.5m in libel damages awarded to a government minister who had been sacked for graft. According to Mr Sieh, no media outlet has won a libel case since the civil war.
To Mrs Sirleaf’s credit, she has kept Liberia at peace, thus giving the economy a chance to grow. She speaks up for human rights and is wooing foreign investment. The scars of the past are healing. Liberians are returning from abroad to repair war-damaged houses. “Any objective analysis of where Liberia was a decade ago politically and economically with where it is now would have to conclude that a major transformation is under way,” says Steven Radelet, a former presidential adviser.
Yet the formal economy still relies heavily on the export of unprocessed rubber, palm oil, timber and iron ore by foreign companies with concessions for half the country’s land. Too few lucky Liberians are becoming very rich. The poor still bemoan lousy government services. Resentment and anger are rising.DAKAR (Reuters) - Four new factory buildings rise up from fields on the outskirts of Senegal’s capital, the first phase of a government plan to woo Chinese companies shifting low-end manufacturing to Africa as wages in East Asia rise.
African countries are vying for millions of jobs that China is expected to shed. So far Ethiopia is ahead of the pack, with a fledgling shoe and garment-making sector that has made it one of Africa’s rising stars.
Now Senegal, a country with a tiny manufacturing base and main exports including fish and peanuts, hopes to replicate that success with a new industrial park and a deal with the Chinese businesswoman whose shoe factory kickstarted Ethiopia’s nascent industrial revolution.
Senegal’s stable democracy and Atlantic Ocean port make it a natural candidate for export-based industry, but it ranks 147 out of 190 countries on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index due to problems with electricity access and bureaucracy.
The 85 billion CFA franc ($138.59 million) project in the town of Diamniadio is gambling on hopes it resuscitate a manufacturing sector that has languished for decades.
If it works, this will be one of the first cases of Chinese industry spreading to Francophone West Africa.
The stakes are high. Senegal suffers chronic underemployment that sends millions abroad in search of a better life.
“Lots of Chinese companies are discovering Senegal for the first time,” Mines and Industry Minister Aly Ngouille Ndiaye told Reuters in a phone interview. “In the industrial domain, we have everything to learn from China.”
Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are among the other African countries that are chasing Chinese textiles investment and have launched or planned new industrial zones in the last three years. None, however, are as far along as Ethiopia.
China has also invested in manufacturing in Ghana and Nigeria, West Africa’s top economies, but its activity in the French-speaking countries has been centered around more traditional areas like infrastructure and mining.
An administrative building at Senegal's new Diamniadio industrial park in Senegal November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Nellie Peyton
“SNOWBALL EFFECT”
C&H Garments, a Chinese company active in Ethiopia and Rwanda, plans to hire 5,000 workers at Diamniadio and export clothes to the U.S. and Europe, said co-owner Helen Hai.
Hai expects the plant to open this year.
Around 20 other companies from Senegal, North Africa, Europe and Asia have applied for factory space and are awaiting selection, Ndiaye told Reuters, although Senegal still needs to pass new tax laws for the special economic zone.
Senegal developed a textile industry in the 1960s but it was heavily supported by the state, which couldn’t sustain it.
Now it imports almost everything from clothes to matchsticks to toilet paper, often from China.
While there are some factories canning fish, making cement and rolling cigars for export, they are dwarfed by a services sector that makes up more than half the GDP.
“If Senegal is able to demonstrate a quick success as a French-speaking country, this could have a big snowball effect... on the African continent,” Hai said.
This was the case in Ethiopia. After Hai’s shoe company Huajian opened a plant near Addis Ababa in 2012, other firms clustered around it and foreign direct investment grew over 300 percent to reach $1.2 billion by 2014, according to a U.N. World Investment Report.
Senegal has higher wages and electricity costs than Ethiopia, but its proximity to target markets in Europe and North America makes it attractive, said Hai, who is also advising the government.
Visitors and business people tour a factory building on a U.N. organised trip to Senegal's new Diamniadio industrial park in Senegal November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Nellie Peyton
But analysts say Senegal will still need to work quickly to seize the opportunity in a brutally competitive environment.
Between five and 10 African countries are likely to see their industrial sectors take off in the next decade as production shifts from Asia, said John Page, a Brookings fellow and former chief Africa economist at the World Bank.
“It’s going to be a combination of better governance, better policies and some good luck” that distinguishes the countries that pull ahead from those that don’t, Page said.A recent spate of monster sightings on the shores of Loch Ness have been blamed on dead wood from Urquhart Bay Wood. The Woodland Trust, which manages the site near Drumnadrochit, said tree trunks and broken branches were washed into the loch by the two rivers that coursed through there.
Described as "Nessie's spawning ground", Urquhart Bay Wood is among some of Scotland's more unusual wooded places. Here are some more:
Dundreggan
Image copyright Thinkstock
The forest is on Trees for Life's 10,000-acre (4,046 ha) Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston.
According to the conservation charity, the name Dundreggan is derived from Gaelic's Dul Drea-gain - the Dragon's Haugh.
The forest holds a "lost world" of rare and endangered spiders, ants and flies.
Surveys of the woods have uncovered a range of invertebrates, including strawberry spiders, azure hawker dragonflies, juniper shield bugs and blood red slave making ants.
The land includes some of the last stands of ancient Caledonian Forest.
Trees for Life said strawberry spider, scientific name araneus alsine, has only been recorded seven times in Scotland prior to it being found at Dundreggan.
Two rare sawflies, prisiphora borea and monoctenus juniperi, have also been identified and are among the UK's rarest invertebrates.
Among the leading entomologists to enter this "dragons' lair" have included the appropriately named Guy Knight.
Culbin Forest
Managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, the trees at Culbin on the coast of the Moray Firth near Brodie hide a secret past.
In the distant past, Culbin was known as the Granary of Moray, where several farms and crofts produced grain crops for the local and wider area.
There was also a handful of small fishing communities on the coast, including the original site of the village of Findhorn.
Much of the land was controlled by the Barony of Moray.
In 1694 came the Great Sand Drift.
The destructive natural event forced people from their homes and farms and transformed a once fertile, grain-growing area into a desert.
According to folklore, 16 farms and the laird's big house were engulfed by wind-blown sand in a single night.
However, historians suggest sand dunes in the area had been shifting since the year 1100, before the most damaging events came between 1670 and 1695.
The worst of the sandstorms occurred during a period of extreme weather dubbed the Little Ice Age. It lasted 70 years from 1645 to 1715 and featured The Great Frost, which froze the River Thames in London for days.
Today, the ruined estate and its farms and croft houses remain buried under sand planted with trees.
The first trees, Scots pine, were planted in the 1850s.
Dead Man's Wood
Image copyright Martyn Gorman/Geograph
This is a small wooded area close to Auldearn near Nairn.
It was named Dead Man's Wood following 1645's Battle of Auldearn.
The clash marked a major victory for Scottish Royalists over a Covenanter army, and local legend tells of some of the casualties being buried near to where the wood is today.
A dovecot marks the site of the battle.
Scotland's rainforest
Image copyright AP
The Taynish peninsula is home to one of the largest areas of ancient woodland in Knapdale, an area of Argyll well-known for hosting the Scottish Beaver Trial.
Oaks in the woodland are descendants of trees that survived the last ice age in southern Britain.
Scientists describe the climate of Taynish as "oceanic", meaning that it is mild and moist because of the Gulf Stream offshore.
Plantlife thrives in the humid, wet conditions and the woodland is often referred to as Scotland's rainforest.
There are about 500 species of lichen and more than 300 varieties of flowering plants, including a rare orchid.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Duncan Kennedy meets a first-time buyer and a seller, who have very different views on the idea
The Bank of England should use its powers to limit house price increases to 5% a year to "take the froth out" of price booms, a surveyors' group says.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that a 5% annual rise should trigger caps on how much people could borrow relative to their incomes or the value of the property.
It is not suggesting that sellers should face a limit on how much they could charge for their homes.
The Bank said it was being vigilant.
Activity in the UK housing market has picked up in recent months after a few years of inactivity during the financial crisis.
There has been considerable debate during the week about the future of the UK housing market and the potential for government schemes to create an artificial price bubble.
Some forecasters are suggesting increases in house prices could break through the 5% barrier this year, owing to increasing demand from first-time buyers at a time when the number of homes for sale remains low.
'Firmly anchored expectations'
Joshua Miller, senior economist at Rics, said that it was important to stop any debt-fuelled house price advance.
"The Bank of England now has the ability to take the froth out of future housing market booms, without having to resort to interest rate increases. Capping price growth at, say, 5% is one way of doing this," he said.
"This cap would send a clear and simple statement to the public and the banking sector, managing expectations as to how much future house prices are going to rise. We believe firmly anchored house price expectations would limit excessive risk taking and, as a result, limit an unsustainable rise in debt."
The Bank's governor, Mark Carney, told MPs on Thursday that the Bank was vigilant on house prices but that parts of the country had not seen any recovery in the housing market.
In previous speeches, he has said that he has a toolkit in place to keep a lid on any potentially damaging boom.
This includes asking, but not telling, banks to limit how much they can lend to individuals and making them set aside more capital if they want to carry on providing mortgages.
'Build more homes'
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, told the BBC that the cap was more of a "speed bump" for the housing market "so people wanting to enter the market are aware of some of the risks".
Estate agent jobs boost Official employment figures released on Wednesday showed that the house-selling sector has been creating jobs in recent months. The number of people employed in "real estate activities" rose by 9.9% in the three months to June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. This was a faster percentage rise than any other sector. Some of this employment would have been a revival of jobs lost during the financial crisis, when the UK property market was flat. Overall, the number of people unemployed in the UK between May and July fell 24,000 in the period to 2.487 million.
He said that the 5% level could be debated and there needed to be a regional dimension to reflect housing market activity in different parts of the UK.
Rics members, including estate agents, wanted a stable market, rather than a volatile one, he said, adding that he did not believe there was a house price bubble at present.
In its report, Rics pointed to the example of Canada - the former home of Mr Carney - where the central bank took action to limit mortgage availability.
However, Sir Howard Davies, former deputy governor of the Bank, said that a cap would not work.
"The problem is that we are not building enough homes," he said.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics, published on Friday, showed that demand for new public and private housing helped push up construction orders.
Any limit on house price rises would be resisted from those who remain in negative equity in some parts of the country. It would also be unpopular among first-time buyers if there was a restriction of mortgage lending.
Price changes
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mark Carney says "more intensive supervision of mortgage lending" could help to control house prices
Recent house price surveys show increases in prices, but this was compared with some drops a year ago.
The Halifax survey said that prices had risen by 5.4% in the year to August, while the Nationwide said house prices in August were rising at an annual rate of 3.5%.
The Nationwide compares prices in one month with the same month a year ago. However, the Halifax compares a three-month period with the three-month period in the previous year.
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UK house prices Year on year % change Reset
On the Halifax's measure, the average price of a house also went through the £170,000 mark for the first time in five years.
However, the figures are still well below the peak of the market in August 2007, when the average price was almost £200,000.
This is a UK average figure, driven by London and the South East of England. Some parts of the country have seen little house price growth or, in some areas, price falls.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that, excluding London and the South East of England, UK house prices increased by 1% in the 12 months to June.
Earlier this week, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that the UK was not in a house price boom.
"We do not imagine that Bank officials are losing sleep about current developments in the housing market," it said.Success in Afghanistan "may not be doable," says the candidate for office. The war has deteriorated so badly that the U.S. may need to "decide to get out," adds another politician.
These aren't dovish Democrats. They're the normally hawkish Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.
The recent downward turn taken by the longest war in American history, capped by a massacre of children allegedly committed by a U.S. sergeant on Sunday, has unmoored support from even ordinarily-bellicose politicians. Surprisingly, they've gotten to the left of President Obama, whose administration is downplaying the significance of the massacre. They also sound more reality-based than an administration that's investing significant blood and treasure in a deteriorating war with unreliable local allies in a part of the world with dubious strategic significance.
Gingrich and Santorum are Mitt Romney's final obstacles to the GOP presidential nomination, meaning they're plausible contenders to succeed Obama as commander-in-chief. And Gingrich isn't just questioning the wisdom of the Afghanistan war. He told "Face the Nation" that the U.S. should "reassess the entire region," which would also call into question the maintenance of the drone war in Pakistan.
Santorum, who poses a bigger challenge to Romney, isn't as radical. He's simultaneously to Obama's left and right, adopting what might be described as a "Go Big or Go Home" war policy. "Given all of these additional problems, we have to either make the decision to make a full commitment, which this president has not done," Santorum said, "or we have to decide to get out and probably get out sooner given the president's decision to get out in 2014." It's easy to understand accelerating the drawdown; harder to understand what a "full commitment" would mean if not Obama's 2009 decisions to triple U.S. troop levels.
These are not men known for their dovishness. Both Gingrich and Santorum were Iraq war supporters and are on board with bombing Iran.
Afghanistan is also losing support amongst legislators who used to be in favor of the Afghan mission. Sen. Lindsey Graham told Foreign Policy's Josh Rogin last week it might be time to "pull the plug" on the war because of President Hamid Karzai's intransigence. He later walked it back, but if a senator as enthusiastic about U.S. military force as Graham would consider bolting on Afghanistan, it might be a bellwether. (Graham, meanwhile, wants the U.S. military to impose a no-fly zone on Syria's Bashar Assad and arm his opposition.)
Republican politicians may be following their base. A new Washington Post poll finds that for the first time, GOP voters are "evenly split" on the wisdom of continuing the war. Fifty-four percent of all voters, the poll found, want the U.S. to withdraw troops faster than Obama's 2014 timetable. (Some in NATO consider that doable.)
The irony is that the Obama administration is showing no signs that the massacre will prompt a reconsideration of its war plans. "We are absolutely not changing our fundamental strategy in Afghanistan," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters on Monday. "This is having no impact on the war effort."
Except that it's come just weeks after Marines took photos of themselves urinating on dead Afghans and U.S. troops burned Korans at an Afghan prison, prompting nationwide riots and causing civilian aid workers to flee the country. On top of that, Washington's ostensible Afghan allies have murdered U.S. officers sent to Kabul to train them; act as narcotics and weapons mules; and even the reliable ones still can't fight independently. More broadly, the 2010 troop surge didn't significantly reduce Taliban violence, and it was probably the last, best chance to turn the war around.
Mitt Romney, the Republican frontrunner, didn't opt to comment on the alleged murders. His position on Afghanistan looks much like Obama's: withdraw troops slowly, although Romney chides Obama for publicly announcing a withdrawal schedule. That means U.S. voters might not get a choice on Afghanistan after all – even as the war deteriorates to the point that right-wingers are sick of it, too.Guy Harvey Collection
For The First Time Ever Guy Harvey Original Artwork
Featured On Silver Rounds & Bars
Over the last 20 years, the Guy Harvey brand has caught on with anglers, outdoors enthusiasts, and even art fans--just to name a few. The brand has grown from humble beginnings into a truly international enterprise. Today, the Guy Harvey name has expanded far beyond its original line of leisure clothing, encompassing hotel resorts, restaurants, sporting accessories, and much more. His artwork has also been commissioned for floor-to-ceiling wall murals, like the one he painted for the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. With such a wide range of officially licensed products, it only makes sense that Guy’s beloved artwork should also be featured on silver bullion products. Whether you prefer standard bullion rounds or limited edition collectibles, you can now own Guy’s majestic sea life designs in stunning.999 fine silver with the Gainesville Coins exclusive line of Guy Harvey products known as the Guy Harvey Collection! A portion of each product sold is donated to The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.
A portion of every Guy Harvey product sold is donated toThe Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation.1 of 6 View Caption
Aiono_Siaosi, Utah Football August 6, 2014 in Salt Lake City, UT. (Photo / Steve C. Wilson / University of Utah) Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake |
Cambridge United have appointed former Notts County manager Shaun Derry as their new boss.
The 37-year-old had been available since his sacking by the Magpies in March, when the club were one place above the League One relegation zone.
Former Crystal Palace and QPR midfielder Derry replaces Richard Money at a side currently 18th in the fourth tier and has signed a deal until 2018.
As a player, he made a total of 652 career appearances for eight clubs.
Want more? For more reaction to the appointment, follow BBC Cambridgeshire's Local Live page
"I suppose a lot of my career has been following my instinct and it was absolutely right," he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
"This club is starting to develop and developing rapidly. The potential here has got legs, the community is huge in Cambridge, and it's something we want to take advantage of.
"There are certain football clubs at this level that have got that ability to go higher and this is one of them."
Derry's only previous managerial experience came at Notts County, the club he supported as a boy and at which he made his professional debut.
He helped them escape relegation from League One in 2013-14, but he was dismissed after a run of just three wins in 24 league matches.
Derry's appointment follows the departure of 60-year-old Money, who had led Cambridge out of non-league in 2014 and to the fourth round of the FA Cup last season, where they took Manchester United to a replay.
"I'd like to go on record by saying I felt Richard has done a fantastic job for this football club, there's some good players left behind for me," said Derry.
"Is it a gamble? Some would say so. Do I feel I'm taking a gamble? No, not really, I'm really confident going forward. I want fans to look at the job I'd done, especially in the early part, of Notts County.
"I think it would be wrong of me to explain the depths of the details of why things went from one extreme to the other at Notts County. I know what I can do as a manager and what the staff can do as a group of people."
Analysis: BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Peter Swan
"Shaun Derry represents a change in philosophy for the U's. They've exchanged the experience of Richard Money for youth and potential.
"Inevitably some fans will see Derry's appointment as a gamble, but he appears to have accrued plenty of goodwill during his relatively brief spell with Notts County.
"Money was given the boot because the U's board no longer believed he could deliver a top-seven finish come May. For Derry, therefore, the task seems clear."German intel spied on Kerry and Clinton, targeted Turkey: Report
BERLIN – The Associatead Press
Picture taken August 4, 2010 shows US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holding up a cell phone as she explains how Americans can donate via text message to aid in helping victims of flooding in Pakistan. AFP photo
Germany's foreign intelligence agency eavesdropped on calls made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor Hillary Clinton, German magazine Der Spiegel reported Aug. 16, as it also said the German intelligence targeted Turkey.
The news weekly reported that the agency, known by its German acronym BND, tapped a satellite phone conversation Kerry made in 2013 as part of its surveillance of telecommunications in the Middle East. The agency also recorded a conversation between Clinton and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan a year earlier, Der Spiegel claimed.
The magazine didn't give a source for its information, but said the calls were collected accidentally, that the three officials weren't directly targeted, and the recordings were ordered destroyed immediately. In Clinton's case, the call reportedly took place on the same "frequency" as a terror suspect, according to Der Spiegel.
The tapping of Clinton's call was reported Aug. 15 by German public broadcaster ARD and Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
If true, the revelations would be embarrassing for the German government, which has spent months complaining to Washington about alleged American spy activity in Germany. Last year German media reports based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden prompted a sharp rebuke from Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was allegedly among the U.S. intelligence agency's targets.
A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Berlin declined to comment on the latest reports.
In its report, Der Spiegel also cited a confidential 2009 BND document listing fellow NATO member Turkey as a target for German intelligence gathering.
The Germany intelligence agency didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.Surly Brewing Company opened the doors of its Brooklyn Center Brewery in 2006. At the time there wasn’t much of a craft beer scene in the Twin Cities. The big craft-beer boil-over of the last few years was just reaching a simmer. There certainly was nothing – or at least very little – in the market with the heavy lupulin load of Furious. But the desire for such beers must have been there. In its first year, Surly took off like a rocket.
It’s been a busy five years for Owner Omar Ansari and Head Brewer Todd Haug. Rapid growth in demand has spurred constant expansion of capacity in the brewery. This year they spearheaded a successful legislative effort that won Minnesota brewers the ability to sell pints at the brewery. The next five years promise to be even busier with the construction of a planned 100,000-barrel “destination brewery.”
I sat down with Omar and Todd at the brewery last week to talk about the past, the present and the future of Surly. And of course we talked about Five, a beer fermented with “wild” Brettanomyces yeast brewed to celebrate the anniversary. Five had its bottle release this week. It sold out in most stores in just a few hours. If you missed out getting a bottle, a draft release party is happening on Monday the 29th at the Republic in 7-corners from 6:30 to 10:30 PM.
Surly turned five. Five years is one of those milestones. If you think back to 2006, where did you think you would be right now?
Todd: You know, hindsight and experience always seems to change that idea of what you thought it would be, but certainly we didn’t expect things to grow as fast as they did, especially with beers like Furious in our market. We always knew that there were holes in the market in terms of beer styles, especially styles that weren’t represented by Minnesota breweries. Knowing that, we thought, “Well how big are these holes? A really hop-forward beer; how is that going to carry through all the state of Minnesota?” So that’s the kind of stuff we didn’t know. And at the time we didn’t really need to know. It was more like, “let’s just make these beers and make them the best we can and see what happens.” What we really didn’t see coming was the timing with the craft beer swell. We knew it was happening around the country, but it was a little slow getting to Minnesota. There was a lot of fortuitous timing.
Omar: I was really hoping that we would have a few employees and maybe be making six or seven thousand, eight thousand barrels. That was really what we hoped for, to make enough beer to pay the bills. Just get the beer out and hope that we’d find some people that want to drink it. The plan wasn’t to get the Coors drinkers to start drinking the beer. We always said that our beers don’t come with training wheels. They’re not starter beers. We’ll let Fat Tire be the gateway beer. We weren’t looking to bring people into the world of craft beer. We wanted to brew something a little bit bigger; some of the more aggressive beers that this market didn’t have. We were both a little surprised after the ball got rolling by how much people embraced it. It was pretty unbelievable the amount of progress in that first year. It’s still amazing some of the places where we have accounts. It’s shocking given the price point of the beer and the flavor profile of the beers. It’s just not the type of beer you expect to see all over the place.
I find that Furious has become a gateway beer.
Todd: Scary.
Omar: You mean a gateway from BMC? Yeah, a couple years ago when sales were kind of doing their normal spring ramp-up I called up “Fitty” (beer manager Joe Fitzpatrick) at Thomas Liquor and asked, “What the hell’s going on? Your sales are up like 30%.” He’s like, “Well, more people are drinking it. A good example, we’ve got a guy who was a Coors drinker, and he’s started drinking Furious.” That makes no sense on every level; economic-wise, flavor-wise, Just the whole brand. Who would think that someone would go from Coors to Furious?
I think it has something to do with Surly’s reputation. People hear about Surly and how good the beers are so they try it. You might think they wouldn’t like it, but they do.
Todd: I’ve done that before. I don’t necessarily like the word hype, but I understand it. Whether it’s a movie or a new TV show or whatever it is that people have heard about, they hear that it’s supposed to be good so they have this expectation. I think we still have some of that, but I think in general people are going to it with an open mind. Instead of saying, “Oh, it’s going to be similar to this beer.” They sort of have a completely clean slate as far as what they’re palate memory thinks it’s supposed to taste like. I think that’s good for us because people are a little bit more open to it.
Talk a little bit about Surly’s reputation. You’ve got this reputation for these big extreme beers. But in my view that’s not really what you do.
Todd: No. And that’s kind of been our argument for a number of years now. You know, at first we wanted to grab peoples’ tongues with the beers and grab their attention. But all we ever said was that we wanted to make the best beers we could in whatever style we wanted to make; the kind of beers we wanted to drink. That’s what every brewer says. Hopefully no brewers are out there making beers they hate.
Omar: Beers the marketing team comes up with.
Todd: But, with that in mind those first beers… I mean Furious maybe, but Bender? It’s not really an extreme beer. But for some reason, and I don’t know if it’s because of this market or because of the beers that people talk about on the internet, that’s the perception. But Hell, Bitter Brewer, Mild, we make a lot more sessionable beers than we do extreme beers.
Omar: I don’t think if we were in southern California, Oregon, Washington, or Colorado, I don’t think there are many of the beers that would be in any sort of extreme category. I mean even Darkness isn’t huge. We talk about this all the time. Everybody’s brewing these great beers, but how many 14% beers do you want to drink? I guess it again all kind of comes from what we want to drink. Neither Todd nor I are into these really massive beers because you can only have one. And I think we both like drinking more than that. We’ve gotten into more sessionable beers as time has gone on. I don’t know if it’s the marketing or the design or just that how we do it stuff kind of comes together, but folks think of it as this really crazy extreme thing. Furious is a big beer, but there are a lot of them out there like it. Go out west and they’re all over the place. Imperial Red Ale, it’s not a crazy style.
Todd: I was a big fan of Hop Rod Rye from Bear Republic.
That’s a great beer.
Todd: That’s kind of what inspired Furious. That hoppy amber that didn’t exist in this market. It wasn’t that we felt we needed to make something extreme. It was because there was already stuff out there that we were into; you just couldn’t get it here. That’s the biggest thing that people don’t understand is just how behind Minnesota craft beer was. It certainly caught up fast now that ever brewery in the country is available here almost. But five or six years ago, unless you wanted to road trip or were actively involved in traveling and visiting breweries, there was a lot of stuff going on in small little regions that nobody knew about here. Obviously Beer Advocate and Rate Beer have shrunk a lot of that. But we’ve quickly realized that as great as the BA community has been to us and really helped us get rolling, that’s a tiny percentage of the people that actually buy our beer. That’s another reason we don’t just make extreme beers.
That’s an even tinier percentage.
Todd: Exactly.
Omar: We also think of the fatigue of those beers. You can drink them for a while and then you’re just like “ugh.” I mean, I never thought we were going to brew a lager when we started. I remember people asking us, “You going to brew any lagers?” I was like, “Hell no we’re not going to brew any lagers. Schell is already doing a great job of that.” But three years into it…
Todd: Let’s brew a lager.
Omar: Why wouldn’t I want to brew a lager? To me that’s part of the Surly extreme thing. Maybe other people think that’s not what we should be doing, but that’s what we want to do. So that’s why we’re going to do it.
So let’s talk about Five. At Winterfest you took the Great Snowshoe award with Pentagram. That was a single barrel version of Five?
Omar: Yeah, Pentagram is what we called the single barrel version.
Todd: Yes, the blend is a little different. I think it’s better.
I’ve got to say, even given that Winterfest is a beer-nerd audience and that Pentagram was really good, I was frankly surprised that it won. I wouldn’t have expected a sour beer to win.
Todd: Me too. I was like, “really?” I thought one of the super hoppy beers like Abrasive Ale, or Furious, or somebody else’s. I thought Fitger’s bottle-conditioned beers or something. And that’s kind of what we were talking about too, about how accepting the market was for Furious five years ago. I didn’t think that they would ever embrace a beer that was that hop-forward in this market.
Omar: I don’t think they were that accepting five years ago. It kind of took a while.
Todd: Well, you know what I mean. It started pretty fast after that first eight months. But Five should be the most polarizing beer we’ve ever made. I think it’s fairly balanced for being as tart as it is. I don’t think it’s straight up vinegar.
What made you decide to make a sour beer?
Todd: Well we’ve been talking about it for a little while. It’s always one of those things that we wanted to do it but we weren’t sure how. Obviously there’s the risk of bringing that stuff (Brettanomyces) into the brewery, which I’m still worried about. But it made sense to do something extra different for a bigger number on the anniversary. So we pulled the trigger a little over a year ago with the blind faith of we’ll see what happens. I think we knew we would be able to make something that was really good, but we weren’t sure. Even all the research I do and talking to other brewers, they were like, “You’re kind of on your own on this one.” Okay, great. Thanks for the help. But it’s true. I can call Chris White from White Labs (a yeast bank). I can call other people I know that have worked with Brett. But they all do it differently than I wanted to do it. Most of the guys I know that are using Brett are using it just to finish the beer. We wanted to do 100% Brett-fermented and then condition in barrels. There are a handful of those out there. Not a lot of them, but I think that’s going to change. People are learning more about how Brett works fermentation-wise.
Omar: It’s definitely going into the unknown. The anniversary beers always are. Todd usually tells me after he’s put it together. It’s always, “we’ll see how this works out if we use ten pounds of cranberries per barrel.” We’re going to go down that road and see where it takes us. With the other beers we know where it’s going. But this is like, we’ll find out.
With Brettanomyces and any of the bacterial fermentations it’s kind of a crap shoot what you end up with. How did you deal with that uncertainty?
Todd: By just trying to understand how Brett works as a yeast. Not flavor profile, not raw material, not anything but what does it do and how does it do it? Chris White at White Labs really helped me establish pitching rates, which allowed us to get primary fermentation into a normal window. Most people are under the impression that it takes months and months and months for Brett to actually ferment. I guess we proved that it doesn’t if you pitch right. The souring takes months, but the actually primary fermentation doesn’t, which is kind of cool. So with that in mind, we did primary fermentation in stainless. We had it contained. We really didn’t want it blowing all over the brewery. We had a couple old 15-barrel tanks that we used for that. Once we got the Brett established we were able to brew it every ten to fourteen days. As soon as it was done fermenting we’d rack it into the wine barrels. But I think the important things are how we handled it in terms of the flavor profile. I wanted a really rich malt. I didn’t want a pale sour beer. I wanted something with caramel flavors, which would with time turn into a cherry and tobacco, plum and raisin kind of thing. So there’s some Special B in there and some de-bittered black malt for color. At first it tasted kind of smoky and was kind of gross actually. But after two months it was like, “Whoa. This tastes totally different.” You could convince somebody that there are cherries in it.
What strain of Brettanomyces did you use?
Todd: We used Brett strains A and C, Anomalus and Claussenii. Bruxellensis is what a lot of people are using. That’s pretty standard. I wanted to try something a little different.
Did you have any inspirations for making a Brettanomyces fermented beer?
Todd: The first all-Brett beer I had was from my big hero Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey. It was Cuvee de Tomme at the time. I thought it was amazing. That was probably the first and last all-Brett beer I’ve ever had. I think the sour character was nice, to where it was like, “wow.” It was pale. It was kind of more of a gueuze kind of profile from what I remember. I just remember thinking it was a lot like some of the Belgian sours that I had had. I was just amazed that it wasn’t Belgian.
How did you get the fermentation to happen so quickly? I made an all Brett beer a couple years ago and had trouble getting it to start.
Todd: When I talked to Chris White about it, that’s what my original concern was. He gave me some advice about pitching rates. I don’t remember what the cell count was, but it’s literally like ten times the normal amount. But once you get to that point you’ll see normal fermentation times. So the first generation was kind of slow and it attenuated high. The second one went a lot faster and attenuated lower. The third one took right off and went all the way down to 2-degrees Plato, which was what we wanted. Oxygenation is a huge thing too. The tricky thing is that when using Brett, leaving it in the tank is the safest thing to do. Rack your beer off it and then just put fresh wort in there. Every time you oxygenate it there’s more acetic acid, so it gets more sour every time. They don’t recommend trying to quicken the fermentation by oxygenation because you’re going to have a lot of weird stuff happen with a lot of acetic acid produced. We tried not to do that. So every time we’d run fresh wort in there we’d try to make sure it was well oxygenated. Once we had the right amount of cells per milliliter it would take off. Now that it’s been sitting again when we want to reuse it, it will probably be slow again. But I’m shocked at how durable it is. It’s indestructible and it’s sitting there ready to go when you need it. We’re going to mess around with it some more, just because we have it. We’ll see what happens with it as we continue to use it.
We can’t talk about the five-year anniversary without talking about the next five years. Given plans for the “destination brewery” obviously big things are coming.
Todd: Yeah, there are big things coming down the road. It’s going to be a couple of years. Meanwhile for me, my job is to make sure everything is running and we’re able to grow, stay staffed, and still make clean, solid beers while we’re working on the new project. As exciting as it is, the normal day-to-day stuff here isn’t going to go away. So I think for me the main challenge will be to not get distracted by the thing down the road and worry about what’s going on here and now.
You still have to run the brewery.
Todd: I just don’t want people to think that in two years everything is going to be great. It’s going to be different, but we still need to get there. I don’t want to forget what we’ve built and how we’ve built it. We’ve still got equipment to install and maintain and new staff to hire and train. When the new facility does open that will probably be immediately in charge of the flagship beers and probably all the canning operations. And the current brewery we’re hoping will become a bottling facility only. That’s kind of what we’re thinking now.
So more the small batch type of stuff?
Todd: Yes. I think it will be a great training ground for new guys or for a place for guys who want a break from the bigger brewery and want to get hands on. We could do a lot of sour stuff here. We could do a lot of different things, which is pretty exciting because we could go into it with the ball rolling. That will be a nice luxury. As this brewery fades out of the regular beer production and the new one takes over we’ll be able to immediately start making different cool beers here.
How far along is the new brewery?
Todd: We’re just now trying to finalize sight selection and stuff. It sounds like that could be done in September. So that’s a huge factor in how we’re going to build it out. How we’re going to size the equipment. When we get a site selection that’s when we need to order a brewhouse and start looking at the big pieces. There’s really nothing here that would scale up to the new facility. We’re limited by our ceiling height here. Our fermenters are the size and geometry they are as dictated by our brewhouse and the ceiling. But in the new place that won’t be an issue. There’s really nothing here we’d want to bring over there. Maybe a couple small tanks for a yeast bank or something like that, but generally everything here is sized for a 30-barrel brewhouse. The new brewhouse will hopefully be around 80 barrels.
That will make things easier.
Todd: It will. It’s going to be rough getting everything going. Everything is going to change. We just want to keep it simple. We don’t need a five-vessel brewhouse. We aren’t going to start decoction mashing. We aren’t going to change things just because we can. I’d like to keep things as similar as possible with the brewhouse. For the regular beers, that’s what established the flavor profile. We want it to be efficient. Actually that’s going to be a huge benefit of a bigger brewhouse is waste energy recovery. It’s going to be in the high 90s for efficiency which will be great. The canning line will be high speed. We’ll probably have to look at used machines just to see what we can get into. New machines aren’t cheap. But again, all that stuff has come so far in ten or fifteen years. If we buy a ten, fifteen, twenty year old machine, it’s going to need a lot more maintenance than a new machine that’s a little bit more high tech. A new machine might be a smaller footprint even. So there are some trade-offs. We’re not going to know. We might run into some problems. Rolling beer into new markets takes time too. We’re probably going to have to be patient and wait for some of those markets to develop before we can just go, go, go.
Although there is certainly going to be no shortage of demand in new markets.
Todd: No, true. But it still takes time. Stone is a good example of it. They’ve tried to roll out in some other states that aren’t as close to their home market where people don’t know as much about them. They went into Wisconsin and weren’t happy with the way beers were selling and weren’t happy with the distributor setup, so they left. Stuff like that. I’m not saying they can’t sell everything they make, but they had to kind of re-figure it. We could see that happening to any brewery.
Surly Five
What does Surly Five taste like? Here’s my notes:
Five
Surly Brewing Co., Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
Style: Brettanomyces Fermented Beer
Serving Style: 750 ml bottle
Aroma: Loads of cherries with complementary leathery aromas. Hints of wood and roast.
Appearance: Black. Moderate off-white head with fine bubbles that did not persist.
Flavor: A complex mélange that changes with each sip and evolves through to the bottom of the glass. Flavors come in stages. Starts with hit of sour cherry. That subsides mid-palate to let rich, mouth-filling caramel malts and balsamic vinegar take over. Cherries are still there, but darker. Leather. On the way out it’s husky, woody, and lightly astringent. Finishes very dry. Throughout there are ever revolving chocolate, roast, wood, and fruit flavors. Fruits range from unripe apricot to pineapple to berries and even some hints of dark, dried fruit. As it warms it takes on the character of cold-coffee. Complex but easy to drink. The sour wasn’t too intense. Should be good even to the uninitiated.
Mouthfeel: Light but mouth-filling. Well attenuated, but still thick in parts. Light and not unpleasant astringency. Medium-high carbonation.
Overall Impression: Good “wild” beers can be tricky. Brettanomyces yeast is a crapshoot. You never really know what you will get. Todd Haug has pulled off a nice one. Evolving layers of oak, malt, and yeast character. Not too sour, but sour enough. Pentagram was good at Winterfest. Five is better. This one should get even better with age.On Meet the Press this morning, Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell found themselves flabbergasted by Donald Trump‘s conversation with the Washington Post editorial board last week, mostly because of the amazing tangents Trump went off on.
For example, Todd played a portion of the interview in which Trump was asked about using nukes against ISIS. The GOP frontrunner proceeded to go on a tangent about his rivals’ attacks on him, and when asked again about nukes, he literally said, “This is a very good looking group of people here. Could I just go around so I know who the hell I’m talking to?”
Mitchell immediately reacted by saying, “He cannot stick to a subject, it is remarkable. And when he doesn’t know something, he just changes the subject, makes it all about himself.”
She brought up how Trump talked about canceling defense treaties and being okay with certain nations having nukes and being all over the place on Iran in another rambling interview before making a very blunt observation:
“He is completely uneducated about any part of the world.”
Watch above, via MSNBC.
[h/t Media Matters]
[image via screengrab]
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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comManager Brad Ausmus of the Detroit Tigers reacts to a fifth inning called strike out by home plate umpire Tripp Gibson III while playing the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park on May 19, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. Assume was ejected from the game. Milwaukee won the game 8-1. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
By: Will Burchfield
When the 2017 MLB season begins, Brad Ausmus will be back at the helm for the Detroit Tigers.
Per The Detroit News, the club will exercise their option on the fourth year of Ausmus’ contract.
In three seasons as a big-league manager, all of them spent with the Tigers, Ausmus has a record of 250-234. He guided Detroit to the A.L. Central title in 2014, before the team plunged to last place the following year.
This season, the Tigers finished second in the division and missed out on a wild card spot by 2.5 games. They were the final A.L. team eliminated from playoff contention.
Ausmus, 47, has come under increasing scrutiny in the past two seasons with the Tigers failing to meet the expectations of their fan base. But general manager Al Avila has defended Ausmus through all the criticism, often citing injuries as an impediment to the team’s success.
The Tigers were particularly crippled in this regard in 2016, losing J.D. Martinez, Cameron Maybin, Nick Castellanos and Jordan Zimmermann (among others) for long chunks of time. Meanwhile, struggles in the starting rotation forced a number of young arms into action.
Avila was pleased with the way Ausmus steered the Tigers through adversity.
“I see it from inside and how he has helped almost each and every individual player behind the scenes get better,” Avila told 97.1 The Ticket in August. “Also I’ve seen how he’s managed the bullpen get through really some tough times and really the pitching staff in general, how he handles each player day in and day out to keep them rested and keep them productive.
“His responsibility is managing the club, it’s really not so much coaching. It’s managing the club and Brad does it all well.”
The Tigers’ playoff hopes were snuffed out on the final game of the 2016 season. Afterward, Ausmus commended the players for fighting to the finish.
“One thing I will take away is how well this team did the second half,” he told reporters. “We were dead in the water in a lot of people’s minds in July and the guys played hard and continued to play hard all the way through to the last game.”
Asked if he would like to manage the team again in the 2017 season, Ausmus said he’d love to.
“It’s a team that’s got a chance to win,” he continued. “We’ve got good young pitching. We’ve got a bona fide ace at the top and we’ve got good young pitchers that are going to grow and get better.”
One of those young pitchers is Michael Fulmer, the frontrunner for A.L. Rookie of the Year. Ausmus was judicious in his use of Fulmer throughout the season, protecting the 23-year-old’s arm without ever having to shut him down.
Along the way, Fulmer emerged as the future ace of the Tigers’ rotation.
Perhaps most importantly, Ausmus maintained the faith of his players during an up-and-down season. And through three years as the Tigers’ manager, he has developed a rapport with the team that another manager wouldn’t be able to replace.
“The grass isn’t always greener (on the other side),” said Ian Kinsler after the Tigers final game of the season. “We’ve got the guy who’s been here for three years. He was new to the job three years ago. He’s gained experience. He knows this team. He knows the players.”
And he will be back for another year as the Tigers hope to re-establish themselves as championship contenders.Catacombs of Terror! was originally published in 2002 as a very limited edition. It was the result of a £5 bet that Donwood couldn't write 50,000 words of pulp fiction in a month. It was printed on hemp and typeset very small to save paper because hemp is really expensive.
Donwood and original publisher Ambrose Blimfield celebrated publication with a barrel of cider on top of Solsbury Hill. But Donwood was overcome with self doubt, despairing that his novel was shite and he threw the only version of the hand-corrected and extensively rewritten manuscript onto the bonfire he had built with Blimfield before slipping into a cider-induced coma. Hungover, Donwood returned to London, believing he had destroyed the manuscript.
But Blimfield had saved the manuscript from the flames and some months later sold it to Bath antiquarian book dealer Sterling Bland in order to fund the purchase of a solar-powered milk float. Over the years Bland was unable to keep apace with the changing world of bookselling and fell upon hard times. He sold the Donwood manuscript to publishers Scratter & Pomace but, alas, they too are skint and so are reduced to this appeal in order to put Donwood's'masterpiece' back on the nation's bookshelves.
Donwood is completely indifferent to the project.
Catacombs of Terror! is a crime thriller set in the ancient city of Bath in which private investigator Martin Valpolicella uncovers a sinister plot set in catacombs far beneath the city. It's a story of guns, drugs and flesh-eating pigs. It has been desribed as a 'classic' and Donwood's'masterpiece'.
"At no point did I think 'I can't be bothered to read this'." - the author's father
Flea, bass player out of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers says of Catacombs of Terror!: "Stanley Donwood writes existential pulp spy thriller of doom! It jarred me right the fuck out of my oxycodone habit! A barn-burning page-turner from the depths of the secret worlds of hellish evil. Makes me wish Bogey was still alive to play the lead!"
3D out of Massive Attack says "I have read half of it."
Lady Margaret, doyenne of the Bath cultural scene comments:
"I was awfully pleased to be asked by Mr Donwood’s esteemed publisher to endorse this new edition of The Catacombs of Terror!, especially since my original copy literally disintegrated in my quivering hands. Yes, quivering, for I do declare a more terrifying tome has yet to adorn my librarium. (Admittedly it was a somewhat cheaply produced volume)
"Little did I realise as a young gal doing my bit for the war effort, packing shell cases deep in the caverns below Corsham all those years ago, that this sort of thing was going on. I mean, wagons full of high explosives is one thing, but man-eating pigs? And so close to our own dear Royal Crescent!
"Mr Donwood has produced a real page-turner (and hopefully this time the pages will remain in situ when turned) which deserves a much wider audience. Expect the streets to be filled with wide-eyed, ashen-faced readers on publication!
"I mean, it is all true, isn’t it?"
The money raised from this appeal will pay for the cover illustration by Jacknife of Bristol, typesetting, the purchase of maps from Ambrose Blimfield for the purpose of illustrating the story and the printing of 2,000 books of 240 or so pages. This first edition will be limited to 2,000 copies. The total cost of all this is 5.5k.
The Sterling Bland video was filmed by Matt Gillett of Bad Chicken Productions at Bath Old Books, one of the two remaining secondhand bookshops in Bath. Bath Old Books is a co-operative of five dealers each with diverse interests from Architecture to Art, from Literature of the Beats and the 60s to History and Geology. Bath Old Books, 9c, Margarets Buildings, Bath BA1 2LP, 01225 422244, www.facebook.com/BathOldBooksDES MOINES, Iowa-Rick Santorum gave a realistic evaluation today on what will happen if he doesn't win next Tuesday or more specifically if he comes in at the back of the pack.
"If I finish dead last behind the pack I'm going to pack up and go home," Santorum said to Iowa talk show host Jan Mickelson on WHO radio today. "I don't think that's going to happen. I think we're gonna be very much in the mix, and I feel very good that we're gonna surprise a lot of people on how we finish."
He added that he doesn't think finishing last is "going to happen." He's been barnstorming the state for months and Monday he said there are three contests being fought in the state simultaneously.
"There's the libertarian primary, which Ron Paul's going to win. Then you've got the moderate primary, which Gingrich and Romney are scrumming for. And you've got three folks who are running as strong conservatives," Santorum said, referring to himself, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. "I think if we win that primary we are in very good shape."
He's drawing battle lines where a win over Bachmann and Perry will be a victory for him and a ticket out of Iowa.
He's consistently said the caucuses are all about expectations and he again told Mickelson today, "We have to exceed expectations. And the expectations right now for us are pretty low, based on a lot of the national polls, so I feel like we need to do well," Santorum said. "We need to be right in the mix. Obviously we'd like to win, and our intention is to win it, and we're doing everything we can to try to finish first, and you know, somewhere in that middle of the pack and up we'd feel very, very good, though."
ABC News' Josh Haskell contributed reporting.The publisher of a former poet laureate accused of plagiarizing the works |
, which reduce total out-of-pocket spending to as little as a few hundred dollars in some cases.
It’s actually possible that the CBO will find the Senate bill leaves fewer people uninsured than the House bill did, just because of the way the different features would interact. And if that happens, Senate Republicans are sure to tout the CBO coverage number as proof they made the bill less severe.Conservative heroine Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum is slamming National Review, declaring it does not represent “the authority on conservatism.”
Schlafly had previously thrown her weight behind Donald Trump, describing him as the “the only hope to defeat the Kingmakers”– or the Republican establishment. In exclusive comments to Breitbart News, Ed Martin, the president of Schlafly’s grassroots organization Eagle Forum, predicted that “National Review will be defunct in the next year or so.”
Martin told Breitbart:
Their ploy [against Trump] was sophomoric and ineffective – instead of making an argument, they sought to make themselves relevant. They failed on both. Buckley is long gone and soon NR will be too. Gone with them, we can only hope, is the failed Internationalist and corporatist party advocacy that is bankrupting America and threatening the Republican Party. The kind of condescending ‘We Know Better’ attitude is a sign of weakness in argumentation not strength.
Earlier, in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, the 91-year-old Schlafly explained that Trump “represents everything the grassroots want.”
“The grassroots certainly agree with Donald Trump on most issues, but certainly on the immigration issue,” Schlafly said:
If we don’t stop immigration—this torrent of immigrants coming in—we’re not going to be America anymore because most of the people coming in have no experience with limited government. They don’t know what that is. They look to the government to solve all of their problems, and as soon as we have a high majority of people who think that, it’s going to be a different country.
During that same interview, Schlafly warned that National Review’s boosting of Rubio and Ryan will come at the expense of the nation’s peril. “If they’re not right on immigration they’re going to destroy our country,” Schlafly warned.Dear Judge Algeo,
You may not remember me, but I will remember you for the rest of my life. I am Prince’s mother. The Prince who died on October 20, 2012. The Prince who died on just his fourth court ordered unsupervised visit with his father.
In case you still don’t remember me, I would like to take a moment to remind you. I was the woman who came into your court room in March of 2012 (and again in July 2012) begging you to keep my son safe from his father. You heard testimony from several women Luc had abused. I told you about how I had fled Luc’s house in July 2011 with my newborn son and the clothing on our backs – that was after Luc had raped my then 19 year old sister. You heard testimony about all the people who died around Luc (including the mother of his older son and his own mother) All the horrifying information we presented, however, was still not enough for you to choose to keep my son safe.
I watched my son’s body slowly shut down for nearly two days as I waited for the doctors to officially declare him brain dead. As I watched my innocent baby boy die, I thought about you. I remembered how you told us you hated Family Court. I remembered how you blamed me for falling in love with a con man. I remembered how you talked about fairy dust and how you explained that my son would need to come home with cigarette burns before you would believe Luc was abusive. I remember how you rolled your eyes, appeared to fall asleep on the bench, and openned up your computer as if to read your email – you did all of this as I pleaded with you to keep visitations supervised.
I am now a mother without a child. My heart breaks every time I think about all the things my son will never do. You never got to meet Prince, but your decisions made a significant impact in his life. My son loved books. He loved to smile, to laugh, and was just starting to run. The week he died, he just started to say “ball”. It was his first official word after “Mama”.
Do you have children Judge Algeo? Grandchildren? You told us that you made your Custody decision based on what you would do if he was your child. Would you have given your children to Luc in an unsupervised setting knowing what you knew about him? Would you have taken a closer look at that psychological evaluation or maybe appointed a psychologist to conduct the test if it had been your child? Would you have forced YOUR daughter to send her child to this man as punishment for having been lied to?
One of the hardest things for me to deal with is that I will never again have the chance to protect my son. Nothing I can do will bring him back to life. I can’t stop thinking about how my life would be different if I hadn’t trusted you – if I had fled the country – if I had simply refused to comply with the court order.
I will never get the opportunity to have a talk with my son. I will never see him have his first day of school. I will never see him graduate from High School and from College. I will never dance with him on his wedding day or hear him say, “I love you Mama.”
You said you hated Family Court – it showed. I hope you understand the incredible power you have and with that power – the unparalleled responsibility. If my son losing his life had little or no impact on your future decisions, I pray that you resign. If you still find yourself rolling your eyes in frustration and looking upon parents who sit before you with distain, I pray for those parents who have no choice but to sit before you.
If the laws are not designed to protect children, then they need to be changed. In my son’s case, it appears as though death was the only threshold for denial of visitation. I knew how bad this could get. I told you how bad this could get. You didn’t believe me. Hundreds of scorned women must come through your court room. Maybe this has jaded or clouded your ability to see the truth. I was not scorned. I was afraid. I was a mother trying to protect her only child. How terribly sad it is that you have become so jaded that when a mother comes to you pleading for your help, you dismiss her concerns as merely those of a scorned woman. Prince deserved better. He deserved to live just as your own child would have.
I have spent my entire career working to protect our country – to protect America. I wake up each day and fight for America – and fight for the freedoms you enjoy. I hope and pray that despite the system’s failure, I can continue to take my job as seriously as you should have taken yours. It was your job to protect my son’s basic human civil right to life. All the evidence was before you. All that was asked of you was to be cautious. You held the life of an innocent child in your hands – the life of my child.
You will forget me Judge Algeo. Of that, I am fairly certain. I will, however, never forget you.
Sincerely,In case you've missed some of Game Hunter's Rock Band 3 coverage, including the complete song list revealed here, MTV Games has confirmed an October 26 release for the rhythm game sequel, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. And you're probably aware you can play keyboards this time around, with an optional game/peripheral bundle available at launch.
We caught up with Daniel Sussman, project lead for Rock Band 3 at Harmonix, to give us a half-dozen lesser-known facts about the upcoming music game.
About face. You can put yourself in the game via Rock Band 3's awesome character customizer and face creator. Tailor your Rock Band 3 avatar and band down to the last detail and then watch your doppelganger star in all the game vignettes as you progress through the game from catching the train to play a $5-paying gig to jumping your private jet to Japan to headline a sold-out arena.
Get social. Rock Band 3 will feature full Facebook and Twitter integration, allowing you to share playlists and other in-game information. Additionally, Rock Band 3 is nearly sentient as it will magically prompt you to buy a song if you play a friend's playlist featuring songs you don't have.
Challenge me. A new in-game goal system features hundreds of challenges for players that cover a broad spectrum of player skills and instruments and includes goals for players who want their mettle tested, like "Obsessive Compulsive," which is completed by hitting every "note" in Rock Band 3.
Switch it up. You can play traditional Rock Band keyboard parts with your existing Rock Band or Guitar Hero guitar or bass. Similarly, you can use your Rock Band keyboard to play guitar parts, which can be an interesting challenge on Expert!
More is better. Previous Rock Band downloadable content (DLC) and tracks from previous Rock Band games (Rock Band 1 & 2, Lego Rock Band, Green Day: Rock Band, track packs and more) can be exported into and played in Rock Band 3 -- which will result in more than 2,000 songs to choose from by the time the game comes out. Additionally, Harmonix will consider upgrading existing Rock Band DLC to include the new Rock Band 3 features based on community feedback on rockband.com.
Training = fun. As players practice pro drums, keyboards, bass or guitar during the pro instrument training modes for Rock Band 3, they will be able to play along with original tracks specially written and produced by the musicians/bands at Harmonix. Songs genres include country, blues, rock, metal, and so on.
By Marc Saltzman× Arkansas woman dead after participating in LDS Church trek activity
TULSA, Okla. — An Arkansas woman died Tuesday after participating in a pioneer reenactment activity with other members of her LDS Church congregation.
Meaghan Blair, 29, suffered a heat-related seizure and a spinal cord injury caused by excessive body temperature, according to a Facebook posting made by her sister on Monday.
Sarah Waddoups, a spokeswoman for the Blair family, told FOX 13 the cause of death has not yet been determined.
A statement (below) from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints indicates Blair was serving as a youth leader for a “youth trek activity” near Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Participants in LDS Church treks often dress in pioneer-era clothing and pull heavy handcarts to simulate the experiences of Mormon pioneers who traveled to the Salt Lake Valley in the mid-19th century.
Statement by LDS Church spokeswoman Deborah Neria:1. Krewes
Within two decades after the French explorer Bienville LeMoyne founded New Orleans in 1718, the city’s annual celebrations of Carnival had become an annual event, complete with masked balls and other festivities. Parades commemorating Mardi Gras (the last day of Carnival and the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent) officially began in 1838. By 1857, however, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations had become so marred by drunkenness and violence that city officials were about to do away with them. Instead, several members of a group known as the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, which had held a parade annually on New Year’s Eve since the 1830s, stepped forward. They proposed forming a new private club that would stage its own Mardi Gras parade as an orderly alternative to the chaos that currently existed. They called their new organization the Mystick Krewe of Comus (the Greek god of revelry). Today, more than 70 krewes parade through New Orleans on Mardi Gras, after celebrating the two weeks of Carnival with invitation-only balls and supper dances.
2. Rex, King of Carnival
Among the most famous krewes is the Krewe of Rex, founded in 1872. That year, the Grand Duke Alexis Romanov Alexandrovitch, brother to the heir apparent to the Russian throne, accepted an invitation to attend Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. Prominent city businessmen organized the visit as a way of attracting tourism and business to the city after the Civil War. Forming a new krewe of prominent citizens, they designated the krewe’s leader for the year as Rex (Latin for king). Officially called the School of Design, the krewe is more commonly known as the Krewe of Rex. Every year since, a prominent person has been chosen to be Rex, that year’s King of Carnival (the Grand Duke was the first one) and given the symbolic key to the city by the mayor.
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3. Bead throwing
The true meaning of the famous Mardi Gras beads begins with their traditional colors, which we also owe to the Russian Grand Duke Alexis. During his visit in 1872, the newly founded Krewe of Rex chose the colors of the duke’s royal house for the beads that krewe members would throw from their parade float into the crowds of Mardi Gras revelers. Later, they assigned meaning to each color: Purple stood for justice, green for faith and gold for power. The idea was to toss the beads to those in the crowd who exhibited these traits; the people who caught them were said to get good luck for the coming year. Though the beads were originally glass, nowadays they’re made of plastic, and are one of the most popular Mardi Gras traditions.
4. Zulu coconuts
Also among the most coveted of Mardi Gras parade “throws” are Zulu coconuts, the round, painted, glittery orbs thrown out by members of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. One of the oldest traditionally African-American krewes, Zulu held its first parade in 1909. The very next year, as the historical record shows, they began tossing coconuts to members of the crowd. Originally, the coconuts were left in their natural brown, hairy state, but a tradition soon began of painting them and decorating them with glitter. Nowadays, Zulu coconuts are handed into the crowd rather than thrown, to avoid injuries (and lawsuits).
5. Flambeaux
The blazing torches lighting the way for parade-goers during nighttime Mardi Gras festivities are called flambeaux (French for torch), and they date back to a custom established by the original Mardi Gras krewe, Comus. In the mid-19th century, the torches were a necessity due to the lack of sufficient street lighting. The original flambeaux carriers were slaves and free men of color, and their torches were probably made with shredded rope soaked in pitch and set ablaze. Crowds lining the parade route would toss coins to the flambeaux carriers, a tradition that still continues today. Over the years, however, Mardi Gras flambeaux has evolved into a kind of performance art, as the robe-wearing carriers twirl and dance with their torches, now much lighter and fueled by butane or kerosene.
6. King cake
The story behind one of Mardi Gras’ most popular foods dates back to the Middle Ages. That’s when people began celebrating the tradition of the Three Kings, who brought gifts to the baby Jesus on Twelfth Night (the end of Christmas and the beginning of Epiphany). Along with giving special gifts to children, the custom arose to eat a special kind of cake for the occasion. King cakes are now consumed throughout the season, beginning on Twelfth Night (January 6) and ending on Mardi Gras. Originally just a simple ring of dough, the king cake took different forms over the years; today, the most popular form is a braided Danish pastry laced with cinnamon and iced in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. According to a tradition launched in the 1940s by Donald Entringer, who owned one of New Orleans’ largest commercial bakeries, a tiny baby figurine (meant to represent Jesus) was baked into each king cake. The baby is usually made of plastic, but in past years was sometimes porcelain or even gold. According to custom, whoever gets the baby in his or her slice must buy the next cake or host the next party. As with Zulu coconuts, however, fear of lawsuits has led to changes in the king cake tradition: Many bakeries have recently stopped baking baby figurines into their cakes, instead choosing to package them separately for customers to insert themselves.Download raw source
MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: by 10.25.84.202 with HTTP; Sun, 10 Jan 2016 09:54:24 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: <CY1PR17MB0204846B909439CF1325591BDFC80@CY1PR17MB0204.namprd17.prod.outlook.com> References: <CY1PR17MB0204846B909439CF1325591BDFC80@CY1PR17MB0204.namprd17.prod.outlook.com> Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2016 12:54:24 -0500 Delivered-To: john.podesta@gmail.com Message-ID: <CAE6FiQ9FAHufmbZV-k-39i44adVqB+79cCpbL1Ri0eh5pZSYXw@mail.gmail.com> Subject: Re: Confidential From: John Podesta <john.podesta@gmail.com> To: Brent Budowsky <brentbbi@webtv.net> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=001a114013bec689d80528fe8242 --001a114013bec689d80528fe8242 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 I am confident this isn't coming from the staff. I am pretty confident it is not coming from consultants, but am always nervous about being fully certain about what they are up to. But "people close to the Clinton's" is a very wide lot in my view. Reporters who have a story line can almost always find a "people close to the Clinton's" to give them what they want. More generally, I do think you are right on this, but very difficult to police. On Sunday, January 10, 2016, Brent Budowsky <brentbbi@webtv.net> wrote: > I had a multi-email exchange with someone in the media this morning---a > name you would know---who is telling me that there are people close to the > Clintons who says WJC's sex life could be damaging to her. I responded > that I totally disagree with that, that WJC's presidency and his personal > appeal are huge assets and that I do not believe people who are the closest > to the Clintons believe what this person in the media is hearing from > somebody. > > I never ask journalists about their sources. I know you would be among > them. > I also know that for some times there were people purportedly close to the > Clintons pushing the line that the less WJC the better. Which again I have > always strongly disagreed with and still do. > > My point in this note is that whoever is peddling this crap from somewhere > within the Clinton camp is having the effect of encouraging the media to > give the issue more prominence. They are hurting both Clintons. I always > stay out of intra-staff stuff like this, both Clinton's would be well > advised to advise the people in their orbit to shut the hell up about > this. Even if I thought Bill Clinton was a liability I would never in a > million years write it, or say it to the media, but I think he is a huge > asset and I also think some of the people they pay do not perform a service > to them. > > Sent from my iPad --001a114013bec689d80528fe8242 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I am confident this isn't coming from the staff. I am pretty confident = it is not coming from consultants, but am always nervous about being=C2=A0f= ully certain about what they are up to. But "people close to the Clint= on's" is a very wide lot in my view. Reporters who have a story li= ne can almost always find a "people close to the Clinton's" t= o give them what they want. More generally, I=C2=A0do think you are right o= n this, but very difficult to police.<br><br>On Sunday, January 10, 2016, B= rent Budowsky <<a href=3D"mailto:brentbbi@webtv.net">brentbbi@webtv.net<= /a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0.= 8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I had a multi-email exchan= ge with someone in the media this morning---a name you would know---who is = telling me that there are people close to the Clintons who says WJC's s= ex life could be damaging to her.=C2=A0 I responded that I totally disagree= with that, that WJC's presidency and his personal appeal are huge asse= ts and that I do not believe people who are the closest to the Clintons bel= ieve what this person in the media is hearing from somebody.<br> <br> I never ask journalists about their sources.=C2=A0 I know you would be amon= g them.<br> I also know that for some times there were people purportedly close to the = Clintons pushing the line that the less WJC the better.=C2=A0 Which again I= have always strongly disagreed with and still do.<br> <br> My point in this note is that whoever is peddling this crap from somewhere = within the Clinton camp is having the effect of encouraging the media to gi= ve the issue more prominence.=C2=A0 They are hurting both Clintons.=C2=A0 I= always stay out of intra-staff stuff like this, both Clinton's would b= e well advised to advise the people in their orbit to shut the hell up abou= t this.=C2=A0 Even if I thought Bill Clinton was a liability I would never = in a million years write it, or say it to the media, but I think he is a hu= ge asset and I also think some of the people they pay do not perform a serv= ice to them.<br> <br> Sent from my iPad</blockquote> --001a114013bec689d80528fe8242--The threat of a “shutdown” at the IRS has eased, Internal Revenue Commissioner John Koskinen told a House panel on Wednesday. Prospects for one or two-day furloughs, which he predicted in December, depended on the extent of savings achieved by reducing overtime hours during filing season, he said, and sufficient economies were achieved.
At a budget hearing of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, Koskinen again pleaded with Congress to enact President Obama’s 2016 spending proposal to raise his agency’s budget by 18 percent to $12.9 billion, following cuts of $1.2 billion over the past five years. During that time, “The number of taxpayers has increased by over 7 million, and the IRS has been given significant additional responsibilities,” he said. “These include implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the Affordable Care Act.”
The tax agency has lost 13,000 employees since 2010, with 3,000 more likely to depart this year, Koskinen added, noting that 75 percent of the agency’s budget goes to personnel. “We’ve been double-sequestered,” he said, in that other agencies saw their budgets restored to pre-sequester levels. A loss in enforcement personnel reduces tax compliance, “which is not an on-off switch you can turn [back] on” after the American people get the impression that compliance is not enforced, he said. “A 1 percent drop in compliance will cost the government $30 billion a year, or $300 billion over 10 years.”
Enacting the budget hike would enable the IRS to bring the level of phone service up from the current 43 percent to 80 percent, the commissioner said. “We would also significantly increase enforcement and collection activities, generating over $2 billion more in increased government revenues.”
Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., though applauding Koskinen’s “competence and grace,” expressed strong opposition to a budget hike in a hearing that touched on IRS controversies including charges of political targeting, laxness on improper payments and wasteful production of videos for conferences.
Rogers said the 2011 Budget Control Act does not allow for a hike above spending caps and noted “Congress has repeatedly rejected additional funding for Obamacare,” and that the agency should prepare the eventuality that the Supreme Court strikes down the health care reform law.
“I am disappointed that the IRS requests to eliminate the three administrative provisions that have been enacted on a bipartisan basis for several years,” Rogers said. “Since the IRS’ targeting and spending scandals, appropriations bills have included prohibitions against targeting U.S. citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights, targeting groups for regulatory scrutiny based on their ideological beliefs, and making videos without advance approval.”
Nothing in the Republicans’ bills cuts customer service, Rogers added.
Subcommittee Chairman Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., said, “Contrary to what the media reports about this committee, we are not here to simply punish the IRS, but rather to hold the agency accountable for their use of taxpayer dollars. We deliberately lowered the IRS’ funding to a level to make you think twice about what you are doing and why.”
Koskinen argued his agency had taken the targeting and spending controversies seriously. “We have cut conference spending by 80 percent,” he said. “We have established review boards for video productions and training expenses. We have ensured that those who willfully failed to meet their tax obligations are not eligible for performance awards. We are reviewing our hiring process to ensure, to the extent permissible by law, that former employees with serious prior conduct issues are not rehired. We now require that all contractors maintain the same high standards for tax compliance as employees,” he added. “And we have implemented the recommendations of the inspector general with regard to the serious management failures surrounding the review of applications by organizations to achieve social welfare status.”
Koskinen noted that the entire chain of command in the IRS’s 900-employee Exempt Organizations division -- where the targeting controversy began -- has been replaced and that he is trying to “build a culture in which every employee is a risk manager. I’ve worked 20 years in the private sector,” he added, “and this is the best workforce I’ve seen.”
Asked about the status of new proposed regulations governing nonprofits’ political activities, Koskinen declined to give a timeframe but promised they wouldn’t be released in a way that interferes with the 2016 elections. “My position is any regulation needs to have several qualities: Be fair to everybody; be clear; and be easy to administer,” he said. The agency has received 160,000 comments on an earlier version of the rule prepared jointly with the Treasury Department and Koskinen said he personally had read 1,200 pages.
Ranking subcommittee member Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., accused the Republicans of a “Groundhog Day” rehashing of old issues and unfairly tarnishing the entire agency for the actions of a few. “If taxpayers think they are not being treated equally because there are not enough resources, it’s not good for the agency, taxpayer or country,” he said.
The National Treasury Employees Union on Wednesday welcomed the announcement that furloughs have been averted. “NTEU worked with the IRS to find other ways to handle the ongoing budget cuts the agency is facing,” said National President Colleen Kelley. “The threat will return in the future unless Congress increases the IRS budget and allows the agency to hire enough staff to execute its mission.”First, it would be so nice to write about something — anything — unrelated to Donald Trump, but even the current House of Representatives scrap over gun rights reflects the debased and foolhardy political season in which we live. Stupid, flashy, and post-constitutional is the new hotness. I’m old enough to remember when Democrats would fight like wild dogs to protect even unenumerated and implied constitutional rights, but hey, it’s guns, right?
For the last 24 hours Democrats have been testing House Speaker Paul Ryan, garnering national media attention and generally trying through bluster to achieve what they can’t with votes. The sit-in ended not because of principle, but because Democrats knew the media would get bored in the next few hours, the weekend beckons, and Trump’s rage over not being the center of media attention would drag the cameras away. As camera-friendly and amusing as the protest was, there are broader and more important lessons to derive from this sudden ease in which Democrats propose to eliminate our rights.
My objection to the no-fly no-buy proposal, while certainly based on Second Amendment grounds, is more broadly one of opposition to any system that allows almost entirely unaccountable bureaucrats to restrict constitutional rights without notice, recourse, or accountability. No matter how meritorious you believe your cause to be, excising rights at the behest of a government executive or agency should terrify any right-thinking person. If you think the terror watch list is merely an affront to the Second Amendment, you’re not paying attention.
This Is a Real Slippery Slope
It doesn’t take a lot of effort to create a gedankenexpriment where the erosion of rights embodied in the Fourth and Fifth Amendments is the next stop on turning the Constitution into a Chinese menu where one party removes rights from Column A and the other from Column B. Just saying, “But guns…” doesn’t make it less dangerous.
The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches? Surely, these dangerous terror masterminds on the watch list should be monitored with warrantless wiretaps? Perhaps the FBI should install keyloggers on their computers, plant spyware on their phones, and monitor their private email and social-media messages? Why bother with a warrant or due process? They’re on the list. (As an aside, I’m old enough to remember when the Democrats viewed the National Security Agency’s programs to monitor potential terrorists as an impeachable offense and a profound affront to the Constitution.)
On Twitter today, I jokingly proposed removing the Third Amendment rights of those on the no-fly list so we can quarter soldiers in their homes. It’s a simple fix, and seems like a cost-savings for the government and a deterrent to terrorist shenanigans. Why not really go for the Constitution-shredding gold and suspend the Fourteenth Amendment rights of people on the no-fly list? At that point, they’re not even human. Problem solved!
“But but but…that’s impossible! We’re only talking about guns!” will be the inevitable response from Democrats. The problem here is American history, where even the rights of American citizens have been broken, suspended, and sacrificed by government in the edges of political and moral panics, or in time of war.
Unchecked Government Terrorizes People
On a hundred-year time scale you have more to fear from an unaccountable government than you do from radical Islam. A bureaucracy empowered to place you on a list where your rights can be excised or suspended will follow the inevitable path of all government agencies and programs: its scope will grow, it will become more opaque and resistant to oversight, and it will resist reform at every moment. Islamic terrorists have signifiers, tells, and structures we can attack with either our intelligence services or military options. Government agencies are nearly impervious to all forms of challenge.
The list that denies a potential terrorist the right to buy a gun today may expand to animal rights activists or Black Lives Matter protestors or anti-abortion campaigners tomorrow, all depending on the whim of the executive or even some a nameless bureaucrat. A list that stops you from boarding a plane today is a list that might deny you a license to drive, speak, or vote tomorrow.
The failure in Orlando wasn’t about guns; it was about law enforcement lacking the motivation and the tools to keep an eye on people sending every red-alert signal in the book. It was about failing to persistently target and track bad actors. It was about the FBI lacking either the will or the resources to monitor and follow Omar Mateen, despite feeling so strongly about him that they attempted to entrap him in the kind of terrorist act he later committed. He was an extremist well before he became a terrorist.
As a conservative and a constitutionalist, I embrace the essential friction our founding document imposes as a check on both the impulses of the state and of the people. A few steps back from the facile arguments about guns and terror is the terrain we should be looking to when we consider whether to place Americans on a list that denies them an enumerated constitutional right, even if Democrats don’t like it.Introduction and Encouragement This eBook Modern Buddhism – The Path of Compassion and Wisdom, in three volumes, is being distributed freely at the request of the author Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. The author says: "Through reading and practicing the instructions given in this book, people can solve their daily problems and maintain a happy mind all the time." So that these benefits can pervade the whole world, Geshe Kelsang wishes to give this eBook freely to everyone. We would like to request you to please respect this precious Dharma book, which functions to free living beings from suffering permanently. If you continually read and practice the advice in this book, eventually your problems caused by anger, attachment and ignorance will cease. Please enjoy this special gift from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, who dedicates: "May everyone who reads this book experience deep peace of mind, and accomplish the real meaning of human life."
Tharpa Publications, UK Tharpa Director Manuel Rivero-De Martine
info@emodernbuddhism.com
Reviews Library Journal - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso “is a prolific and respected author,” and in Modern Buddhism, “he again presents the thought of the Buddha in an especially accessible manner.” Gyatso's 21st book is “elegantly stated” and “a delight.” Booklist Magazine - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso “illuminates the very heart of Buddhist thought and practice.” Spirituality & Health - Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a “highly respected meditation master and scholar of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition.”I was victim of the John Lewis bottom slapper: Male shop assistant claims female colleague told him 'I do that to all the boys'
For decades it has enjoyed a reputation as the respectable department store of choice for the middle classes.
But John Lewis was yesterday revealed as the unlikely setting for a rumpus that could have come straight from a script for Are You Being Served?
A male shop assistant, Konstantinos Kalomoiris, 40, has accused a female colleague of repeatedly slapping him on the bottom.
And when he told her to stop he said she replied: 'I do that to all the boys.'
Shop assistant Konstantinos Kalomoiris claims Bianca Revrenna tapped his behind in the locker room and on the shop floor. The 40-year-old said each time he was slapped by the 68-year-old woman she paused for a few seconds 'like she was savouring it'
Now he has launched a sex discrimination case, claiming 68-year-old Bianca Revrenna smacked him three times, telling him: ‘I do that to all the boys.’
When he made a formal complaint, he said his manager told him he ‘should be delighted’ that a woman liked him so much. And Miss Revrenna insisted she just ‘touched his back in a caring way, like a mother or grandmother’.
Mr Kalomoiris claimed he was so offended by the three separate slapping incidents that he eventually quit his job in disgust.
The furniture sales assistant, who worked at the chain’s flagship London store in Oxford Street, said Miss Revrenna first targeted him when they were together in the staff locker room in October 2009.
He said she slapped his bottom once and he asked her not to do it again, but did not make an official complaint.
Two months later, he claimed she smacked him again as they worked together in the store’s Christmas Shop.
Flagship: Mr Kalomoiris and Mrs Revrenna both worked at the John Lewis store on Oxford Street. She is one of the store's oldest staff members having racked up 40 years' service
Describing scenes reminiscent of the 1970s sitcom starring John Inman and Mollie Sugden, he said: ‘Bianca slapped my bum again. I repeated to her not to do that. I said, “I’ve told you before”.
‘She said she always did that to the boys, and that she didn’t mean anything by it. Every time she did it she would pause for a couple of seconds like she was savouring it. It was like she enjoyed it.’
After the third alleged incident – on the shop floor in April last year – Mr Kalomoiris, of New Cross, South-East London, made a formal complaint to his manager.
But his colleagues laughed at him, he told the tribunal. ‘My manager said I should be delighted that a colleague liked me enough to slap my bum,’ he said. ‘He said if a woman slapped his bottom, he would not be offended at all. I was told I was too sensitive.’
An internal investigation ruled that Miss Revrenna had not intended to upset her younger colleague.
But Mr Kalomoiris, who had worked at the shop since 2006, said he ‘couldn’t take it any more’ and resigned. Personnel manager Stewart Dawson, who led the internal investigation, said other managers had described the 40-year-old as over-sensitive.
The case is potentially embarrassing for John Lewis, which prides itself on its fair treatment of workers, who are known as ‘partners’.
Some of the scenes described by Kalomoiris in court evoked memories of the shenanigans in department store Grace Brothers in classic sitcom Are You Being Served?
Lawyers for the company, which opened its first shop in 1864, said Miss Revrenna had been with the chain for 40 years, was one of the oldest employees and had enjoyed an ‘unblemished career’.
Miss Revrenna denied ever slapping Mr Kalomoiris’s bottom, but said she had patted his lower back twice in an attempt to reassure him.
She said: ‘I |
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